Monday Motivation - Final Week At School!

It's a new week! This week is an especially exciting week as it's my last EVER week of education! This week I finish 6th Form/Year 13 and leave. It's a scary thought and not one which I am currently able to comprehend as I still feel around the age of 12...but still it's an exciting adventure! Here's some motivation for the week - make it a good one and don't forget to smile! :) 

About Me and Random Facts!

I was just looking back at the posts which I have currently done on my blog and discovered I still haven't done an "about" me post, so the majority of you don't know anything about me! My blog is already very personal as I talk about past experiences with mental health issues, so it's only right I share other things about me with you all! 

So My name is Izzy (Full name Isabel!) and I'm 18 (2nd January!) and I currently live in the Midlands in England. I've lived in the same town all of my life but I have moved house a few times!! As my parents are divorced I live in two homes. At my mums house I live with my mum, my sister and our pet cat Ruby who I love. I love cats (that's another fact about me) and however "sad" it is to say it I consider my cat to be one of my 'best friends'. We'll talk more about my love of cats later any way. Then at my dads house there's just my dad, me and again my sister! 

As I'm writing this post I am currently in my last week ever of education! YAY! This thought does scare me a little though. After Sixth Form is over I'm taking a gap year to continue working at my job. I did get into university to study Mental Health Nursing but I felt as though this year wasn't the "right" year for me to go and I needed another year to decide if I actually wanted to go to uni! 

So some random facts about me are; 

• I love things to be clean. No I'm not going around saying "OMG I SOOOOO HAVE OCD!!!" as that's not what OCD is about. But I do like my things clean and I look after everything I have. I like to think of objects as having "feelings" so I don't like to hurt them...That sounds weird yes but it's just what goes on in my mind lol :)
• Similar to liking things clean, I like to be organised. I have to know what I'm doing in advance and hate doing things out of the ordinary and things without planning. I like knowing when I'm working a few weeks in advance so I can plan things around that. The same with social gatherings, I don't like my friend just ringing me up and asking me to go out as I haven't prepared for it.

• I love cats. I mentioned this at the start of the post but I actually think I'm obsessed with them! They make me so happy seeing them and stroking them! It's an obsession I swear. My cat is one of my favourite "people" (well cat) ever and I hate the thought of anything bad happening to her. 

• I work a lot. I do like my job but sometimes I do work too much. I get scheduled into work quite a bit and it's hard to say no! Although I do like to be busy and hate just sitting around the house doing nothing productive, so why not be earning money instead?! Although there is a plus, because I work a lot I always have money - but I have no time to spend it! haha. 

• I love Sunday Roasts! Or just any Chicken Dinner!!!
• My favourite film and book series is Harry Potter. I've read the books around 3 times over and watched the films countless of times. I'm currently listening to the audio books! Last September I went to the Harry Potter tour in London and it was AMAZING. I want to go back!!!

• I love Coronation Street (British soap drama)
• Summer nights are my favourite. I love it still being light outside at 9pm, it makes the day so much happier! I also love it being sunny in the morning as I feel as though I wake up in a much more positive mood :)
• I own around 95% of all the The Sims PC games you can buy - I used to be obsessed. My obsession for it comes in waves and right now I'm not that hooked but maybe over the summer!
• I hate feet. The sight of other people's feet (especially the toe!) makes me feel a little sick haha.

And that's all I can think of right now! Hopefully I'll make another post like this in the future with more facts about me:)

Izzy

A Little Reminder

Just a little reminder for you all. 

You have the choice to take control of your life and change it. You have the ability to change your happiness. Choose recovery. It won't be easy and maybe one of the hardest fights of your life, but believe me it's so worth it.

I'm so so so proud of you all!!

Izzy

My Friday

Happy Friday! Today I finished 6th Form at 11 (super early as I'd finished all my work!) so me and my friend decided to drive into the local town and go shopping for a few hours. I haven't been shopping in forever as I don't find it that much fun as I'm particular about my clothing and I find it boring haha. Anyway here are some pictures from my day :) 

Here's a Galaxy I had for a snack! I haven't had Galaxy chocolate for ageeesssss and I was craving it and luckily my mum had some in the house! It was so nice, Galaxy is probably one of my favourite chocolate brands! 

I finally finished my first picture from my colouring book! It was really sunny this afternoon so after shopping I sat in the garden listening to my Harry Potter audio book and colouring. It was a lovely way to relax after a busy week at school. Also I managed to finish my audio book and tonight I hope to start Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets! Yay! 

Here's my outfit haha. Excuse the weird post I was trying to fit myself in the frame without showing my face as my skin has broken out soooo bad lately! I have my arm out as I wanted to show the sleeves off as they're my favourite part of the top lol! 

And here is what I bought today! I decided to go into Primark as I know they sell cheap and affordable work out gear, which is perfect for new starters like me who don't want to spend loads of money! I bought the top which was £5 and the running leggings which were £6! So super affordable and the quality is really nice! Buying these pieces has made me kind of excited for going for a run tomorrow morning before work! All I need to buy now is some "proper" running trainers :) 

How has your day been? 

Izzy 

Help Protect Mental Health Services & Sign The Petition!

This post is something I believe strongly in, if you agree please sign the petition. I'm pretty sure you can sign it even if you live outside of the UK! Thankyou :)

You may or may not know that David Cameron (Prime Minister of the UK) is looking to cut the funds to CAMHS by £50 million. 

If you don't know what CAMHS is, it stands for Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services and is a service which provides support for young people with mental health issues. It's a  nationwide service ran by the UK which is in desperate need of help.

My personal experience of CAMHS isn't the best (I plan on doing a post in the future about it in more detail) and I can agree that CAMHS really needs more money being put into the service, rather than money being taken out.  Even though the service may not be 100% effective, it's something to help people and the UK really lacks in mental health support any way. 

With the government cutting funds going into CAMHS, this obviously causes bigger problems. If people aren't getting the help they need at the time, this can lead to bigger problems which can have worse consequences. 

These cuts could effect anyone you know, and even yourself. Would you like it if in the future your son/daughter couldn't access the help they need if they have a mental health problem?

Please click this link to sign the petition! 

Thankyou for taking the time to read

Izzy 

Thigh Gaps

Thigh Gaps are a big 'craze' which has swept social media over the past 1-2 years. Basically all it is if you have a "gap" between your thighs. Whilst in the depths of my Anorexia this was something I strived for and I felt as though if I had a thigh gap people would like me and I would be considered as being "skinny". I was obviously wrong. 

Having a thigh gap is one of the most ridiculous things ever. Striving to get one won't do you any good, and anyway; the majority of the time however much weight you lose you may never get a thigh gap. 

The reason behind this is because it's all to do with your Skeleton and your bone structure. That's right. Someone who weights 110lbs may not have a thigh gap, but someone who ways 200lbs may have a thigh gap. Why? Because the 200lb person has wider hips.

In most cases, the wider your hips, your legs are further apart therefore your "thigh gap" may appear larger than someone else's who has narrower hips. Here's a picture to explain what I'm thinking;

Hopefully that makes a little more sense now haha..

Now we've got that out of the way, and now you all know it's 99% of the time based on bone structure - why do you strive for a thigh gap? Why do you push your body to dangerous levels of starvation in order to achieve a thigh gap? Why? Your body isn't thanking you and you can have dangerous consequences. 

A thigh gap doesn't say how "skinny" someone is nor does it make you less of a person just because you don't have one. I'm not looking to "shame" people who do have thigh gaps naturally because hey I have one and I'm a healthy weight. I'm just saying - don't strive for one and put your health at risk. It isn't worth it.

These make me laugh ahaha.

Remember every body is beautiful, make the most of what you have! <3

Izzy

Wednesday Updates & A Hair Cut!

Hello everyone! Sorry I didn't post yesterday I completely forgot to have a post written! It's now Wednesday and I'm just going to fill you in on what's happened recently! 

So yesterday I went into town to get my hair done. I don't usually like getting my hair done as I have so much hair (its super thick) it takes forever and feel sorry for the poor hairdresser haha. Yesterday wasn't that bad though, but I did get bored half way through! I'm happy with my hair now though it's a lot shorter and it feels a lot lighter! 

When I went into town I also popped into Holland and Barrett as I heard that they had their "penny sale" back on. I love the "penny sale" as it's the perfect chance for me to stock up on Nakd Bars! The "penny sale" is when you buy something for full price and get another item for well, just 1p! I decided to pick up 4 Nakd Bars. The bars are lovely, a much nicer alternative to chocolate and I do find them quite filling! I like to take them to work to have during my breaks. The four flavours I got are on the picture below! :) 

And here's a selfie! Sorry I look so bad haha I'd just finished school and I don't wear makeup to school so I usually look rough!

Also on the audio book...I'm nearly finish with the Philosopher's Stone (I'm just up to the bit where all three of them are in detention and going into the Dark Forest!). I hope to finish the audio book by Friday as I only have 1 hour 30 minutes left to listen to! 

Today I had a maths exam and I think it went ok. I didn't really do as much revision as I needed to but I think I might of just managed to pass! Fingers crossed :)

Tonight I'm just going to work for a 6-10pm shift! I don't mind Wednesday nights as they usually go quite fast!

How has your day been?

Izzy 

How To Relax and Have "Me Time"

After a long day (whether it be at work/school or doing whatever) it's important to relax and have some "me time". If you know you've got a busy week ahead, try and plan in slots of "me time" so you can have some time to yourself to be alone and relax.

Especially during stressful times during the school year (such as now) it's important we find time for ourselves to stop the stress getting to us, too much and leading to much greater problems. Here are some ways which I love to relax and I've found helpful and also some ways which I've found online!

Taking a bath/shower

One of my favourite times of the day is when I have a bath/shower. I usually have one in the evening about 2 hours before I go to bed so I have enough time to unwind. Baths are my favourite as you're lying down in a nice warm environment with lovely smells around you. I love to take a magazine in with me so I have something to read, and can easily spend 20-30 minutes in the bath at a time! And afterwards you're squeaky clean and feel great. Once a week I usually treat myself and use a bath bomb from Lush. These are my favourite baths as they feel much more luxurious. Here are some pictures below. The bath bomb I'm showing is the "Bubblegrub" and I bought it around Easter so I don't know if it's still available sorry!

Going for a walk 

I love to do this especially now the weather is getting nicer! As summer comes into season the nights get longer and if it all gets too much for me nothing beats a nice evening walk! I am lucky enough to live in an area surrounded by the country side and nature trails, therefore I love to explore them when I can! Now I'm starting to go for runs more, I can't wait to try out these tracks when I'm running! The perks of going for a walk are that you can either go alone or with someone else. When going along you can just put in your headphones and completely zone out, and take your mind off whatever is stressing you out. If with someone else it allows you to get everything off your chest you were thinking and what was making you so stressed!

Reading/listening to an audio book

Reading takes you to another world (if you get into a good book!) and can help you relax. I love listening to audio books as I can take the book in easier if I'm being read to! Currently I'm reading Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. Find a nice quite area (either in or out of your house!) and just sit down for 20 minutes a day to give yourself some space and allow yourself a break.

Painting your nails

This is obviously more of a girly one..but I love painting my nails! I also love getting my nails done at the salon but it costs too much money haha. Again painting your nails gives you around 30 minutes to yourself to be with your thoughts and away from any situation which is stressing you out.

Here are just a few ways in which I find helpful! Obviously there's tonnes more such as painting, drawing, baking, singing or doing whatever makes you happy! Remember to take time for yourself as your mental and physical health is worth much more than any exams or job :)

Izzy

Further reading;

http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/archive-redirects/stress-guide-2012/how-to-relax/#
http://www.webmd.boots.com/women/guide/me-time

Monday Morning Positivity

Here's some positivity for all of you! Hope you all have a great Monday! Today I'm just at school for a few hours (I'm going to try and get as many assignments done as possible!) and then I'm volunteering at the Mental Health charity I work for! Hopefully later I'll get chance to go for a walk or maybe even a short run to keep up my exercise :)

How to Stop Calorie Counting in Eating Disorder Recovery

Whilst I was in the depths of my eating disorder, counting calories was all I did. Numbers were running through my mind all of the time, as soon as I'd see a piece of food I'd instantly wonder how many calories were in it. It even got to the point where I kept a diary, and once a week I'd go around the entire kitchen at home and note down the calorie content of every item of food we owned, just so I had a record of it so I'd always have it to hand if I needed it. This just shows how obsessive calorie counting is for someone suffering from an eating disorder is.

I am now happy to say, I don't count calories. The thought has completely gone out of my mind, and to be honest; I can't remember how many calories are in any foods any more anyway! I can't remember a distinct moment during recovery where I stopped calorie counting, I think it just happened over night to be honest! 

To recover from your eating disorder you have to want it yourself. You have to be prepared to but 110% into it in order to recover. Therefore; if you're committed to recovering you're going to  be committed to wanting to stop counting calories.

Seriously having "spoon envy" over this hahaha...I want it!!!

As I mentioned above, if you already count calories you will remember how many calories are in certain foods, but over time your memory will fade. Whilst you do still remember the calorie contents though it's important that you block out those thoughts. For example; if you see a packet of crisps the voice in your head will instantly think "oh crisps, thats xyz amount of calories you're not eating those" and this is where your willpower comes in. You have to override the voice by saying to yourself "no, calories don't matter" (or something less cheesy haha) and just push the thought out of our mind. I found actually eating the crisps helps to push the thought out as it's mind over matter.

Due to the increase in social media and apps on mobile phones, more and more people are also using apps such as My Fitness Pal to document their calorie intake. First off delete the app. Deleting the app will put the thought out of your mind that you need to document that meal you just ate. As soon as the app is off your phone and not easy to see, you won't be able to check the calorie content. It may take time to "train" yourself to not use the app but in the long run it's for the best.

That's all the advice I can give really...Like I said it's up to you! It's your choice. You have the choice to try and banish the negative thoughts and to put counting calories to a stop. Take that choice and try and push it out of your life! When your head isn't full of numbers and intakes - believe me it's a much better mind and world to live in! It takes time but you'll get there, I believe in you :)

Count your blessings, not your calories

Izzy