Ways to improve your mental health

Hey readers,

I have spent a large proportion of my life living and battling mental health problems.

 I have experienced anxiety, depression, and OCD. 

So, I for one know how hard it is to manage and get on with living your life when you have hurdles to overcome.

 Here are some of the ways in which I try to help improve my mental health and as I am writing this may be helpful to you the reader.

Learn to be kinder to yourself.

This one is an ongoing problem that I struggle with putting into place, as over the years I have learnt to put myself down therefore it is much harder job to be nice to myself. I understand that this takes time so stick with it! 

 It is easy to batter yourself with the negativity especially when you're dealing with trauma. 

That said one of the ways you can do something positive in your life is to learn to be kinder to yourself. 

I bet if the situation was turned to a loved one I bet you wouldn't speak to them the way you speak to yourself. 

You can change behaviour though it takes time but needs to be practising to do so.

Take time out.

One of the best things for me when I am struggling is having time out to myself. 

 For me, I like to go for a walk with my headphones on. It makes me switch off from what is happening and just go somewhere else other than the situation I am in.

Set realistic goals. 

Goals are brilliant - they help give focus and something to aim for. 

However, the one thing that can occur for people is making goals that are too unrealistic and less likely over time to struggle to stay focused and reach their goal.

 So, when you do consider making goals have a big goal but then make micro-goals to help along the way to achieve that big goal.

 Another thing to take on board to reward yourself with something when you have reached a small goal.

 This will make you feel good and make you want to continue to the next level of achieving that goal.

See the positives. 

As a person who sees the world with an empty cup of water, it can be so hard to see the positives, sometimes you got to wing it until you make it.

 What I mean by that statement is that you have to force yourself to see the positives, write them down and find something even if it is getting out of the bed in the morning, that is progress.

 Habits are hard to break so get into forcing yourself to write down three positives a day, over time this will become easier to do.

Break up the monotony. 

Life can be boring at times so that is why it is important to do something now again that breaks that samey samey up. 

You don't have to spend a fortune you could go to the local park and have a picnic. 

It is refreshing to do something different now and again as it allows you to have something to look forward to.

What things have helped improve your mental health?

Cheers for reading X

my Sunday photo 26/01/2020

Stuck in a thought.

Don't go hating me,

It is just in my mind, 

My thoughts

Want to lie to me,

Destroy me,

One thought at a time.

2 Easy ways to clean a microwave.

Hey readers,

I know in my home the microwave gets used a lot and mainly for warming up coffee, the joys of parenthood. 

Anyways it can be quite hard if you don't know how to clean a microwave. So here are some easy ways to clean up your microwave whilst not making too much of an effort but still getting a good result at the end of the day.

 Plus these cleaning hacks are really quick as I myself haven't got all the time to clean and nor do I want to, so this is a great time-saving idea.

1. White distilled vinegar and boiled water. 

 This first method does not only get tough food to soften and wipe down easily but also helps to sterilise your microwave and get rid of bad smells. 

* You will need microwave bowl, 1/2 distilled white vinegar and 1 cup of water.

* Add the vinegar and water into the bowl and place it into the microwave. 

* Heat on a high temperature for 2.5 minutes - or until you see the bowl boiling and the mixture giving off steam. 

* Best to live the mixture in the microwave for 15-20 minutes giving the bowl of the mixture to cool down. 

* Carefully take out the mixture and glass plate (you can clean this separately in the kitchen sink and return it to the microwave once dried). 

* Then get a clean, damp cloth to wipe over the microwave and with using the cleaning mixture means that you won't have to scrub to get the leftover remnants in the microwave making the job of cleaning the microwave a lot easier for you. 

2. Lemon.

Another cheap way to clean the microwave is to simply use a lemon (you don't have to spend an arm and a leg on expensive cleaning products as they tell you on Instagram).

* You will need a microwave bowl and put in 1/2 a cup of measuring water into the bowl. 

* Next slice the lemon, squeeze the juice into the water and place the two halves of lemon into the bowl. 

* Place the bowl in the centre of the microwave and put it on for 3 minutes. 

* Let that stand for a good five minutes to allow the solution to cool down. Plus this will give the food in the microwave time to soften down with the steam from the solution. 

* Take the microwave plate in the sink to clean.

* Then get a cloth and wipe down the insides of the microwave and also the door and outside area of the microwave.

* If there are some stubborn spots then what you can do is take the cloth dip it into the solution to help scrub and break down the stubborn food. 

* Replace the glass plate back into the microwave. 

This trick with cleaning with lemon does not only clean and smell amazing after but it is environmentally friendly too but so win-win all round. 

What do you think about these microwave cleaning hacks? Do you use them or do you have a good hack that I haven't shared? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X 

my Sunday photo 19/01/2020

My eldest was super happy to take his friend to the cinema to watch Star Wars. 

Age is a wonderful thing

Hey readers,

People knock being old, for fear mainly. However, age happens to everyone. So, let's celebrate it because it can be wonderful for many reasons and here is why.

With age, you become more confident because you have lived on this planet longer and you know what the crack is. 

You know most people put up a front and you learn to not give a s**t in some respects. 

You change and you learn to grow into a different person, with different needs. With age you slowly don't give a monkey's about peer pressure, you can wear what you want, listen to what you want and it doesn't matter who you know because you can do your own thing.

Now that I have become older I care less about materialistic things that were much more important when I was younger. Not because of money more the fact I put more meaning on to them.

You are wiser with age and have learnt more so you have that experience. Which comes in handy sometimes as we all know knowledge is power.

I think we age certainly with myself I am less likely to judge. I am much more understanding and flexible with my thinking, understanding that people are different.

Let's celebrate wrinkles as positive because they indicate that we have lived, experienced and still here to tell the tale.

 If we stopped worrying so much about looking younger then the messages would slowly stop with trying to get us to buy wrinkle cream and botox which incidentally doesn't work but make most people look awful and permanently in shock.

The fewer people buy into this stuff that is trying to sell some crap message about looking youthful the better. The less demand for a product the less likely a need to sell it. 

I like the fact I can get to see my children grow as I get older. I don't fear it or get sad but happy and feel blessed that they are alive. As so many parents don't get this opportunity.

What reasons do you have to why ageing is good?

Cheers for reading X

Tiredness and autism

Hey readers,

Did I ever tell you that I like order? if you have previously read my blog then you will know I am a lover of control.

I am not the spontaneous type. I like planning and knowing what to expect. Which is ironic as my husband is the complete opposite and yes there are heated arguments at times.

 No one wins, I just go to bed and say f*ck it! I have little energy. Unless my autistic brain goes into overdrive when my husband will be treated to a full-on meltdown. joy!

I sometimes see parents and I know we shouldn't compare but I do believe that it is innate from our ancestors as a technique to help stay on top of survival. 

However, in this day and age, it is now used overboard, yes that does includes me too.

I see people have days packed with things to do with the family. 

Someone I know even when to a country park for 5 hours, me I couldn't do it. My autistic brain gets tired with so many stimuli I am exhausted and mentally and physically after an hour or two.

 Hats of to parents who can keep kids entertained but most mornings I can't get my body to move as I am so tired. It doesn't help that I am on medication that makes me very groggy.

I yet again feel rubbish about myself, yep it is a common theme where I batter myself with nasties because in my head I am not enough to be a parent.

I know this is ridiculousness but when you are in the moment and your anxiety is sky high your brain will trick you into believing it. 

It feels real and that takes up a hell of a lot of energy. I spend most of the time cursing and wishing I didn't have autism.

I try to do crafts with the boy, I can barely reach the first instruction without me failing. I am rubbish at instructions and if they are not basic and when I say basic I mean it. It is something about reading and processing the information that gets muddles up in my messy mind. 

Guess what here we go again I beat myself up because I can't do the simplest of things at times. My intentions are good but sometimes I just get fed up with myself that I wonder why do I bother because I love my son and what to do things for him.

So yeah it is another whingeing post but this is my life as an autistic parent (a parent with autism) and the struggles are very real. It may only be small but they soon stack up and it takes its toll on you. 

It can grind you down day in day out faced with challenges and how to overcome the challenges. So, you can understand why I get so worn out, it is hard work trying to navigate through a neurotypical world with autism. 

This is especially true for an adult with autism as people assume you have grown out of autism when you reach adulthood. By the way yes that is a true story and that comment has been said to me before

Cheers for reading X