How sensory helps me relax.
10 misconceptions about depression
Here are my top ten misconceptions about depression that I have met over the years.
1. A golden oldie, all you need to do is snap right out of it. yeah, if it was that simple to just click my fingers and it the depression would disappear. At my darkest episode, I was healthy, eating well, exercising a lot and going out but I still felt shit. I did everything to make these dreading feeling and fear go away with no avail.
2. Drugs don't work, well actually that may be so and it may be down to thoughts but then thoughts are in the mind. Drugs have worked successfully for some people including myself and I have seen evidence of it impacting my quality of life. It does not erase everything but it reduces the immediate effects and helps lift you up to help you think more clearly and logically.
3. Depression is attention-seeking, maybe so for some people but when I had depression, in the beginning, I was ashamed and didn't tell anyone and hid away in my deep dark world behind closed doors.
4. Depression means your weak, far from it as you are living will this illness and having to deal with all the extra work it brings. It is very trying and you really lose your motivation to just do anything. Getting through it is pure hard work more then anyone would know.
5. Depression is the same as sadness, wrong sadness is short-lived with feelings of low. Compare that to depression which sucks all your energy, self-destructive at times suicidal battle for long periods all day and night is a hell of a different story.
6. You don't have depression if you are happy, well I disagree as I can have spiked up and down and all over the place. Sometimes I don't know whether I am coming or going
7. Depression is a result of stressful events, well that can be the case in some situations as we can't rule out the environmental factors. But you have to hear in mind that hormones, brain activity and genes also play a role in depression.
8. It's not really an illness, there has been evidence showing differences between areas of the brain that have less activity in contrast with brains of non-depressives.
9. It's all in the mind, sometimes yes but like point 6 there many factors that can not be ruled at as well when debating about where depression comes from.
10. Talking about it only makes it worse, yes it can stir up bad emotions but it can help some people talk about feelings can help bring stuff to the surface and work through the emotions attached to issues. What you have to bear in mind is we are all different and what works for one does not necessarily work for another.
Ikeas magical charm.
Hey readers,
As a parent, some of the things I look for is activities to keep little ones occupied whether that be indoors or out.
Nothing beats having time out from the home to get a break from the role of being an entertainer. One of the simple but very effective family days out for me personally is that big grey, blue and yellow striking building commonly know as IKEA!!!!

It is one of my eldest sons favourite days out so much so that he begs me to take him there and goes ape s**t when we go past the building.
I had a brain wave and thought why not write right down reasons why I love this magnetically enchanted kingdom that young children gravitate towards. Therefore I have listed my top reasons why Ikea is simply the best.
You know you are a mum...
1. No!
Having to say NO a million and one times. I have never used a word so much until I had kids and used this word.
2. The smell of little one's hair.
Smelling your little one's hair straight after having a bath. There is nothing that smells that amazing and I would even go as far as saying that I could almost lick the hair, haha!
3. Mum bag.
Why is that most common item in my bag is a dozen or so fruit shoot tops gathered up at the bottom?
4. Alone time.
That when you finally get time alone you still end up thinking about your child.
5. CBeebies.
You know the whole song to Cbeebies goodnight tune.
6. Referee.
If you have two children you are automatically promoted to a referee.
7. Bribery is key.
You are qualified in negotiating skills and bribe making.
8. silence is golden unless...
You have a panic when you hear silence and you think to yourself, 's**t what is it that is up to '.
9. Sleep.
Sleep becomes a hell of a lot sexier and you have never fantasised about anything as much as sleep.
10. Alone.
Being alone feels weird and you feel as if something is missing.
Cheers for reading X
9 mummy secrets
Hey readers,

Reasons why I love autumn.

1) Woolie jumpers to get cosy and snug.









How to improve your mobile battery.
This is one of the most popular and effective ways used by people.
Then my suggestion is to turn off them notifications will be a big help in increasing your battery life.
Well, a way to deal with this is the turn off your notifications. Therefore saves a lot of battery and if you need to update an app it is easy to do manual through the app store.
It's OK to bottle feed
A letter to guilt.
I am just writing this letter to let you know that I seriously mother f****** hate you. you know this, you know when am weak and you can manipulate me. You think I will listen but I will put up a fight.
There are days when there are constant internal squabbles between me and you. It is tiring and no one comes out.winning in this war. But I still put up a fight most days, while you hoover in the background.
No one provides a manual with this parenting malarkey so how am I supposed to know. Sometimes I am so scared that I don't know what to do.
All you can do is hope for the best. I am constantly learning through trial and error. Sometimes I win, other times I fail dramatically so.
You dampen my mood and make me feel miserable. I shouldn't have to feel like this. I have a right to be happy just like anyone else.
Ok, I lose my shit from time to time and shout mum makes an appearance. I let the kids watch TV, sometimes I look at my phone a little bit too much but give me a goddamn break it is hard work.
Right now I don't care anymore and no I'm not 100% perfect but I'll give it a good try. We all have to learn from my mistakes or how else do I grow as a parent.
I work my ass off, I try to do all the things that you should do as a parent I feed them a clear of them I love them but now and again I make mistakes I am only human after all.
so on a final note to your guilt, I want to say f*** you.
yours,
A tired mother dealing with this guilt trip!
Messy play, ugh!
I am absolutely insane because it appears that I have some sort of long term memory with forgetting all about the crappy attempts last time and all the stress it caused.
I respect the fact that no one ever put a gun against my head, it is just having low self-confidence in anything and parenting I worry about everything.
I do I am not going lie, I don't need pity it just a fact of life.
Seriously, I appreciate art but I don't really rate a Pollock style rug, nor walls, nor table, nor sofa, nor bath, basically any fucking where the child decides to put the paint.
I spend more time doing the work then the actual child, surely that is not right.
I REALLY, REALLY should leave this type of activity to the professional's AKA school. He has a good three hours, five times a week to lose his shit with the paint then all I need to do is bath him in the brown mess every single day and constantly add to the pile of washing.
I am down with that, they can guide him to be an outstanding artist, teachers are trained and expert in this field, hence why they have so many teacher training days to deal with such skills.
What do you think about messy play? Is a dream or is it hell for you? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below.
Ways to improve your mental health.
Sometimes doing the smallest of things to make life nicer for yourself can make a huge difference. Here are some ways that I will discuss in this post that has helped me.
Be kinder and accept that some things are out of control. We are doing the best or doing what we can in that situation.
Sometimes, change is good and what better way to do it then breaking the monotony up of your day. It could be something simple like going for a walk to a coffee shop, can make a huge difference to your day because it is a change of scenery.
Not to mention the feeling that you as a person are giving something valuable like your time for the better goodwill bring a feel-good factor. It could potentially help build your self-confidence in making you more worthwhile doing something positive and taking action.
You also shouldn't feel ashamed but proud of doing something that can make your situation better. Your not weak because of asking but strong for recognising that you need help, no one can do it all by themselves.
It doesn't have to be something grand it could be just going for a walk, taking photos or even colouring but it has the benefits of helping you relax and distract yourself away from the negative thoughts.
Firstly, you have a platform to write your feelings which can bring real cathartic.
Secondly, your helping others who may be similar situations feel less alone and you never you may make friends.
What does depression look like.
Preventing burnout
10 things I can not live without
3. Music.
4. My blog.
5. Youtube.
6. Lip balm.
7. Tea.
8. Books.
9. Pad and book.
10. Phone.
What items can not live without in your life? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment below.
Reasons why I love Aldi
Hey readers,
Let me tell you something about me - I love to shop in Aldi. This post is all about my appreciation for the shop. See below my reasons why.
You can't beat browsing the special buy isle, you never know what you are going find. It is pretty random and it changes frequently so you can be excited about what will be on offer.
You go into Aldi with the aim of getting one thing and then come out with the random selection of items.
I am not a middle-class blogger, I am on a budget and Aldi prices are reasonable.
You can actually get fresh fruit and vegetable without fear and can cost less than a tenner.
They have some pretty cool recipes to try out, always handy if you are a rushed parent and need some inspiration.
They have some unusual items such as gin popsicles and deer burger. I Love the fact that Aldi is experimental in the choices of products in their shop.
Aldi supports the Red Tractor label whereby the meet is 100% British therefore supporting local communities.
There isn't a massive selection of choice compared to other supermarkets. However, this does mean that it is less stressful because I am not overwhelmed with choice.
It is a fairly relaxed shopping experience, apart from the end with packing shopping away.
(But then again I tend not to go with my children because of this and I like leisurely pace around the store).
You be sure that every single Aldi has the same layout, therefore you know where everything is, meaning less stress shopping if you need to check into different Aldi's.
There is nothing more frustrating when supermarkets decide to change where they put stuff, nobody got no time for that!
I love the fact that Aldi every fortnight have a thing called super 6 special buys, consisting of fruit and vegetables at a lower price.
This is a great way to encourage people to buy healthier options.
Aldi now at their tills have healthy items such as fruit, rice cakes and water to not lead you into temptation.
If you shop at Aldi what kind of things do you like about the store? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below.
Cheers for reading X