Make It Through When You Are Feeling Low.

Text - Franc Gray   Illustration - Dom Read

If you are lucky enough to not really get down we commend you positivity warrior, please share any tips or advice you have for us. But chances are if you are reading this you may be feeling low or may be looking for some suggestions on how to feel better in yourself when you do feel low.

Remember it is normal for your emotions to ebb and flow like the waves of the sea. Sometimes the ocean is rough and turbulent and sometimes it is stiller than a sheet of glass. The bad times remind us to really appreciate when things are good. Take the rough with the smooth and know that the winds are always changing.

The most important thing to remember is patience. It may not seem like it right now but times always change. If you don't wait it out, you rob yourself of the chance for things to improve. Don't put pressure on yourself, be kind and hold dearly onto the knowledge that you haven't always felt this way.

You are not alone. Your emotions may have you feeling very isolated and stuck in solitude but you are not alone in this. There are millions of people both past and present who have felt similar or worse than what you are feeling right now. Whilst this may not help you currently, may even piss you off, remember if they made it through so can you. Fight back against the loneliness. Talking it through will be hard but it really does help. Reach out to a friend, a family member or failing that seek professional help. The Samaritans are there to help and advise you day and night. Regardless of your circumstances they are there for you. Do not suffer on your own, call them on 116 123 or head to their website
https://www.samaritans.org/ they have professional operators trained to listen, talk you through your thoughts and help you in anyway they can. The service is free and there to support you. 

Listen to some music. Your favourite song or album may not be top of your list of things to do when you are feeling shit but blasting some music you like can really help calm you. A good method we found that personally helped us was finding an album and listening to it again and again. Find solace in the words or the melodies. Stick with it, learn every word, learn every beat and keep playing it. You will eventually begin to feel better. It will distract your mind and keep you busy. In the future when you feel down, you can flick on that album and sing your heart out, finding solace in the words that helped you before. If you feel better before you learn all the words, then no bother, you did it mate!!

Write it down. Perhaps you just don't want to talk to anyone, it's too raw and talking about it feels too intense. Get it off your chest though, write down your pains, scream into your notebook and take your anger out on the pages. When you have wrote all the negatives down on the paper, write a positive... You haven't got any positives?? Well you just wrote down what was troubling you, releasing it from your system, so there you have your first positive. The first ray of light to write down hold onto that, the list of positives will grow. 

Draw or maybe more like scribble. Writing is all well and good but sometimes you just want to release that pain. Quickly, viciously and hard. Don't hit anything or anyone, it doesn't help we can promise you that. More pain just creates more pain. Grab a pen, grab a book, some paper or an old envelope and just draw. Don't think just let your emotions flow through your hand. Remember you aren't trying to draw anything you are just letting what you a feeling flow through the nib of your pen. 

Don't try and numb it. As tempting as it may be, no amount of drugs, drink or sex makes it go away. We understand the easiest thing to do, is to run away from what you are feeling. Masking the emotions with intoxications and distractions works for a while but the thing is once the hangover fades you still feel shit. At this point it is very easy to fall into a routine of getting out of your head for momentary respite, it helps for a while but just prolongs the healing process. Face your fears, you our bold, you are strong and you are powerful believe this and you overcome anything.

Set some goals. These aren't set in stone and are not there to make you feel bad if you don't reach them. They are soft targets to give you some meaning and focus. We would say write them down and stick them on a wall so you can keep them in forefront of your mind. Work towards the step by step on your journey of growth and healing.

And finally we will leave you with this.

How do you eat an elephant? Or how do you eat a palm tree? (if you are vegan)
​
You don't know?

One bite at a time, my dears, one single bite at a time. No rush we have our entire lives to eat this elephant...

If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions then please don’t hesitate to get in touch!! We always want to hear from you!

We believe in you and we know you can do it!

Keep Swimming and Keep Smiling.

Thanks for reading.

Franc and Dom x