5 things that help me to unwind when I'm feeling stressed

Hello my loves, hope you're all ok. It's been a little while since I last wrote a post but if you follow me on social media you will know that I've had a lot going on lately. I sadly lost my beautiful girl Willow after a short illness which broke my heart of course but I'm glad she's no longer in pain. Oh and I've been to Disney (again!) hehe. Anyway, here's a lil post that tells you all how I wind down when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed. 

Watching my favourite shows or movies

I of course love to relax by watching one of my favourite shows or movies. I'm currently loving Gilmore Girls (duh) ! It's the perfect thing to watch during Autumn whilst sipping on a coffee! Well it’s perfect to watch during any season really. Some other shows I love to watch are; Friends, Emily In Paris, Golden Girls and pretty much any classic comedy to be honest. Me and Dad have been loving watching Open All Hours lately as I got him the box set for Fathers Day and it is such a British classic. Oh and Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing are on at the moment which makes me very happy! I love a movie day too of course! Wrapping myself up in a cosy blanket with my favourite snacks and a hot water bottle as it's freezing at the moment whilst watching a movie (more than likely a Disney movie) it's the perfect form of self care. I won't list my favourite films or I think I'll be here all day. 

Music

Putting my headphones in and blocking the world out is one of my favourite things to do when I'm stressed! Taylor Swift seems to be a firm favourite at the moment. I love to sing along to her songs whist having a good cry if I'm feeling emotional. I only sing when I'm alone though as I can't sing at all. I honestly think that people would pay me to shut up. 

Reading a book

I’ve recently got back into reading after not picking up a book for a while. I realised how much it helps me to relax and unwind. I like to try and read before bed instead of playing on my phone as I find I get a better nights sleep. The book I’m currently reading is ‘It Ends With Us’ by Colleen Hoover, I’m about 3/4 of the way through it and I love it. I have to force myself to put it down or I’d be up all night reading it! The next book on my TBR (to be read list) is ‘The Pumpkin Spice Cafe’ by Laurie Gilmore which sounds like the perfect Autumn book so I’m really excited to read it. You all know how much I love Autumn and how much I love Pumpkin Spice. I really want a Pumpkin Spice latte now. I’ll have to go to Starbucks soon, you all know I don’t need an excuse to go to Starbucks.

 Journaling 

Again, this is something I haven’t been bothering with much up until recently but I really like to journal and write down all of my thoughts whether they’re positive or negative but I also really like to focus on what I’m grateful for so that I can look back at all of my journal entries and see all of the positive things that I have to be grateful for. This really helps me when I’m having a down day. It’s nice to journal sometimes if I need to vent as I’m venting without actually ranting at someone I’m writing it all down. It definitely helps!

Taking a nap

I don’t care what anyone says, you can’t beat a nap. I know some people say ‘DON’T NAP DURING THE DAY!’ blah blah blah but when I’m stressed it’s highly likely I didn’t sleep very well the night before so I’m probably very tired and don’t have much energy so napping is perfect. Just for an hour or so to re gain energy. I find I wake up feeling refreshed and a lot less emotional. I find if I’m too tired I get way too emotional. I sometimes just like to snooze whilst I have one of my favourite shows or movies playing on the TV or I’ve been loving the Calm app lately. Their new Disney collection is so cute!

Well that’s it my loves! I hope this post gave you some ideas if you’re looking for ways to unwind and relieve stress. I’ll see you in my next post! 

Laura x