Things Dipped in Nutella

While we think about Stress Awareness Month, it makes me realise just how complex our lives are.

Stress can creep in slowly and silently at a very low level. Think about how bogged down we are forced to be on a daily basis - work pressures, bills, policies for this insurance or that, the news!  Automated phone services when all you want is a human being...and then human beings when all you want is some peace and quiet. Then there's parents evenings and car MOTs, health, pets health....it's relentless.

No wonder our adrenaline levels are teetering at the top end all the time.

But these seemingly 'trivial on the scale of world affairs'  situations can build up until all it takes is a blown lightbulb in the bathroom to flip our mental and emotional switch.

It's so important to stop and find simple pleasures in simple things, to re ground us and restore some inner calm.

It's absolutely ok to find a quiet corner and eat Nutella out of the jar with a spoon. You could make it healthy by using fruit, but personally I'm a spoon girl!

As cheesy as it is, if we can enjoy the tiny simple things, like a quiet read, walk in the woods, gazing at the stars, Nutella on a spoon...we will always have somewhere to go to when things feel too much.

Try and find even the tiniest thing to be grateful for and to smile about, even if you don't feel very convinced at the time.

A tiny positive can make all the difference in our quest for a healthy mind and help us to recognise that things are spiraling, so hopefully we can act before they get too much worse. Remember, you are not alone. Stress Affects Us All.