Start With Something Small

Advice #1:

Some of the dumbest things seem so difficult. Breathing, talking, walking. But focusing on one, one of the all time hardest things to is get up in the morning. Whether it's for school or for work, or just getting up from a nap, there comes a time when getting up seems impossible. But it's not getting up that's the issue, it's finding reasons to get up. But my bed is so warm, maybe I can afford a few more minutes of sleep..
But sometimes it's more than that. Maybe it's because there would be no point of getting up, if all you're doing is a routine. Today will be exactly the same as yesterday, what's the point of even starting it?
This is a horrible state of mind to be in. Because if you're persuading yourself to stay in bed, what's the point of living? But maybe that's it. Maybe you don't want to get up because you don't want to live, because life sucks. You'd be surprised how many people hate waking up, but generally that's the sign of insomnia, a bad day or even something as severe as depression. And when I say depression, I don't mean oh, I had such a bad day today I'm depressed, because we all have those days, but I mean a legitimate struggle to find anything good in life anymore. The complete lack of a reason to live. Maybe you have low self-esteem because you were picked on as a kid. Or maybe you have low-self esteem because you pick on yourself, and not only as a kid, because that's when the habit began, but every single day. Constantly degraded by yourself, a prisoner in your own mind. It's literally living hell, so why should you get up?

Getting up in the morning sounds so simple, yet it's so easy to talk yourself out of it. But what can you do to maybe look at the reasons to get up instead of persuading yourself out of it, that would make it easier.

What if you slept better? Can you remember the last dream you had, and was it vivid? Maybe your dreams are constant, vivid nightmares, or maybe just a little twisted and faded. Maybe they're blurry, or maybe you can't even remember the last time you had a dream, it was so long ago. But there's this really strange trick that I guarantee will make you feel so much better, because it's not only dreams or the lack thereof that affect you, but it's how you feel when you do wake up. So here are some incredibly (and stupidly) simple modifications you can make to help yourself feel better when you go to bed and when you wake up.

1. Sleep an odd number of hours.
Why? Hell, I don't know. I heard it from a trusted nurse after having insomnia and lack of dreams (or when I did have them, nightmares) for about a two-month period after years of good dreams, and she told me to sleep an odd number of hours until my alarm went off. I highly recommend 7, somehow it seems to be a lucky number or something, because when I woke up after sleeping 7 hours I actually felt rested. It was unbelievable, because I remembered my dreams, and they were good dreams. I had slept well for the first time in a couple months, and it was a miracle.

2. Drink a sh*tload of water the day before.
Yes, you'll have to pee a lot more than usual, which is aggravating, I know, but if you have ever woken up with chest pains like I have, it's because of dehydration. Dehydration is also a known cause for insomnia and depression, along with really unhealthy skin and blood. In other words, no fun.

3. Wash your bed. The whole freaking thing.
Wash your blankets, all of them, wash your comforter, your sheets, any pillowcases and any pillows you have. And when you put them in the dryer, add your favorite scent softener sheets. Then, when you're done, make the bed. When you go to sleep that night, it'll be so f*cking comfy, I can't even begin to explain it. Your pillows will be super-fluffed, and your blankets will be so incredibly soft, it'll be like riding a unicorn on a rainbow while going to heaven. Seriously.

4. Make small goals for yourself.
Why should you get up in the morning? Well why the hell not? You were obviously born for some reason, so why waste sunlight you could change the world in? Make small goals and start with something small; When you wake up, set a goal. Turn off alarm. Complete. Seconds into your day and you already accomplished something, look at that! Next, maybe make coffee or eat. Shower, listen to music. Make sure to put your alarm out of reach too, so you have to get up to turn it off instead of staying in bed. If you can't find reasons to get up, make reasons. I don't care if it's to wear a specific shirt or because you can have lunch with a specific person. But find your drive, and every day those accomplishments will build up. Don't look at what you haven't done, look at what you did do, and what you can do. Because if you can find reasons to get up in the morning, and make that day worthwhile (because you definitely can, trust me), do it. The day won't be special until you make it special.

So do something weird or out of routine. Breaking routine and getting up may be the beginning of a completely new outlook on life.

-Evie