Winter is Coming... #findyourhappy
Summer is over. We’re facing into deep, dark winter nights… winter is coming!
I struggle with this time of year. I struggle with the change in seasons, the change in weather… but mostly I struggle with the change in my emotions. As a naturally anxious person, this time of year is when I’m at my worst but with a little work on my self-awareness I’m hoping to change that.
The summer brings me peace. It brings me freedom. It brings me a sort of a ‘take the foot off the peddle’ approach to life that I find energizing and exciting… it suits me! I’m relaxed, I’m mostly content and the summer sun breathes heat, life and passion into me that I stock up on to get me through winter.
As soon as we hit September, the dread hits me… Slowly the anxiety creeps in…It’s the Sunday night ‘fear’ amplified to a deafening measure! On the outside, I’m cool, calm and collected. On the inside, I’m screaming! Everyone’s kids are back at school… this signals time to get back to real life. I’m overwhelmed by expectations… Unrealistic expectations that I place upon myself in every aspect of my life… targets in life, in my career, family goals… the lists start building.
As a sufferer of Stage 4 Endometriosis, the soothing feeling of the summer sun on your body is lost with the cold of winter. Yes, it’s nice to be able to wrap up on the sofa with a heating pad or hot water bottle with the snow falling outside but those cold gray mornings could never compare with heading out to see a summer sunset on the beach. I almost feel a loss at this time of the year and spend the next six months yearning for temperatures to rise again and spring to arrive.
Well not this year… At Just Happy Tears, we’re working on ‘FINDING YOUR HAPPY’ and we want to help you find yours too. In our ‘Find your Happy’ blog series over the next few months we’d like to share the reasons behind this journey, the trials we face as we travel this road and the little victories that we encounter along the way.
This summer I (along with other members of the Just Happy Tears team) started practising yoga and meditation. In a few short months, it has completely changed my outlook on life. It’s changed how I act and how I think… it’s also very slightly changed my waistline!!
After a tough year in many ways, I need something to help me focus, to regroup and to FIND MY HAPPY again. Summer just wasn’t enough this year. And for the first time in a really long time with just a couple of lifestyle tweaks here and there I’m feeling more confident than I ever have before that I can transition into Autumn with a smile on my face and in my mind.
There are a few places from which I always seek some inspiration, motivation and advice and without these little daily helpers I think I'd struggle a little more to acknowledge how important self-care is. Nikki Bradley at the Motivation factory, Gavin at Meenan Fitness & Roz Purcell (Natural Born Feeder) are three seriously inspirational people and either of these three offer a great place to start when thinking about a reset. They're straight-talking and authentic. For any endometriosis sufferers out there, you are not alone and @endostrong & @theendoproject are great places to visit for advice and solidarity as you struggle through the symptoms. It's a lonely road but a well travelled one, and a journey is always better with company.
Check out our
@justhappytearsgifts instagram feed for more influencers who we think are amazingly inspirational.
More on this soon as we continue the ‘FIND YOUR HAPPY’ journey! We hope you’ll join us!
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Facebook: @JustHappyTears
Twitter: @JustHappyTears
Linkedin: @JustHappyTears
