This fall I’ve decided to try and enjoy myself.
It may sound weird. Obviously I should be trying to do that all the time. The thing is, these past few years have not been too great for me. I’ve been dealing with some mental health issues, I’ve had bad luck on the housing front, and the world in general has just been a stressful place to be.
So this year when fall came around — honestly my favourite season — I decided to just not care about that anymore and do what I wanted to do.
That means drink Pumpkin Spice Lattes, go pick pumpkins out of the field, do corn mazes, pet sheep, go hang out in the sauna, have a glass of wine, ride my bike (slowly!), wear comfy clothes and watch Gilmore Girls.
Yeah, I’m a fan.
I decided this about a month ago. I had recently moved and it felt like my world was kind of falling apart at the seams. Everything had gotten upturned and I needed some stability.
To me, that means doing relatively shallow, mundane and selfish things like the aforementioned. It also means taking time for myself and actually doing the work to make my mental health better.
We all need to be more candid and forthcoming about mental health. While things have been tough for me over the past few years, I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
If we talk about it more, and do things to help ourselves through the tough times more, it makes the struggle just a bit easier for everyone else.
I think this is something we all should give ourselves permission to do this fall.
Don’t worry about what other people would think about you doing this, chances are they’re not thinking about you at all. If it makes you happy, there’s no point in not doing it.
Granted, a little selfish thing like a herbal-scented foot soak is not a replacement for actual therapy. I am working on that as well, but it does feel pretty darn nice to come home after a long day and put my feet in some warm water.
You can unabashedly love watching horror movies, you can feel confident in doing a nice face mask and drinking herbal tea, you can totally love doing cross country runs in the rain.
It’s your jam, if it makes you feel good, do it.
I for one, am totally embracing my love of fall. Bring on the pumpkin flavoured everything, I deserve it.