How to cope with the winter blues when you're just really missing summer

Hello my lovelies,

With it being January, many people are fed up of the weather (at least we are in the UK.) It's cold. It's dark. It's probably raining. The days appear to be getting shorter and shorter and your motivation to get anything done is dissipating by the second. You just really miss summer. I get it - especially at the moment. Lockdown was just easier to deal with in the summer. It was warmer so outdoor exercise didn't feel like a chore. Back when seeing your friends was legal, it was actually fun to go for a walk around a park or sit and have a picnic in the sunshine. Now though, it's way too cold to sit anywhere outside for long periods of time and going outside for exercise is the last thing you want to do.

However, winter is a season that, unfortunately in the UK, is long, cold, dark and drizzly, and reoccurs every year, so you do just have to learn to deal with it until spring finally comes back around. *That being said, if you find that the change in the seasons are drastically affecting your happiness and mental state, please please seek help. Both Mind and SANE offer advice and resources on how to cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and other mental health issues.*

But, how can you make winter more bearable?

First thing's first, you have to look on the bright side. Ironic because on the evening that I am writing this post, the temperature didn't reach higher than 1°c and the fog hasn't lifted all day. But in order to get through the winter, you have to think of the positives of winter!

It can be really, really beautiful. When the rain hasn't let up all day or it's so foggy that you can't see more than a foot in front of your face, you have to remember how beautiful winter can be. One of my favourite kinds of weather is a really bright, sunny, cold Autumn or Winter day. It just feels so fresh and crisp! Or the snow! The snow can be so beautiful. So peaceful. So fun! Think snowball fights and sledging - those days when you're enjoying yourself way too much to even realise how cold you are. (I promise, I am an adult really.)

Or if venturing outside into freezing temperatures isn't really your kind of thing, now that it's cold you don't need an excuse to have a cosy duvet day. Get on your warmest pyjamas, grab a hot chocolate and stick on your favourite film or read a book under the covers. There's not much better than being cosy - there's a reason why so many cultures have specific words for the sensation of being cosy ('hygge' in Danish, for example.)

And although people can suffer from SAD during these winter months, the cold does bring with it some health benefits. 

According to a 2017 study from Stanford University, people can perform cognitive tasks such as remaining calm and making decisions with more control when it is colder. Colder temperatures can make you think more clearly, and if I ever need to clear my mind in winter, I find that a walk in the fresh air always makes me feel better, refreshed and less stressed.

As well as this, you're less likely to suffer from certain allergies in the winter. I think hay fever sufferers must all breathe a sigh of relief as soon as it hits October time and the temperature starts to drop, because the pesky itchy eyes and constant running nose symptoms finally start to ease.

And just remember, us Brits are never happy. In the winter, we are constantly bemoaning the cold and counting down the days until we can whack the shorts and bikinis back out. But in the summer, we complain that it is 'too hot', and can't wait for the cosy jumpers and hot chocolates season to return.

And though we are itching to get the sun cream back out and to bury the fluffy scarves and gloves back into the depths of our wardrobes once more, it will be summer again before we know it and we'll all be moaning about the heat soon enough!

Are you counting down the days until summer, or are you quite content in the cold? I quite like both, but I do think summer will always have a special place in my heart. Here's hoping that Summer 2021 will be the summer that last year couldn't be! I have too many fun ideas planned for another 3 months inside!

With love, Chloe x

How to cope with stress

Hello lovelies,

With it being the start of a new year, most people will be becoming inundated with social media posts boasting about how much they succeeded in 2020 despite the global pandemic and marketing materials capitalising on the 'new year, new me' trend, seemingly stating that the only way to have a 'successful' year is to completely tear down the person you were last year in order to create a new, better version this year.

Seriously, how many 'improve your productivity to improve your prosperity' posts have you seen on LinkedIn already this year? And it's only mid-January. In a society where being successful = being busy, it is becoming increasingly difficult to realise when you need to up the workload or when you need to take a step back and breathe.

According to the NHS website, 'stress is the body's reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure.' Stress can be a completely normal, manageable part of life, and can even be motivation to help us get on with tasks that we were putting off. However, too much stress can cause a negative impact on our lives, our relationships, our mental health, and our physical health.

One of the best and most important ways of coping with stress is to talk about it. With friends, family, or a professional. Talking is a really valuable way to make things feel easier. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved.

Another tip for managing stress is to split up big tasks that are stressing you out into smaller, more manageable chunks, and to plan ahead. Use diaries and to-do lists to prioritise your workload and to split up jobs. Honestly, I couldn't live without lists. I have a diary exclusively for my work, where I write daily to-do lists and check everything off once it's done. This makes me feel a lot less stressed as I have managed my workload, and I can also feel really accomplished when I have ticked everything off for that day. I also use calendars and notepads to plan the rest of my life and make to-do lists for anything that needs doing outside of my job.

Exercise is a fantastic way to relieve stress. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins. These endorphins interact with receptors in your brain and can reduce your perception of pain. They can also trigger a positive feeling in the body. For example, before lockdown 3.0, I would head to the gym if I had a stressful day, and as soon as I had completed my workout, all my angst about whatever it was that had stressed me out had completely dissipated. 

Getting out in the fresh air for a walk or a run - or even just sitting on a bench admiring nature - has a similar effect. Being outside can increase dopamine - the 'feel good hormone'. It's a great way to clear your head, and hey, if science says it can help you de-stress, then it must be worth a shot.

My final tip to reduce your stress is to distract yourself. Read a good book, chat to a friend, watch your favourite film or tv show - anything to take your mind off of whatever it is that is troubling you. It won't make the problem disappear, but it will definitely mask it for a while, and sometimes that is all we need.

Hopefully 2021 won't prove to be as stressful as last year was, but if you do find yourself in a bit of a frenzy, I hope that these tips will help you to feel better.

With love, Chloe x

Looking back on the year we did nothing, that somehow changed everything

Hello my lovelies, and Happy New Year!

Usually I hate January - waving goodbye to Christmas and my birthday for it to be replaced with the requirement to go back to work has never been something that I particularly look forward to. This time though, like everybody else, I was definitely ready to see the back of 2020.

Now, I know that in England, on the 5th of January we were put into a national lockdown...AGAIN, and I knew that everything wasn't going to magically return to 'normal' once the clock struck midnight on January 1st, but something about a 'fresh start' really appealed to me, and I was looking forward to 2021.

Looking back at 2020, it is important that I realise that as much as Coronavirus ruined the year for almost everyone, I'm lucky that, for me, it wasn't all bad. I was lucky enough to escape to Amsterdam for a long weekend with my boyfriend, Sam, back in February (before COVID-19 was really even spoken about in the UK). We had a really amazing time, and it was a lovely belated 21st birthday present for Sam. I am so grateful that we were able to go before Coronavirus really impacted Europe, and we made memories that I have really treasured throughout last year when I had to go for really long periods of time without seeing him.

2020 was also the year that I moved jobs and could finally put 'full-time copywriter' on my CV. I had wanted to become a copywriter for such a long time, and I am so proud of myself that I not only started my marketing career just over a year after graduating, but also in the middle of a global pandemic!

I also think that the biggest things for me to take away from 2020 are the lessons that I have learnt. I learnt the importance of family, friends and relationships - you never know how special someone is and how much you will miss them until you are forced to keep apart. I learnt that, in the grand scheme of things, the little irritants that used to get me so wound up really do not matter as much as I was making them out to, if at all. I've learnt to enjoy my own company - I spent a lot of time alone and so I needed to. And I learnt the importance of a positive mindset. Last year was hard. Really hard. And I often struggled to stay positive. But I learnt that dwelling on the negatives will only make things worse, so it's best to focus on the positives and try to make the best out of a bad situation... I think I'm still learning that one.

In terms of my goals and expectations for 2021 - I'm not really setting any 'resolutions' this year, as you never know what is going to happen. Instead, I have set out a few 'hopes' for 2021. First, I am hoping to move in with Sam. I have really struggled being apart from him so much last year, and so I am excited for us to finally be in the same space. I am hoping to progress in my career. I want to gain as much experience as possible - not only in copywriting, but in as many areas of marketing as possible. I'm hoping to continue on my fitness journey. Last year, I got myself a personal trainer, I was in the gym 4 times a week and I was loving my training. This year, I want to be able to continue on my journey and build on my new-found passion for exercise. I also want to hit a 100kg squat PB (my current PB is 75kg for 2 reps). Finally, I am hoping to spend more time with my family, when we are allowed, as you never know where life could take you and I want to make the most of my time.

Have you set any new year's resolutions or goals for 2021? Let me know what they are!

Sending everyone positive vibes, and here's hoping 2021 is a better year for everyone.

With love, Chloe x

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