We all have those days when you’re just feeling off; when you’re feeling extremely anxious, stressed, overwhelmed or just generally feel a bit off. I usually can feel like this during the autumn and wintertime as the dark, glum weather can really have its effect on me. May however has also been slightly colder and gloomier than what we are used to. The weather in combination with the stress I experience from writing my dissertation has made me feel a bit off during this month.

Something I like to do whenever I feel like this, is to write down what I am feeling and what I am grateful for. This helps me feel whatever I feel, put the feelings into perspective and makes me grateful for those little things that really help me feel better when I feel a bit off. It’s those little things that bring me comfort that help me get through the day or cheer me up. I thought this post might be helpful to you, as it might help you bring comfort as well or lead to you writing down things that bring you comfort when you feel anxious, stressed, overwhelmed.

Talking to and spending time with my parents and my brother

It all depends on the mood I am in and what is going on inside my head. But whenever I have cropped my anxious or stressed feelings up for too long, I know I will soon burst. One of the things that brings comfort when I feel like this is by spending time with my parents or my brother. They know something’s up if I am spending more time than usual with them and am being a bit quieter than usual. The three of them know me through and through and just by spending time with them, talking to them and laughing with them brings me that comforting feeling I need whenever I feel off.

Reading a book

If I am feeling off and actually feel like spending time on my own one of the things that can really bring me comfort is reading a book. I have loved to read books ever since I was a kid. Reading a book to me feels like I am inside of a movie, watching the characters interact with each other. I can get completely lost inside a book, because it feels like I am witnessing a story playing out inside of my head. I could easily watch a movie, but it’s not the same. Whenever I watch something, I usually get distracted and my brain still would go into overdrive. I don’t have that with books, as I need to focus on actually reading the text. To get lost inside a book and to see how a story plays out inside of my head is one of the most comforting things to me. It probably has to do with the fact that there is just not that much going on inside my head besides focusing on the text I am reading and imagining and visualising what the characters, details and events look like.

An early night’s sleep

Sometimes you just have an off day, everything feels wrong and you just feel stressed or rattled at the end of the day. What I love to do whenever I feel like that is to get an early night’s sleep. I love to take a really warm shower – you could do a bath, but I am more of a shower person, and then get straight into bed in a pair of clean pyjamas. The feeling of being freshly showered and to then jump into my bed just feels very comforting. I would usually read for about 30 minutes before actually trying to fall asleep. Whenever I feel stressed, overwhelmed or a bit off, not getting enough sleep is also part of why I am feeling like that. So I know that investing in getting to bed two hours earlier than I normally would go to bed will really help me feel a bit better the next day.

A breathe of fresh air

Sometimes getting out of the house can also really help to make me feel better. I spend a lot of my time inside of the house rewriting my dissertation, working on assignments for uni, writing blog posts or doing some work for clients. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed during the day or have spent way too long inside, I like to go outside for a bit. What I like to do is I like to go into town for an hour or so, go grocery shopping or actually go for a walk. Sometimes all I need is just a bit of fresh air to feel better.

Watching childhood cartoons

Now this might sound super lame, and I know that my dad will fully judge me for this if he will read this post. I hope you won’t judge me for this, because my last comforting activity actually really helps. One of my favourite and most comforting things to do when I feel a bit off is to watch cartoons from my childhood. So this could be anything from the Rugrats, Totally Spies, Hey Arnold, Rocket Power or Lilo & Stitch. There’s just something I find super comforting about watching childhood cartoons. It took me a while but I have finally figured out why I find it extremely comforting to do whenever I feel a bit mentally low. Watching some of my favourite childhood cartoons for even 1 hour can instantly bring me comfort. Not only does it make me feel nostalgic, it also helps me feel like I can enjoy a simple cartoon made for kids without feeling like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders.