Steps to feeling happier

So one of the main reasons I wanted to start this blog was to use it as a place to express my thoughts, problems and awkward moments that happen in my life and currently I'm feeling pretty low. I'm sure many of you have felt like this before...you consistently feel incompetent, everyone around you seems better looking, nothing you do is right and you feel whatever you say is the wrong thing...if you've never felt like this then trust me you're either a robot or an incredibly confident and positive person so I applaud you but for the rest of us it's hard.

As a student, the pressures of getting the grades are constant and for me writing is one of my main passions so of course I thought taking my creative writing class would be loads of fun and a doodle so when I had to write a short story or the beginning of a novel over the Christmas break I thought, this might be fun cause you know it's creative so I can write what I want. I spent three days working on it and trying to create the right atmosphere, characters and sense of shock that I wanted the reader to feel. The story is teen fiction and focuses on the struggling life of a tabloid socialite suffering from a mental illness. It is told from the perspective of the hotel receptionist Jack who finds himself getting wound up in the confusing world that Lorna leads. It includes murder, romance and deceit and by the time I had finished I have to admit I was pretty proud so when my family read it and not a single member liked it, it definitely hurt.

I suddenly went into this self conscious mode as I do and felt fatter, dumber everything about me seemed that extra bit worse. I know others will have felt the same.

My cure for feeling better:

• Put some make up on- sounds stupid but it does genuinely work and makes you feel that little bit more confident

• Smile in the mirror - everyone should do this at least once a day

• Sing really loudly - doesn't matter if you're crap, let it all out with your favourite song

• Read a great book! Yes books do exist and they're amazing, go read one and let your mind take you into another realm of your imagination

• Binge watch tv - my go-tos are FRIENDS, GIRLS and just recently Orange is the new Black

• Have a long bath - I'm not usually a bath person but they always seem to work

• Smelly candles - I adore anything that smells good and am a complete sucker for candles so often light them up and it makes me feel that little bit better

• Watch Disney - who doesn't love a bit of Disney? The classics like Snow White or The Little Mermaid will never get old and are great but the newer ones like Tangled are simply AMAZING

• Phone a friend - people seem to use the phone a lot less due to Facebook and Twitter but despite the use for phones now, they were originally intended for talking to another person, so dial your friends digits and have a good old natter

• Glass of wine with mum - this is a top one for me, I'm very close to my mum and both of us love our wine

Hope this helps you and hopefully next time I blog I'll be feeling a little happier

Cheerio,

Emma

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