Those end of summer blues are creeping up as the fall rolls in, and it can be stressful, whether you’re headed back to school or simply into the next season. Even if the seasonal shift doesn’t affect you, if your year has been anything like mine, it has moved quickly. Like any other normal person, I sometimes get overwhelmed by just how fast the year has flown by. As a Capricorn, I’m learning how not to measure my worth by how much I have accomplished, but I still catch myself getting caught up in how much or how little I’ve achieved. That’s why I’m trying to focus on what I’m feeling rather than what I’m accomplishing. When I catch myself feeling stressed out, these are my favorite ways to beat the stress and find my calm, happy place:
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PET CUDDLES
I’ve been spending more time in California recently, and every time I do I’m reminded just how therapeutic my animals are for me. There’s nothing quite like curling up in bed and feeling your cat purr next to you in a puddle of blankets. My family has enough cats and dogs for a volleyball team and frankly cuddling with any of them is an instant mood booster.
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THE LONG POND STUDIO SESSIONS
If you have a Disney+ subscription and haven’t watched Taylor Swift’s Long Pond Studio Sessions where she plays and explains the inspiration behind each song from Folklore, you need to stop what you’re doing right now and go watch it immediately. There’s something so comforting about Taylor Swift as a person in general, maybe it’s because she feels like a wise older sister or maybe it’s because they’re singing these songs in what feels like a warm, homey log cabin, but either way, it makes me feel better. I highly recommend taking a nice hot shower, lighting some candles, climbing into bed and watching the sessions with your favorite cup of tea, a chocolate covered snack, and a face mask.
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PILATES
I’ve been really loving Pilates because it’s a workout that you can make as hard or as easy as you need depending upon your general wellness level. I love that this workout is focused on movement and form as opposed to a bootcamp or something like that. It’s a softer, more gentle way to workout that still totally kicks my butt. Though I love going into a studio for reformer classes, when that’s not available I do a quick home workout with YouTuber Tasha Franken.
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CALL A FRIEND
Sometimes the best way to get out of your own head is to get into someone else’s! I love calling a friend on a long drive or walk just to catch up and hear about what they’ve been up to. It’s a great way to stay involved in your friends’ lives whether they’re near or far, and sometimes just forgetting about all the jumbled up junk in your head by listening to someone else tell funny stories or talk about the person they have a crush on is the perfect way to forget for a while!
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DESIGN
Channeling my stress into creative projects has always been a great outlet for me. Lately, I’ve been working on new designs for my swim line (that I’m excited to unveil next month at Hawaii Swim Show/later this year!!!). Sometimes, using the emotions I’m feeling as creative juice is the perfect way to healthily work through them. Other times, it’s something I can get so lost in that I forget I was even struggling. Whatever your creative hobby is, tune into it for a while and see what happens, I guarantee you’ll feel better than when you started. If that doesn’t work, take a shower, put on your favorite song, and unplug for a while. You deserve rest.
If you’re feeling stressed, more than anything I hope you remember to give yourself a break and ask for help wherever you need it! Remember that no matter how overwhelming things may seem, you are capable of making it through, you just have to learn how to give yourself time and space to work things out! <3
