MY TOP TEN SELF-CARE PRODUCTS TO GET YOU THROUGH THE LOCKDOWN | ASOS, BOOTS, AMAZON, B&M & DISNEY

 So, there’s been a lot of tweets recently of people sharing their Amazon Wishlist’s for complete strangers to purchase items for them… I think it’s not just an incredibly kind and generous (no matter the price of the item) gesture, but it’s also illustrating the power and influence that material items can have on your mental wellbeing. I’ve been called ‘materialistic’ a number of times over the years and at first, I would argue against the label which seemed so offensive; and then I realized that the fact I appreciate material things and find that they benefit my mental health shouldn’t be an insult!

So, with that in mind; I’ve put together a little list of self-care products that I think could help you through the Coronavirus Lockdown…

1.       Anatomicals Cruisin’ For A Snozzin’ Sleep Kit £8.50

HAPPY EASTER 2020 | IN COLLABORATION WITH LALEE LAND LDN | DISCOUNT CODE | AD

Quick post to wish you all a very Happy Easter and to show you my new bunny bracelet from the wonderful Lalee Land LDN (who collaborated with me on my Christmas Competition last year, you can read my review on some of their other amazing products here)! It’s a super cute little charm and you can even choose the colour of the thread!

And there’s so many more products on their Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/laleelandLDN

Once you’ve picked some products out, you can get 10% off your order by typing in IMNOTDISORDERED at the checkout!

https://twitter.com/LaleeLandLDN

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24HRS WITH... BEX HUGHES, FND SUFFERER

Date:

Thursday (I had to double check that, days are mostly meaningless for me!) 2nd April 2020

Why have you chosen to write about today?

Because it was mostly the exact same as every day has been for 6+months- and not many people can say that right now!

Good morning!

What time did you wake up?

Around 08:15

Why did you wake up at that time?

My carers woke me up. Sometimes I wake up when they access my key safe (which is mad-loud considering it’s on the outside of my house!) but today they had to actually walk into my living room- where my hospital bed is- to get any reaction.

Did you have a dream?

Not that I can remember! I’m a deep sleeper and I think I leave my dreams buried deep, too.

FIVE THINGS THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HAS TAUGHT ME

You may have read Martin Baker’s guest post on his five things? The actual plan was to publish a post with both of ours, but Martin’s was finished sooner so I decided to post it alone and before my own.


I was recently in A&E (Accident and Emergency) with suspected liver failure but it – thankfully – turned out to be a really bad bout of gastroenteritis(!) and I was talking to one of the Doctors about the pandemic. She asked why I’d self-harmed a little while ago and my reason was something that’s actually stopped happening because of the UK lockdown! We laughed about how there’s been positives (is that the right word?) to the entire Pandemic and all the consequences that have come from it. And this inspired these posts... I’m definitely one of those ‘look-on-the-bright-side’ type of people and I’m definitely a ‘glass-half-full’ girl so for me, I find it helpful to look for positives and benefits from difficult situations in order to make them more bearable and easier to cope with.


After over a week of the UK lockdown, I received a letter telling me that because of my Asthma, I’m in the ‘extremely vulnerable’ category and am more likely to be admitted to Hospital if I contracted the Coronavirus. The letter instructed me to isolate for a further twelve weeks from the day of receiving the letter! This meant that whilst a lot of people are probably on Week Two or longer by now, I’m only just onto Week One (I only received the letter on Tuesday 31^st March)! So, I really do need something positive to think about and thought that finally writing this post might be a good idea...

“STOP TELLING ME TO TAKE A BATH!” | WHAT TO DO WHEN THEIR ADVICE DOESN’T HELP

I don’t think it’s an inside joke anymore that the Crisis Team and other mental health professionals all too often say “try taking a nice, relaxing bath” when a Service User makes contact with them to get help and advice while struggling with their mental health. I think it’s kind of common knowledge now. I really hope though, that people don’t see this as professionals being ‘useless’ but more about them either not knowing what to say, or their advice just not being all that helpful to the person. Does that render them useless? Not entirely! 


I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital the first time I took an overdose and so I saw a lot of very poorly people; and being 18 at the time, they were much older than me and it made me wonder if that was going to be my life. Was I going to still be in there at their age? My desperation to avoid this happening meant that I took all of their advice and tried everything they suggested – baths, medication, watching TV, calling Samaritans, writing, reading, doing arts and crafts… After a while, though, the hallucinations got louder and clearer and the memories of the abuse got more vivid and overwhelming. Things were getting worse and I felt that I was at a point where I was beyond help. I’d lost hope.