Hey everyone!
It is now day 5 in the month of June, and Los Angeles is still cold, gloomy, and ugly. Sure, there have been a few days where it’s sunny, but the cold crisp air is still here and seems like it’s not going away for a while. The weather seems to be really affecting my emotions in a negative way — I’m sure it is affecting you too. People call it the ‘June Gloom’ — the cloudy, murky sky is common in the month of June, which happens to fog up many of our positive thoughts as well. It definitely has been affecting me a lot more than usual. If you are in the same situation as me, I am here to give you tips on how you can help yourself to get out of this slump we call ‘June Gloom’.
- Take A Break From The World
I know that sounds absolutely impossible since we have work, school, etc — but what I meant was in our ‘Social World’. In our generation, the internet and social media is pretty much our ‘world’ right now. For me as an aspiring blogger, it is a lot of pressure being on social media when I am in a negative head space with no content to put out. The pressure gets to me and makes me feel much worse than before. Therefore — it is good to step away from your instagram, twitter, etc and just take a breather for however long you need. This time around I took a 2 week break, but before I would take a month or even 6 months off social media. Mental health is more important than your follower count, how many likes you get on a photo, or to laugh at memes. If you feel like you need a break, take it! Social media can be extremely draining at times.
2. Clean Your Space
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, cleaning helps clear your mind — At least for me it does. That feeling of accomplishment after seeing your clothes folded neatly, your table clear of unnecessary things, your sink squeaky clean.. it is a very positive feeling to your thoughts. It is the same emotion when you finally finish your 10 page essay before the deadline, or when you finish a puzzle. That feeling is very helpful when you feel like your thoughts are spiraling in a gloomy way. The plus side of it — you can be in a clean space and do the next step I’m about to tell you.
3. Do What Makes You Happy
When I was in a dark place a few years ago, all I did was read, draw, and write. I read many books that spoke to me in different ways, I drew to pass time and to forget about my negative thoughts, and I wrote my feelings down. When you are in an unhappy mindset, you have to do what makes you happy to remind yourself that those mean thoughts about yourself isn’t true and that you’re just being extremely pessimistic. When my ‘June Gloom’ started about a month ago, I kept trying to think of ways to inspire my writing and to stop being sad all the time. Then I downloaded ‘Good Reads’ — a site/app that gives you book recommendations and you can do reading challenges. I immediately got hooked on it and ordered 2 books to start my challenge. I’ve been reading nonstop and maybe that is why I am writing this right now. My point is — do what makes you happy to inspire you. To help you get out of the sadness and to remind yourself how strong you really are. Cooking, dancing, singing, working out, painting.. anything really! I recommend even trying new things you’ve never done before. As long as it inspires you and gets you back on your feet, do it.
If you guys are interested, you can view my GoodReads page here. Add me as a friend or follow me, always looking for new books to read and a reading buddy!
4. Talk To A Professional
I’ve always been bad with therapists — mostly because I was always forced to talk to one when I was younger. But as you get older and you deal with depression, anxiety, or even ‘June Gloom’, you feel the need to talk to someone that will actually listen and help. I think communicating your emotions is a huge step in getting out of a negative headspace. Paying a professional to listen to your thoughts might be better than trying to talk to your friends/family because you feel like you’re being annoying and end up feeling worse. If you are feeling gloomy and suffocated in your thoughts — do not be afraid to schedule a therapy session. Sure, there are some bad therapists out there (from experience I had a few) but wanting to talk to someone about your emotions is not a bad thing at all. Trust me, it will help in the long run!
I hope these tips will help you guys in any way. I know it is hard, but just know these emotions comes in waves. Sometimes it doesn’t go away — but it doesn’t hurt to try.
Keep on bloomin’. xx
She Blooms In June - by Lilia 