Category Archives: Mental Health

Nov10

How To Increase Your Body Confidence This Year

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How To Increase Your Body Confidence This Year

Feeling confident in your own skin is something that we all deserve to experience, yet so many of us don’t. If you know that you’d really like to take control of your body confidence this year, it’s time to do something about it! Here’s how to get started:

Be Kind to Yourself:

When you’re done with feeling down and you know you want to feel more confident, the best way to start is by making sure that you’re kind to yourself. It’s counterintuitive to want to feel more confident, yet constantly be self-deprecating. When you aim to make a big change in life, it can feel overwhelming, and you can resist it. Start off small, be kind to yourself mentally and physically, and let yourself embrace the change as it comes.

Move Your Body More:

The next thing for you to focus on is movement. This isn’t to change your body type unless it’s something that you want to do. The whole idea here is that exercise is going to bring you endorphins, and they’re going to make you feel good. Alongside that, as you start to gain more energy and you build more muscle in your body, it’s going to make you feel much more confident in your own skin. What’s not to love about that?

Work on Your Insecurities:

If you do have insecurities, it’s important to make sure that you’re tackling them rather than letting yourself worry about parts of your body that you don’t like. Looking to change them or transform them can make a difference. For example, if you’ve spent years trying to lose stubborn belly fat and it’s not shifting, opting for a tummy tuck could be the perfect thing for you. Turning to surgery used to be such a taboo topic but there is absolutely no shame in it. You can learn to love your insecurities, but sometimes changing them is exactly what you need.

Dress for Your Body Shape:

One really easy trick to make sure that you feel more body confident is to make sure that you’re dressing for your body shape. It’s easy to look at the different trends and want to adopt them, but if they don’t work for your figure, you may not feel good. Instead, when you focus on wearing clothes that work with your body shape and make you feel more confident, it’s going to really impact how you feel on a daily basis.

Empower Yourself:

Ultimately, it’s all about empowering yourself. This is something that you need to curate and you need to drive. When you feel more empowered, you naturally feel more confident. It’s not just about working on the way that you look, it’s working on your mind too. Adopting a more positive, self-supportive, and encouraging mindset is the best gift you can give yourself. When you start to speak to yourself better and treat yourself better, you’ll feel a lot more empowered. Empowerment is a state of being that can create more confidence, and it is exactly what you need this year.

Boosting your confidence is all about talking the talk and walking the walk too. Set small goals to start with and you will keep feeling better and better!

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Sep25

3 Mental Health Tips To Help Yourself Feel Better

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3 Mental Health Tips To Help Yourself Feel Better

Mental health is becoming more and more of a priority around the world, and for good reason. By looking after your mental health, you can make sure you have a long and happy life. As obvious as that is, it’s a lot harder to put into practice. Managing your mental health can often be tricky to put into practice, especially when you’ve been diagnosed with a specific condition. But, it’s not impossible. More than a few mental health tips can help with this. Not only should they make everything more manageable, but they could even improve your mental health more than you might’ve thought. Three of these are more than worth trying out because of the impact they can have:

Understand Your Triggers:

Most mental health conditions have triggers, especially when it comes to anxiety and panic disorders. These can vary from person to person, so take the time to understand your triggers. It puts you in a position to actively manage them. Once you have a proper understanding of your triggers, you can plan a way around them. If anxiety attacks are triggered by a specific location, for example, you can plan to avoid them. Less tangible triggers could need some work with a professional to mitigate going forward.

Proactively Manage Stress:

Speaking of triggers, stress can be one of the more notable of these. A stressful event could trigger an anxiety attack or something similar, so be as proactive as possible with your stress. You can use more than a few strategies for this, like yoga, deep breathing, or exercise. Then there’s the likes of medical cannabis and other options. You’ll usually need a prescription for these, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t help. They’ve even been shown to help with the symptoms of anxiety and depression, too.

Should you not be able to get a prescription for medical cannabis, it’s okay! Dispensaries and online shopping options are available to make your purchase. You could consider buying Bulk Weed Canada (or your local area) to keep yourself well stocked. Dispensaries also carry edibles and vape cartridges if you prefer those methods better.

Be Kind:

Sometimes, helping with your mental health doesn’t have to focus on you. By being kind and helping to make the world a better place, you could end up having a great positive impact on your mental health. It’ll help more and more as time goes on. Even a simple act of helping a stranger pick up the groceries they dropped could help. If you want to see a significant impact, then regularly volunteering to help a charity could be an excellent way to do this. Find what you’re passionate about and see what volunteering options are available in your community to get started.

Looking after your mental health doesn’t always need to be as complicated as you think. With the right management skills, there’s no reason you shouldn’t improve your mental health and feel better in time. You’ll end up with a happier, better life before you know it!

Featured Image By: Marcus Paolo Prado from Unsplash

Aug27

How To Feel More Confident In Your Skin

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How To Feel More Confident In Your Skin

More often than not, most of us will feel insecure. It may not be intense insecurity, and it may not severely impact our daily lives, but we can feel it all the same. It might be not feeling that confident in our jobs or worrying about how we look when we’re out with friends. As much as it can be frustrating, it’s quite common. But that doesn’t mean that you have to accept it as normal and live that way forever. In fact, you can look to do something about it as soon as possible!

It’s easy to think that some people are confident and others aren’t, but that’s not strictly true. Confidence isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something that’s built. If you’d love to be able to feel more confident in your skin and say goodbye to your insecurities, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’re going to take a look at the best ways for you to feel more confident in who you are:

Practice Positive Self-Talk:

First of all, you may want to change the way you talk to yourself. If you’re used to being tough on yourself and beating yourself up in the way you think and speak about yourself, it’s going to really lower your confidence. When you’re more positive, it can help you to feel a lot more confident and happier in yourself.

Prioritize Self-Care:

It can also help to look after yourself a little better. It’s easy to think that self-care is just pampering and caring too much about your appearance, but it’s far from that. It can be relaxing, helping your mental health, and boosting your mood as well as your confidence. You may find that starting a self-care routine drastically changes how you feel.

Focus on Feeling Good:

You should also be proactive about feeling good in yourself. Buying new bras, taking yourself for a walk, or even having a little solo date night could help you to feel recharged and boost your mood. Treat yourself to something nice, grab a coffee from your favorite cafe, or simply take a pause when you feel like you could use a pick me up. When you find what works to boost your mood, you can keep turning back to it as often as you need.

Dress for Confidence:

You can also look to what you wear for a lot more confidence. You may find that if you’re wearing things that don’t make you feel good, getting excited about what you wear can change everything. Take yourself out shopping or order some options online. Once you find some pieces you love, you may feel a lot more confident in your skin. When you dress with clothes that fit well and enhance your best features, you are going to love what you see when you look in the mirror.

Embrace yourself, your quirks, and what makes you you. Doing so will always make you feel so much happier and confident in who you are!

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Aug26

Friendly Reminder!!

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Friendly Reminder!!

Hello!! After leaving an incredibly shitty work experience in March, I most definitely needed a bit of me time. During that Lil Red mental health retreat, I threw my hands up, said “screw it” (It was actually an expletive!) , and made a TikTok. What makes me really happy is creating content and I decided I needed more of that in my life – even if I am not the biggest fan of making videos. However, after close to five months of posting daily content on TikTok, I finally get it lol. It’s a lot of fun and I love shooting OOTDs, hiking, exploring, cooking, and any and everything videos. All of you have been onto something for a phat minute and although I am literal years late to the party, it’s better late than never! 😀

At the end of May, I was almost at one hundred followers and you have no idea how happy that made me. Fast forward to the here and now and I have around twenty five hundred and you have no idea how happy that makes me! For a page that is still relatively new, it might as well be twenty five million to me and I feel proud of that because my TikTok really is just for funsies. I don’t expect brand deals and billions of views. All I wanted was to go back to making content for me, myself, and I… And anyone who feels like watching or reading it and that is the prize in itself.

While I was in the midst of the not ideal work sitch, I was barely keeping my head above water let alone making content that I felt excellent about. And, in turn, I felt far below excellent because content creating is truly one of my forms of self care. It gives me a safe space to wear whatever I want, experiment, and simply be me. Even if my blog or TikTok got no views, it would be fine because it is mine and mine alone and I made it and had a blast doing it. My mental health has improved tenfold and it feels so SO good to be back in my zone and feeling completely like myself!

If you feel so inclined, I would absolutely love it if you joined me on my TikTok. If not, that’s okay too! I’ll see you around the blogosphere! ❤

What is your favorite form of social media? What makes you feel like yourself? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug25

Burn A Pancake, Not Your Focus

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Burn A Pancake, Not Your Focus

Morning in your kitchen is a whole soundtrack: The kettle sighs, a timer nags, a voice asks where the left shoe went, and someone is definitely humming Baby Shark again. You’re flipping pancakes while triaging notifications and trying to remember who needed money for lunch today. It’s a lot. And when the soundscape gets crowded, focus is the first thing to burn:

The Breakfast Rush Is a Sensory Storm:

You’re not “bad at mornings.” You’re managing a sensory pile-up. Competing sounds make it harder for your brain to sort what matters, like a quiet “Mom?” over a loud extractor fan. When your ears work too hard to catch the words, your brain borrows energy from focus. That’s how a simple recipe turns into guesswork, and why multitasking feels like walking through fog. Reduce the fog and you reclaim attention, without needing an extra hour or superhuman patience.

Focus Starts with Clear Hearing:

Here’s the sneaky truth: Aven a small drop in hearing clarity can feel like a big drop in attention. Your brain does overtime to fill gaps, predicting words, stitching context, reading lips, and that effort shows up as fatigue and distractability. You know that end-of-day “I can’t listen to one more thing” feeling? That’s cognitive load talking. When you make hearing easier, everything else gets lighter: You follow directions the first time, the joke lands, and the pan on medium actually stays on medium.

Small Sound Habits, Big Calm:

You don’t need to redesign your kitchen. Start with micro-wins:

  • Lower the loudest thing first (usually the extractor fan or TV) to lift voices out of the noise.
  • Use a visual timer for cooking so your brain isn’t babysitting beeps.
  • Create a “call corner” away from clatter; two steps to the hallway can turn chaos into clarity.
  • Ask for one-at-a-time talk during hot-pan moments. It’s not fussy; it’s safety.
  • Keep the same soundtrack for breakfast (a short playlist) so your brain isn’t decoding new noise every day.

The Tech That Frees Your Hands:

Modern hearing solutions aren’t just about volume; they’re about control. Directional microphones help you lock onto the voice right in front of you. Rechargeable cases mean you stop hunting for tiny batteries during the school run. And many models now include bluetooth connectivity so you can take a quick call from school, hear a timer or podcast clearly, or switch to a “kitchen” program, without juggling your phone while you’re juggling hot pans.

Choosing the Right Setup (Without Becoming a Tech Reviewer):

You want features that match your actual life, not a spec sheet fantasy:

  • Comfort first. If it doesn’t feel good by school pickup, you won’t wear it. Ask for soft domes or custom earmolds if you’re sensitive.
  • Programs that fit your day. A “quiet conversation,” “noisy restaurant,” and “outdoors” set will cover 90% of parenting life. Bonus points for a “speech in noise” mode that you can tap on quickly.
  • Moisture resistance. Kitchen steam. Look for devices rated to handle humidity and sweat.
  • Easy controls. A physical button or simple app beats labyrinth menus when a pancake is mid-flip.
  • Trial the real world. Bring your phone to the fitting, test calls, stream a timer, and stand near a whirring kettle. If it works there, it’ll work anywhere.

Make the Kitchen a Safe-Sound Zone:

Safety and calm are twins here. Keep alarms audible but not shrill. Put break-in points in your routine: “Flip, breathe, check” before the next step. If someone needs you mid-cook, ask them to touch your shoulder first, visual + tactile beats shouting from the hallway. And remember, kids copy what you model. When you show them how to create a quiet pocket for talking, they learn to do the same.

What to Do Next:

If your mornings feel louder than they should, get curious about hearing, not guilty. Book a hearing check, bring your daily chaos with you (figuratively), and describe the exact moments that feel hard: “I miss words over the kettle,” “I can’t hear the timer if the TV is on,” “I need to catch calls hands-free while cooking.” The right setup meets those moments on purpose.

Focus isn’t a personality trait; it’s an environment you can design. When you reduce noise, support your hearing, and choose tech that matches your life, you stop burning attention on the basics. Breakfast gets simpler. Voices get clearer. And your pancakes? Golden, not charred!

Featured Image By: Pexels

 

Aug6

How To Refresh Your Self Care Routine This Season

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How To Refresh Your Self Care Routine This Season

It’s easy to find yourself stuck in a routine that used to work but no longer suits you. It could be the skin care products you’re using or doing the same exercises on repeat. When it comes to self care sometimes you have to go beyond your checklist to find something that truly nourishes you in the here and now. If all of this sounds familiar then it might be time for you to shake things up a bit. Here’s a look at how you can do just that:

Start With a Seasonal Mindset Shift:

Each season brings its own natural rhythm and this should definitely guide your wellness habits. You might find that in fall you prefer warm foods or grounding rituals while in spring you want more outdoor time and lighter meals. Even the small types of seasonal changes such as switching out a heavier moisturizer for a lighter one or switching from coffee to herbal tea can make a fresh connection with what your body really needs. The goal is always to stay in tune with what your body is telling you. You don’t want to get locked into routines that are too rigid. 

Try Something You’ve Been Curious About:

Refreshing your self care doesn’t always mean you add more to your routine. It could mean you just try something different. Maybe you’ve been intrigued by herbal medicines or sound baths but you haven’t taken the time to try them. Now might be the perfect time to do so. Holistic wellness centers such as Davis Integrative Medicine offer alternative therapies along with personalized treatments. You can blend modern practices with ancient ones. Leading to a more holistic approach to your wellness.

Clear Space for What Actually Feels Good:

Not every self-care trend is going to fit you and you have to accept that. What works for someone may not work for you and it makes no sense to force it. Take a moment to reflect on which habits make you feel more grounded. Then look at the ones you are doing simply out of obligation. You may find that letting go of a few things will open up space for a lot more creativity, joy, and rest. 

A refresh routine should feel like something that you want to do, it shouldn’t be something that you are forced to do. When you feel obligated you are much more likely to flake and not do what you promised yourself to do. This can have an impact on your confidence. You may feel as if you can’t keep your own promises to yourself and this can be disappointing.

Ultimately self care is all about reconnecting with who you truly are and what you need as a person. As the seasons begin to change you should give yourself permission to change as well!

Featured Image By: Gerald Oswald from Pixabay

May20

Bikini Body

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Bikini Body

Hello!! Summer is about to bring the Hot Hot Heat (Who remembers that band?! LOVED them!) and with that comes a total wardrobe change. The layers are shed, long sleeve tops are traded for Ts and tanks, and jeans shorten into… shorts lol. For some, this is as natural as the seasons changing. For others, it can be a nerve wracking exercise in dressing for the weather and feeling comfortable about it. In this situation, I fluctuate from oozing a godlike charisma to wanting to hole up in a closet to wallow in poor self esteem and never come out.

If you are a long term reader of lifewithlilred, you will know that I detest dressing for summer. Part of it is simply aesthetics. I just love fall clothing – cozy cardis, gorgeous jackets, and all the accessories like scarves, gloves, and beanies. I wear these layers for looks, of course, but they provide an extra layer of protection as well. I don’t mind showing skin but it’s never high up on my agenda when I’m styling an OOTD. So when the transition happens to wearing shorts, crop tops, and tanks out of sheer necessity for the weather, that layered security blanket is tossed to the side and worry sets in. “Do my breasts look too big?” “How many rude comments on my tattoos am I going to get today?” “Is someone going to pull the old ‘grab my arm’ to get a closer look at said tattoos?” (The latter happens more than you would think!)

Like I said, to some people dressing for summer is whatever. For others, it is anything but. And, whatever that reason might be for a lack of self confidence in dress, rest assured that it will weigh heavily on the person who carries that burden. As everyone begins to don warm weather clothing, I always like to give a friendly reminder: What people wear is none of your business. Unwarranted comments on body type or clothing can do more damage than you could ever imagine and it stings even harder when it’s from a complete stranger. So ask yourself a question: Do I really want to ruin someone’s day with a comment? And, do I really want someone to ruminate on that comment for forever? Unless you plan on singing someone’s praises, the best rule of thumb is to say nothing and if you don’t like what you see, look away.

I will always be a recovering bulimic and I can give you exact moments in time when comments on my body were made that destroyed me. It could have happened years ago but in my head, it happened just yesterday. Every single person that you encounter is struggling in some way shape or form. So again, before you make a comment on body type or dress, ask yourself a question: Do I really want to make what that person is going through even worse? Every body is beautiful and should be celebrated. And, as the old saying goes: If you don’t have anything nice to say – don’t say it!

One of my favorite quotes via social media is that “Every body is a bikini body” and wiser words have never been spoken or typed. This summer, let’s dress for us and feel amazing about it because when you feel like the star you are – no one can tell you NOTHING!!

What is your favorite season to dress for? What is your least favorite season to dress for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar28

The Best Dress OOTD Bloopers

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The Best Dress OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Best Dress OOTD! In case you haven’t noticed, I have had a lot of fun creating content as of late and it is a very nice place to be. One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to shoot at least one OOTD per week. I was doing excellent for months, until I wasn’t. Honestly, I was really depressed for the past several weeks and it made it hard to do much of anything once the weekend rolled around. I am feeling much better now (I promise, I’ll explain eventually!) and it has been a gift to step back into the content game bright eyed and bushy tailed. Even when the content isn’t all that great:

Always Tripping: A Memoir by Me

Dear Diary, Mood: Apathetic (Please someone tell me they got that reference!)

No, I did not just eat a lemon before taking this picture

Also no, I have no idea what I was looking at that excited me so much

I’ve never seen Titanic but I think I’m doing a pretty good job of recreating the one boat scene lol

STILL Tripping: A Memoir by Me

You know, I don’t think I realized how depressed I was in the situation I was in. Now that I am out of it, I can scroll through my mental Rolodex of going through the motions every day for months on end, constantly feeling sad or irritated, and letting literally everything I enjoy doing fall by the wayside. IE: Cooking, content creating, outings with Johnny and friends. After doing that for so long, I kid you not, it felt incredibly weird to start feeling good again and seemingly instantly once I said enough.

As soon as I took control back, it was like a ten billion pound weight was lifted off my shoulders and I almost felt “naughty” for inviting happiness back. You know what I have to say? *Pardon my French* but F that. I did what was best for me and deserve to revel in it and that meant having FUN. And, fun for me is getting dressed up and shooting content. So, that is what I did and have been doing and it has been amazing! Creating posts just for me and my little corner of the internet fills me with so much pride and I feel like my old self has returned. In fact, I feel the most inspired now than I have been for months and it is exciting to have all of these ideas zooming around my head again. I can’t wait to make all of them happen!

Lil Red is getting her groove back and you can too! Tend to your mental health and be good to yourself because when you are back – you’re back, baby!

What do you like to do for fun? What is your favorite kind of content to create? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar18

Are You Ready For A Big Change?

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Are You Ready For A Big Change?

Hello!! Whether it is a change that is expected or not, change can be really hard. However, change is necessary and, more often than not, the risk is worth the reward. I have some big changes coming up in the next few months and despite feeling a little stressed, I am mainly excited! After spending a lot of time mulling over my decision, I was able to reach a conclusion that was best for me. Here are the approaches that I took that I found to be the most helpful and maybe they will help you too for your next big adventure:

Time Travel:

Are you currently feeling unhappy with where you’re at? Then, I invite you to time travel! Go back and think about the last point in your life when you were feeling fully content. What was your situation back then? What changed between then and now? Can you make the changes to get those feel good feelings back? When you can pinpoint that moment in time, you can really start to evaluate what was working for and against you. Even if you can’t make a huge change immediately to get your life on a more positive trajectory, you will have a place to start when the time comes.

Plan A, B, & C:

Of course, making major life changes requires a lot of planning. In my situation, I made my perfect world plan as well as several backup options that I would be happy with too. When you have a Plan A, a backup plan, and a backup to your backup plan, you are well set to implement them anyway you see fit. It could be a combination of the three or you might find that one plan has everything and you are going for it. Putting all of your eggs in one basket definitely means betting on yourself but, remember, sometimes compromises will need to be made to get you to where you want to be!

When You Know, You Know:

Does simply the thought of making a change make you happy? Or maybe you have a gut feeling that a shift in your life needs to be made? Don’t ignore that! No one but you can tell you what’s right for you so listen to yourself. What’s best for you might not be the decision a partner or loved one would make and that’s okay because it’s your life. Only you can direct where it’s going to take you so if you are experiencing that desire for change, work with it.

Challenge Your Thoughts:

A big life change can sometimes feel like a grieving process. You are switching up the norm and that can be difficult to wrap your head around. However, implementing a necessary change is going to be a lot harder if you are constantly going back and forth about it in your head. Be firm and confident in the decision you arrived at and challenge those wishy washy thoughts. This is why it is so important to plan, plan, plan because solid next steps can allow you to go forth knowing without a doubt that you made the right choice.

If you feel ready for a big change – go for it full steam ahead. You never know where it will take you but the chances are high that you’re going to feel a lot better!

Have you had a big change in your life recently? What helped you during that process? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar16

Physical Signs You Need A Change

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Physical Signs You Need A Change

Howdy!! Sometimes life changes are expected, welcomed, and can happen gradually. Other times, you might find yourself in a situation where a change is necessary for your own well being. Whether it be a high stress job, toxic relationship, or an environment that no longer feels safe – it is so important to formulate a plan and follow through to get yourself back on track. Listen carefully to your mind and body because if you are in tune with them, you won’t miss the warning signs they are sending you to consider other options. I recently found myself in a situation that warranted a change, completely ignored my better judgement, and ended up with true, noticeable physical symptoms of duress. If you are experiencing any of the following in your situation, it’s time to reevaluate things:

Loss of Appetite:

I have always had a very healthy appetite and look forward to eating my favorite foods at mealtime. That was not the case at all recently. I was SO stressed out and under SO much mental strain that my appetite completely went out the window. I wasn’t feeling hunger and literally had to force myself to eat. Even with my favorite dishes in front of me, I could barely muster taking a bite, let alone finish the entire meal. And, oftentimes, I was left nauseated after a couple of forkfuls. Combined with the next symptom we are going to discuss, I was literally running on fumes. The good news? After I implemented my change, my appetite came back and I was ravenous. I would have a meal, an hour or two later I was starving, and I would eat again. I clearly had a lot of catching up to do!

Disturbed Sleep:

When you sleep, your body is healing itself. When your sleep pattern experiences a shocking alteration, all I’ve got to say is good luck tomorrow lol. Racing thoughts kept me up until all hours of the night for days in a row and my anxiety was so heightened it felt like a constant panic attack. My heart consistently felt like I was running a marathon and it was so exhausting. Paired with not sleeping and barely eating, I was in full fledged zombie mode and getting through each day felt impossible. The good news? After I implemented my change, I slept like a baby! I am still catching up on my Z’s and I actually had to lay down in the middle of writing this. Never, ever devalue the power of a good night’s sleep because it is going to catch up with you quicker than you might think.

An Unexpected Visit:

For people who menstruate, I am talking to YOU lol. This might be TMI and I don’t care. During an extremely stressful situation a few years ago, my hormones got super out of whack and it triggered a period. I had no idea that could even happen and ended up going to the ER. It was scary! This past week, I had a surprise period weeks before I was due for my cycle. When I was greeted with this unexpected guest was when I decided enough was enough because it was like the trifecta of awful: No sleep, no nourishment, and a wicked early period to boot. The evidence at this point was indisputable and I needed a change ASAFP.

Getting out of a difficult situation can be SO hard even if the change is nothing but positive. Remember that no one can discredit your feelings and doing what’s best for you is the most important thing!

What is something that stresses you out? Do you struggle with making changes? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah