How do you tend to react when your plans fall through? When things don’t quite go the way you had hoped? Do you roll with it knowing that tomorrow will be a new day? Or do your emotions tend to take over without much warning? Do you spiral, finding that you can’t find your happy? 

The saying goes that we can’t control what happens to us but we can control how we react to those triggers. But sometimes that is easier said than done right? And the truth is that unless we have some sort of tool kit to work with it’s often difficult to even start setting ourselves back on a different path and getting back ‘on track’. 

Here are a few simple steps to help support those times when life throws you lemons… 

• Sleep more. It’s very common in our society to exist on less than 6 hours of sleep a night. But experts recommend 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Not just to rest our bodies, but also to rejuvenate our minds. Sleeping is the time for our bodies to not just rest, but heal. Now I get it, sleep is very often the first thing that suffers when we are feeling stressed and anxious in life, and it becomes a vicious circle. So listen to your body. Sleep when you can. A cat nap is often just what the Dr ordered. 

• Turn it off. The convenience that smartphones have added to our lives can actually be a bit of a double-edged sword. We rely on them for just about everything. But that often means we are filling up on news, opinions, ‘to-do’s’, and just about every other distraction we could name. Not to mention the good old ‘scroll finger’ of social media. Exercise a little bit of discipline and put your phone down at least 30 minutes before bed. 

• Take a holiday. Stick with me here, it doesn’t have to be anything big and fancy. A day at the beach, an afternoon at the park or a picnic with a friend will do perfectly. Just anywhere you can be and not think about the bills, work, or whatever tensions you may have. It’s important to take time for yourself, so do it! You can not pour from an empty cup, so give yourself the time you deserve. 

As always, there are lots of local services available to support you when life throws you lemons and you need a helping hand or a friendly face:

Talking Therapies offer a range of talking therapies to support with mild-moderate mental health difficulties, such as anxiety and/or depression. They offer easy access to a range of proven talking therapies, including counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), guided self-help, or guided online therapy.

 https://www.youinmind.org/organisation/128/my-talking-therapies