dam…….. that website “you feel like shit” (it’s like a questionnaire / troubleshooting guide for when you feel like shit) really works………………….. im not even all the way thru it and i even half-assed a lot of the suggestions and i already feel loads better
it doesn’t matter. you will still have fun baking a distastrous looking bread loaf. you will still have fun painting a technically bad painting. you will get happy brain chemicals dancing like a weirdo. be bad on purpose.
🥺 also bc a lot of friends have been leaving here to take a break in the last few days, please take care of yourselves darlings, no social media site is worth your mental health. You are always the priority: not fic updates, not answering asks, not drawing more art. You’re most important, so pls do what is best for you 💕❤️
u know what makes me cry….. that one van gogh quote about life changing for the better….. “many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. and it is true that in winter it is sometimes so bitingly cold that one is tempted to say, ‘what do i care if there is a summer; its warmth is no help to me now.’ yes, evil often seems to surpass good. but then, in spite of us, and without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frosts. one morning the wind turns, and there is a thaw. and so i must still have hope.” yeah….. Crying….
when we say “it’s about the simple things in life” what we really mean is: it’s important to take the time to sit inside of and experience the small, good, daily things in our lives. because life contains really tough things, and we all get worn down. so learn to carve out space inside your days—a thick piece of sweet buttered toast, a joke told to a friend, time spent on a park bench in the sun—anything to guarantee there will always be some little piece of good, something kind and warm to cling to.
when we say “it’s the simple things,” what we mean is we all need some good, and there is good in simple things.
a soft reminder: even though you might be disappointed in how you did this year, you still made a lot of progress. you tried and tried again, so many times. every little thing you achieved. every breakdown you got up from. every moment of happiness you encountered. every little act of self care and kindness you did. it all matters. they all helped you grow. they are all small victories to be proud of. it’s not always clear to see, because day to day everything feels the same, but I promise you’ve come a long way since the beginning of the year. so please be extra gentle with yourself when looking back. be proud of yourself too, if you can. you did well.
normalise singing, painting, dancing, playing the guitar, playing a sport or any other activity solely because you like doing it and it makes you happy, not minding about how good you are at it
you’d be surprised how many people appreciate your existence. the people you’re closest to, the people you’ve given a passing compliment or smile, the people you’ve helped out just a little here and there. you’re appreciated even if it’s not said out loud.
Today, my therapist was talking about how the smallest bits of self-care — even making yourself a mug of warm tea — are a way of recognizing your own worth, and how meaningful they are when you really dislike yourself. “After all,” she said, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t often make tea for people I hate.”
And that really hit me, especially because I’m an acts-of-service kind of person and tea is one of my go-to ways to show people that I’m thinking about them, care about them, and hope their day could be a little better. So maybe when I make tea for myself, I’m saying that to myself, too, that I’m thinking of my own needs, caring for myself, and trying to make my day a little better.
And that’s really important to me because a lot of days I struggle to do basic things to keep myself going and just feel like I’m self-destructive, only ever making things worse… but most days I still manage to make myself a mug of tea or two. And it’s good to know that that matters.
