♥ Get a dog called Daisy. She will make it impossible for you to feel sad when she's around. She will leap on your knee, attempt to lick your face and make you feel like you're the most important person in the world. All just because you've come home from work
♥ Put your favourite music on full blast. Dance. Sing. Cry. Laugh. Just feel. For the last few months I've spent so long feeling numb. Anything is better than numb, for me at least
♥ Make plans. Plan weekends away, nights out, days out, holidays, dinners with friends. Make the effort to get in touch with people you don't see often enough. It's so tempting to hide away when you're feeling low but this will only result in you reaching for that second tub of Ben & Jerry's. That, my friends, is a COLD, HARD FACT
♥ Smile at strangers. Seriously. Some will think you're crazy but a lot will smile back. Sharing a smile with a complete stranger is one of my favourite ways to brighten up my day
♥ Put on your favourite dress and a pair of killer heels. Even if it's only to go to the shop in. Or even just to stay in, in. I hoovered in my favourite French Connection dress and a full face of make up the other day. Oh yes I did
♥ Have a party for one on your sofa. Get a DVD of your favourite TV series (fyi, Peep Show, Monkey Dust, Inbetweeners, Oz, Law & Order: SVU and The City all work for me), grab some nail varnish, a face pack, some snacks (crisps if I'm being bad, fresh berries if I'm being virtuous) and bask in the glory of a day spent doing nothing at all
♥ Run. Swim. Exercise. It never fails to make me feel better. If I haven't done any exercise for a while then I know I'm not in a good place because, for me, nothing lifts my spirits quite like feeling that I'm doing something good for me. A boozy dance off comes a close second though, obviously
♥ Go for a walk and take some photographs. Write a letter and fill it with glitter. Paint a picture and hang it on the wall. Bake a cake and give it to your friends or work colleagues. Creativity is an excellent funk-getter-outer-of
♥ Do some volunteer work. There's nothing quite like helping someone else to lift your mood and make you feel pretty damn good. Win-win situation
♥ And, finally... accept that it's ok to not be ok. Don't beat yourself up about it or feel like you're alone. You're not. If you need to wallow, wallow. But limit the wallowing. Give yourself an end date.
