We are definitely in the swing of autumn now and a lot of people will be excited about this change, but if you're like me, you might be sad that summer is over.
There are lots of things to enjoy about autumn, nice-smelling candles, Halloween, and the lead-up to Christmas may all get you excited. However, there are natural reasons as to why you may be happier in summer.
The sun is great for so many things but it is also good for your mental health. Getting sunlight can increase serotonin levels. Serotonin is a mood stabilising hormone that is often known as the happiness hormone.
Naturally, as we see less sun and sunlight hours in autumn and winter, we are less exposed to the sun. This is one explanation for why you may not be as happy in the colder seasons, and this is completely normal.
Some people have what's known as SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern. Find out more about symptoms for SAD on the NHS website.
I am not a mental health professional, but I am going to share some ways to help with beating the post-summer blues that help me. If you think you may have symptoms of depression, please visit your GP.
5 ways to beat the post-summer blues
1. Get out and about
Related: 22 things I've learned in 22 years
2. Natural sunlight lamp
3. Embrace the new season
4. Plan things to look forward to
5. Summer can be a state of mind
Love or hate Halloween, there are still lots of good films to be watching this season. To be honest, I rarely celebrate Halloween. I know some people will carve pumpkins every single year but I only really celebrated it at uni when there were parties to go to.
That's not to say I don't like Halloween, I just don't treat it how I'd treat Christmas, as I love Christmas so much! This year, I'm not really doing anything for Halloween so I will probably be watching some of the films from this list.
I'm also not a massive fan of scary films so I have created a list of non-scary Halloween films for people who maybe don't want to be too scared this Halloween.
Without further ado, here is my ultimate Halloween watch list and where to watch them.
15 non-scary films to watch this Halloween
Netflix
1. The Addams Family
2. Corpse Bride
3. Ghostbusters
4. Birdbox
5. Midsommar (OK this one is a little scary)
6. Labyrinth
Disney+
7. Halloweentown
8. Nightmare before Christmas
9. Hocus pocus
10. Twitches
11. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Amazon Prime Video
12. Knives Out
13. The Joker
14. Us
Related: The Hallotober Tag
Welcome to another post in my The Low Down series, where I give you the low down on important stuff.
When social media first became a thing, it was a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. Over the years, it has developed so much that there are so many different functions and reasons to use social media. I work as a social media coordinator, so I find that I am always using it as I use it for business, but also in my free time.
Negativity in social media
As we know, as well as being a great marketing tool and a way to keep in touch with friends, or even stay up to date with your favourite celebrities, it can also be a toxic place.
It's so easy to let social media rule your life and compare your life to the perfect lives of others, or compare the way you look to the heavily edited Instagram pictures. We have all looked at pictures and thought I really wish I had their life, right? I get it so bad with travel photos or just any boujee photos in general, I'm like I wish I was doing that right now.
But we need to remember, people only tend to share their best moments on social media. It's so easy to take it as fact and think wow that person's life is so good - why isn't mine like that? The truth is, they are probably only sharing their highlights with you.
Tips for creators
If you are a creator, the best way to exude positivity in your posts is to sometimes be a bit negative - if that makes sense. The more real you are on your platform, the more people are going to relate to you. If you share real-life things that maybe aren't highlights, this will help remind your audience that social media creators are real people.
Related: Toxic positivity: the low down
My favourite creators on Instagram, are the ones who are just honest and real. Or, it's ones who use their platform to try and normalise things that the media usually tries to push out such as larger body types and disabilities.
Tips for social media users
For anyone using social media, even if you are just scrolling, you will need to take care of what you are doing. When you are mindlessly scrolling, you are not in control of what you are taking in. You may not think anything of it, but all that you are taking in while scrolling could subconsciously be damaging.
You need to set boundaries and remember that using social media is ok in moderation. Moderate what you are looking at and try to only look at things that make you happy.
Unfollow Unfollow Unfollow
If there are accounts that make you feel negative, even if they don't mean to, you are within your rights to unfollow these people. For example, if someone is posting positive highlights about their life and it starts making you feel bad about your own life, unfollow.
You don't owe these people, even if you know them personally, you are free to pick and choose who you follow to make using social media a positive experience for you.
Related: My journey to confidence: the low down
What measures do you put into place to ensure you have a better experience on social media?
Earlier this month, I went on a trip to St Ives in Cornwall with my boyfriend. It was a much-needed getaway and it was also my first time ever visiting Cornwall, definitely not my last as I had such a great time.
We went from Thursday - Sunday and driving from my house on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border took around 4 hours which was worth it for the pretty views and the amazing time we had.
Day 1
When we arrived, we had a few hours before check-in time at our B&B so we went down to the beach at Carbis Bay which was where we stayed. The B&B we stayed at was called Chy an Gwedhen and I couldn't recommend it enough. The hosts, Pete and Heidi, were so kind and the breakfast was great. We were so well looked after and I would definitely stay there again.
The location of our B&B was great too, we usually got the bus down to St Ives as it was just a little too far to walk and taxis back. The taxis were only around £5 and it took around 5 minutes, so it was very handy.
Related: 3 Days in Suffolk
Carbis Bay beach was so pretty and tranquil, it made me feel like I was abroad. You can hire out water sports there too and it's a lot less busy than the St Ives beaches.
After checking in and getting ready, we went into St Ives. We actually took the train there which was only £1 but we realised there was a bus stop right by our B&B so it was a lot easier than getting to the train station.
Joe used to go to St Ives when he was younger so he could kind of remember the beaches but it was my first time and it looked amazing. I am getting holiday blues writing this, take me back!
We went to a pub called the Lifeboat Inn for dinner which was right on the harbour front, then we went to Tretho Lounge for cocktails.
Day 2
On the Friday we had booked a trip to St Michael's Mount. I'm annoyed I didn't get a good picture of the mount from the causeway but I got some from the views on top of the Mount.
We were able to walk across the causeway although when we parked, it was covered in water but by the time we'd walked there, it was clear. I couldn't get my head round it. I loved learning about the history of the mount and there are actually people who live on there today. We went into the castle and inside, was mostly loads of pictures of old white men, but the views from the top were so pretty!
Related: UK cities you need to visit
After St Michael's Mount, we went back into St Ives for dinner. This time, we went to an Italian Restaurant called Peppers which was really nice. Then we went for an ice cream, they have really nice ice cream parlours by the way, I wanted to try every flavour! This was then followed by an evening in a really cool rooftop bar which was an extension of The Sloop Inn pub along the harbour.
Day 3
The weather was meant to be best on the Saturday and we hadn't really planned any trips for then so we decided to have a beach day. For September, it was still so hot and I managed to get in the sea (with great struggle) and get sunburnt - always remember your SPF, or in my case, to make sure you put it EVERYWHERE.
For lunch, we had crab baguettes from a Cornish bakery of which there were many (I can't remember the name of it now but there were about 3 of these bakeries in St Ives). I did have a seagull mishap which I would like to try and forget about but luckily, it didn't steal my baguette. Lauren 1 Seagull 0. This was followed by more ice cream.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Firehouse bar and grill which was good too. We also went to the arcade and played air hockey and on the basketball hoops. Annoyingly, I started to feel a bit ill on our last night, probably because my immune system is just not as good due to being in lockdown for so long earlier in the year. As a result, we went back to the room early and watched TV.
Sunday was then driving home day and it did take a long time to get home, mainly because of all of the traffic by Stonehenge which is the bain of my life anyway but apart from that roads were pretty clear.
I definitely hope to go to St Ives again and other places in Cornwall, it was so fun. A highlight was that so many people took their dogs on holiday there so I got to see loads of cute furballs.
Related: Places you need to visit in Dorset
Have you been to Cornwall?
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