Poof Piece No. 3: “A Queers Guide to Chasing their Tail (serotonin)”

I want to preface this by saying that I understand the privilege I have by being able to live alone and to be only responsible for myself.

Each morning when I rise from my slumber, I immediately think “Okay Sandy, let’s get up, have a shower, make coffee(s) and get your day started, baby!”. But for the past couple days, it’s been different. My internal monologue has been saying “what’s the point? Sleep in! No one is depending on you, take it easy”.  This frightened me as I recognised that my mental health was depleting. My mental health has been out to lunch and taking more smoko’s than usual. Which in some ways I’m like; Go off sis! But at the same time, please don’t forget to pick up the bread, milk, and my libido on your way home. I miss it!

I mustn’t let it take over me. I must chase that serotonin to ensure my perky self returns sooner rather than later. So, this poses the question, “How does one do this when even the thought of face-timing their bestie in the morning almost brings them to tears?”

WELL! I have a few tips and feel free to use them, should they be helpful to you.

1.     We’re spending FAR too much time on Social Media at the minute which is a-okay with me. However, the content we’re consuming can be at times ALL TOO CONSUMING. When it begins to bring you discomfort, frustration and/or the odd eye-roll, it is time to say au revoir and remove them from your feed without any hesitation.  Previously, I felt guilty about this however, now it doesn’t bother me at all and it shouldn’t bother you either. We, at the end of the day are in control of what we consume and in turn our happiness. 

2.     Dress yourself each day, even if it’s from your pj’s to comfy clothes. I say this as I’m sitting in my underwear BUT the point is, I placed a fresh pair of underwear on. Currently I'm finding myself changing outfits at least 3 times a day (which I know is a bit overboard) however, it helps me distinguish moments of the day that I’ve completed i.e., at home exercise, daily walkies, cooking or just looking cute in front of the mirror. So, please! Grab that gorge dress, put on a lick of lipstick and tell yourself that you're cute as hell! We may be bored/anxious/nervous/hopeful/apprehensive BUT we might as well look gorge while doing it. 

3.     Exercise! I personally try and complete at least a 15-minute workout daily to ensure my body is in working order. Not only do you feel like you’ve accomplished something, you're also doing wonders for your mental health. Even if it’s a walk to your local grocery store instead of driving to ensure you're moving that gorgeous body, you beauties!

4.     Have a routine (duh!). I feel this is an obvious, but essential mention. Once you’ve established that daily routine, go wild and mix it up! Be spontaneous! The days where I flip my morning workout into an evening one is a plot twist I pretend I never saw coming. 

5.     Self-care! Self-care is quite broad; however, I am referring to gorgeous sexy time. Having a partner or not; it’s important to check in with ourselves and continue to build a beautiful relationship with our bodies. Try and allocate some time to satisfy you and only you. If you are with a partner, don’t be shy to vocalise this with them either. Yes, sex with partners is fun. But! Sometimes, we just wanna nut one out by ourselves and 9 times out of 10, we’ll feel better for it. 

This lockdown is difficult and I’ve literally never spent this much time on my own, which has been a shock to my needy, libra self. I look forward to the days where I can see your faces in person, to the days where we can embrace and to the days where my hair sticks to my face on the dance floor. So, I hope these five tips will help you in the same way it’s helping me. Stay strong, stay hydrated and stay stun, hun!

I’ll leave you with this, which seems lost on some…

a)    Get Vaccinated

b)    Wear a mask

Until then know that I love + miss you,

Sandy x