As I mentioned in this previous post I have a few ways in which I like to de-stress and take time out. Meditation and using crystals is an integral part to my day but there are so many other ways I like to unwind. Here are a few of my favourite ways to unwind and spend time looking out for my own mental health.
Reading and Learning
I am a huge fan of books and a total ‘judge a book by its cover’ reader! The prettier the cover the more chance I have of picking it up in the first place, I mean, look at all these pretties!
Covering every single genre there is nothing that I won’t take time to read. From biographies to novels and everything in between, if it is a good read I will give it a try. I tend to not enjoy books written in the first person as I just can’t seem to get lost in them as much as third person or ‘stories’ but writing style is a personal thing so I would always at least give it a go and hate having to give up on a book!
I am a lover of all things wicca or pagan too so reading about spells and how to combine certain crystals and herbs is educational as well as entertaining for me. To constantly learn when you’re reading means you are using your time productively too – I love that I can sit in bed and learn about practical things I can use in everyday life. Add in a cup of mugwort tea as my night time sedative and its the great end to any day!
Strangely enough I also enjoy reading cook books, I know that sounds a little weird but a decent bit of food porn before bed seems to make me have the most delicious dreams! Working out meal plans and shopping lists is all part of this habit too so I think all goes hand in hand with being a foodie.
Bath and Pamper
My motto is usually the hotter the better. You know the kind where when you move in the bath there is a red ring around your body parts that have been submerged in the scalding water! Laying in a hot bath means you have to relax and wait until the water cools before you can get washed etc too so a great time to pop on a face and hair mask.
Perfect for lighting some candles and chilling out reading a book.
My go-to bath products are my Tropic face masks, Tropic body and food pebbles, Garnier Ultimate Blends hair mask, Nivea Body Mousse and a couple of my favourite body brushes for dry and dead skin.
After a bath I love to use Sanctuary Wet Skin Moisture Miracle, I have worked with Sanctuary in the past and loved the product so much I have bought it lots of time since! It goes direct onto wet skin straight out of the bath and locks in moisture. The scent seems to last a lot longer too which is perfect as its one of my favourite smells!
Jigsaws and Movies
There is nothing that says slow down and chill out more than sorting out a 1000 piece jigsaw! Finding those straight edges takes concentration and I find that sitting down to complete a jigsaw makes me physically relax. The only problem is that you completely lose track of time and can think you have been sitting there an hour when in reality its a good four hours or so later! I am a huge fan of the Wasgij jigsaws where you don’t get to see the finished image and have to create what the people on the box are looking at.
Same with movies, once you get engrossed in a movie the time seems to fly over and you haven’t moved from one spot. I love sticking on a classic that I have seen so many time so that if I dose off it really doesn’t matter too much.
Those who know me know my favourite go to movie is Jurassic Park, it doesn’t really matter which one anymore as I know them all off by heart now anyway! Do you have a go to movie you love to watch over and over? Something that you can just sink into and know is going to take no effort to watch?
