Sundove - POSITIVITY

“humanity is inherently selfish and bad” bbbrrrghuhjfkg. humanity is seeing a stranger’s grocery bag break open on the sidewalk and harvesting fruits and veggies from the branch-like cracks of the asphalt for them, just because you can. humanity is helping a lost child find their mother on a crowded beach, looking for the ladybug-patterned parasol with their hummingbird-small hand in yours. it’s an elder’s fingers wrapped around your arm as you help them up the stairs because the elevator is broken, and feeling like you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing, like this is what you would’ve been doing had you been alive centuries or even millennia ago. there will always be a heavily pregnant woman who will smile at your when you give up your seat, a nice blind man in the fruit aisle who will ask you to please pick the riper plantain for him, a tired cashier whose face will light up when you compliment their tattoo sleeve. humanity is connection

If you suffer from depression or anxiety, you may often struggle with distorted thinking. It’s best to understand the most common types of distorted thoughts so you can recognize the ones you experience the most, and doing so can help you stop those thoughts from occurring.

if your toilet bowl is filling up with water and is about to overflow (or is already):

take the lid off the tank

hold up the floating device. it’s usually a rubber ball on the end of a stick.

if you’re not sure which part to lift, gently lift up various things until you find the one that stops the water.

you will not need get your hand wet bc the part you’re looking for is usually at the highest point!!

the toilet bowl should immediately stop filling!

PS: toilet tank water is the same water that comes from your sink faucets so please don’t panic if it gets on you

v. important must remember !

just a reminder that there’s so much more that we still don’t know about ourselves and that’s what makes life so beautiful. next year you could find your next favorite musician or fall in love with someone you haven’t even met yet. you might see a new shade of green that will become your new favorite color or you could become obsessed with a new food that you thought you once hated. we change as life goes on. we grow as life changes. our experiences shape us into a new person. it’s beautiful.

Dating someone who still respects you when they’re upset is VERY important.

Little tips for when you feel bad and don’t know why.

-Ask yourself the last time you drank some water. Drink a few sips even if it wasn’t long ago. Coffee doesn’t count (neither does soda unless it’s the only option) 

-When was the last time you ate? Get a small snack if able.

-Are ANY of your clothes too tight or uncomfortable? This includes socks, headbands, hats, and shoes.

-Stretch! Pop those shoulders, arch that back, straighten those legs. It Helps.

-If you happen to stim, do it! Do whatever feels right!

-Look for sounds, smells, etc. That are bothering you.

-Get your headphones and put on whatever music makes you feel happy/good/energetic.

-Loosen your shoulders, take some deep breaths. Drop your head and loosely roll your head. Try to relax as many muscles as you can.

-Close your eyes for a second.

-Did you take your meds (if you have them)? Do you need to take a Tylenol, ibuprofen Etc.?

-Are there allergens in the vicinity, are there any allergy medications you need to take?

-Breath deep.

I am by no means a professional and I don’t know what could be causing it but I know that these are kind of helpful. I’m not you and you aren’t me so these might not work. If the feeling bad is medical attention worthy, these might not help.

However, I hope that this does help someone.

Self-Discipline Isn’t Always the Answer

So I wasn’t really taught to brush my teeth every day as a kid. So I didn’t. I got to be an adult and realized “hmm teeth are expensive I need to start brushing them” and brushing my teeth twice a day has been on my actual to do list every single day of my college career. It’s a habit I needed to build.

Have I successfully done it? Absolutely not. I’m pretty good about doing it at least once a day, but some days it just doesn’t happen. It’s not that I forget usually, I just had some aversion I couldn’t figure out, until last week.

I’m at the grocery store, in the toothpaste aisle with my roommate, and I complain about how much I hate mint. I FUCKING HATE THE TASTE OF MINT. The taste and the smell, any kind of minty thing in any form, I HATE IT. But literally every “adult” toothpaste in the aisle was some type of minty disgusting nonsense. And my roommate was like “you know you could like get kids’ toothpaste? You like bubblegum right?”

And y’all, it was like the clouds parted. I got some strawberry bubblegum kids’ toothpaste. I brushed my teeth with it and it was a whole new experience. I have successfully brushed twice a day every day since, because the mental block I had towards it is gone! 

I thought my lack of brushing was just a moral failing on my part; I was too lazy, too undisciplined, to build a good habit. But really? I just hate the taste of mint so much I didn’t want to brush my teeth.

This made me realize that when presented with a change you want to make, a habit you want to build, if you’re encountering resistance in yourself, you should lean into that resistance and really investigate what’s causing it, then work on accommodating that. 

Say you hate washing dishes so they pile up and then you’re overwhelmed by how many you have to do. Why do you hate it? Deep down, what about it do you dislike? Is touching wet food super gross for you? Try thick rubber gloves while you’re washing. Does the sound of dishing clanking together grate your nerves? Do them with headphones in and turned up loud. Do you hate the smell? Light some candles, spray some air freshener. 

Do these things instead of gritting your teeth and forcing yourself, then ultimately failing and getting discouraged by your “lack of self-discipline”

TL;DR: When a task is consistently hard for you, relying on self-discipline, forcing yourself, and gritting through doesn’t always work. Lean in and listen to your discomfort, and find what makes the task hard, then try to accommodate that. Also, mint toothpaste is gross.

if you are having trouble with eating:

you deserve to eat

you need to eat

food is not the enemy

calories give you the energy to smile

you are worthy

you are loved

i am proud of you for fighting, you can do this!!

5 seconds of insane courage, it’s all you need

your struggles are real, so is your bravery

you are good enough

you are not a mistake

you are one of a kind

every cell in your body needs love