Since starting Royally Pink, I have been very open about my mental health. When I realized I had anxiety, I never shied away from sharing my story. I thought it was important to talk about and normalize it because if I normalized it, I no longer felt like I was suffering from some dirty little secret.

I wear my anxiety like a badge of honor, even on the days where it prevents me from getting out of the house. I was never embarrassed by it and really talk about it any chance I get. I'm also pretty positive I talked about it on my first date with my now boyfriend.

As I learn more about myself and my anxiety and mental health, in general, I realize how key it is to just keep talking. The more we discuss mental health the stronger we all become.

When I found out that April was stress awareness month, I thought it was a great time to talk more about mental health... not just anxiety but stress even more.

My Iconery x Bando necklace

77% of Americans say they regularly suffer from physical symptoms of stress. Everyone can and will experience stress at some point in their life, but there is a difference in letting stress take over your life. No matter who you are, stress does not discriminate.

If you're experiencing stress, you most likely have a reason for it. Whether it's school, work, family life, a situation with friends... stress comes up in the most peculiar ways. However, stress is incredibly manageable and most of the stress we experience in life will pass, even if it doesn't seem like it will at the time.

Personally, my stress becomes a problem when it overcomes me and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I'm overly stressed that's when I tend to have heightened anxiety and it all muddles together.

When I'm stressed, there are a few things that really help me and they are slightly different from my anxiety cures.

• Write -- whether it's making a to-do list or just writing out a stream of consciousness 
• Take a walk to clear my head
• Talk it out with someone
• Use a stress ball or some other weird habit to distract yourself from what's going on
• Drink water (I don't know why but this helps me so much when I'm stressed or anxious)
• Breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts and breathe out for 4 counts 

For stress awareness month, try to do at least one of these things:

xoxo
B

Today's post is brought to you in partnership with The Newsette & HUM Nutrition

I've previously written about my obsession with the Hum Nutrition Beauty zZzzs supplments and I thought I'd expand that with some deep diving into other aspects, and another products from the brand.

Let's first start out with what HUM is...



HUM Nutrition is an all-natural line of supplments; the mission of HUM is to make take your beauty routine inside out and giving you all natural, non GMO, organic & vegan supplments that focus on prevention, and long term care.

It's taking self-care and turning it on it's head. All about wellness, HUM gives you the supplments and vitamins in fun packaging, with fun names to make things a little more Instagram chic, which I can always appreciate.

One of my favorite parts about HUM is that you can take a little test on their website and it'll tell you what kind of supplments and vitamins you need. You can subscribe to their program through HUMNutrition.com or buy stand alone products at a variety of retailers like Nordstrom and Sephora.

Self care is a true buzz word nowadays and I love incorparting these supplments into that routine.

As I mentioned before, I already love Beauty zZzzs so I always end my day with a capsule, some Sleepytime Tea, some essential oils and my Mediation app.




My favorite thing in the world is to be relaxed and calm, and some days I'm so high strung that I can't calm down. Pairing my HUM supplment with all my other relaxing properities creates the most ideal space for me to fall asleep.

The Beauty zzZz supplment contains melatonin and B6, and helps promote a restful beauty sleep. Without sleep, your skin and body will suffer so any makeup you put on to mask that tiredness won't have the same effect.

I've taken other sleeping 'pills' and they always take forever to kick in, and then makes me very groggy the next morning. When I took Beauty zZzz for the first time, I was stunned at how fast I went to sleep and how I felt rested the next morning -- it didn't feel like I didn't get any sleep. It really works and since I've been taking this (almost 2 years), I don't feel the need to take any other sleep supplment.

On the flip side, I got to try out another HUM supplment. I've spoken freely about my struggle with anxiety, depression, and stress and lately, my stress level has been through the roof. Nothing has really been cutting it when it comes to helping me deal with stress, so 'Big Chill' came at the perfect time.

Big Chill says that it helps you cope with and remove the signs of stress. It slows down your reaction to stress and will help you focus better during times of high stress -- which is probably my #1 issue with stress. Whenever I'm really stressed and anxious, I can't focus on anything else so this is a great feature for me.

When I'm home and feeling anxious, there are a few things that I do to make myself feel better, and they pair beautifully with the Big Chill supplments.



If I'm stressed to the point of no return, I hide out in my room, turn the lights off and shut off the computer. I light a candle, diffuse some essential oils, and grab a book. I will watch some television because I always have the television on. I try to chug some water, maybe even have a calming tea but combining all of this with the Big Chill has really worked out for me... (I mean, Big Chill works fine on it's own too!) but I love pairing all my relaxing, destressing items together.

Like I said, self care is all the rage but truthfully I've been doing self care since before it was cool. I just love that there's a word for it now!

I'm anxious (in the best way) to try some more HUM products to add to my routine(s) because these two have worked out so well, and I'm all about wellness this year!

If you're curious about HUM, use the code NEWSETTE for 20% off your order at HUMNutrition.com!

PS: If you HAVEN'T signed up for The Newsette yet, I HIGHLY recommend you do so now!

xoxo
B

Relaxing is my favorite hobby. It is one of the greatest things I do. My mom always tells me that I am the greatest relaxer ever. That doesn't mean lazy... it just means having alone time and decompressing.

That being said, relaxing on the weekend is a given for everyone but relaxing during the week is an art; I have perfected it.

Relaxing on a weeknight after work is a must for me. I rarely do anything after work because I am way too tired and I just need time to myself.

I get home around 6:30 every night (sometimes earlier, sometimes later if I'm late at work or there are a lot of delays) and I usually have dinner right after I get home. Then I shower and it's time to chill.



Relaxing on a weekend is a little different for me than a weeknight because I do try to stay off the computer after work. After staring at the screen and typing all day, I need to take a break.

1. Candles & lights: My ultimate way to relax is by burning candles and turning on my twinkle lights. It creates the perfect ambiance for me to unwind and chill out.

2. Television: I am a TV person through and through but the weeknights are the ultimate TV nights because everything new is on. It's usually Bravo and the housewives but getting into bed to watch television after a long day is my favorite thing in the world.

3. Journaling: I end every day with writing in my journal and recapping my feelings on the day previous. It helps me clear my head and just wind down.

4. Planning: I have a few new planner systems going on right now in the New Year (post coming soon) and I've been loving sitting down with my new planner and getting things in order for the week and following days. *Definitely more of a Type A way to relax but true nonetheless

5. Pampering: I love a good face mask after a long day of work and just laying in bed with a face mask *or hand, hair, or feet mask* while watching trashy reality TV is awesome. I also love to take my sweet time with my skincare routine. Washing my face, putting a mask on, and then lathering myself in serums and moisturizers makes me feel so good.

All in all, I really try to stay off the computer and stay away from 'work' stuff, or anything really stressful. I try to avoid any blog work on weeknights too (which is why sometimes there are gaps in my schedule during the week) so I have zero responsibilities.

What are your favorite ways to relax on a weeknight?
xoxo
B

This was a hard week in so many ways. I was super stressed out and anxious, I had a mental breakdown at work and just felt on the verge of tears every single day. Not to mention my commute to and from work was an issue every.single.day and by tonight, I'm ready to throw in the towel.

Have you ever just felt defeated? Like you were one step away from falling off the edge of a cliff? That's how I feel right now. I'm very thankful that it's Friday night and very thankful that I'm in my pajamas and watching Hocus Pocus.

I was also super busy this week; work was the busiest it's been in a while and I was writing up a storm. I just got brought onto PizzaBottle as a freelance writer and wrote 4 articles for them this week...I also have an article coming out on one of my FAVORITE websites and I'll be sure to post that once it's up.

For now, here's my first (very personal) article for PizzaBottle! 

I'm writing more pitches while also trying to plan out content for the blog and responding to my emails... it's just been a week.

Tomorrow I'm going for brunch with my sorority sisters and I can't wait to eat, drink, and be merry with my best friends.



I will stop rambling and present you with my favorite links from the week!

• Silk pillowcases from Amazon, I'm in on these
• Ebay is bring in authentication services for their luxury bags which is better late than never
• A few Starbucks tricks to up your coffee game
• A new book from Lauren Graham? YES PLEASE
• I need the new Kate Spade book 'SHE' like yesterday
• My favorite website just went mainstream! VIVA

Since I was little I've been a natural worrier. After 9/11 my parents had to get me a dog to keep me occupied and my mind off of the terrorist attack -- that's how big of a worrier I was and still am.

That worry has since translated into stress and anxiety; in high school and college I was stressed about everything and in between, the anxiety struck. I've discussed my anxiety before but don't think I ever really wrote an entire post dedicated to how I deal with it. Stress and anxiety go hand in hand for me now because if I'm stressed out, it creates anxiety and if I have anxiety, it causes stress.

I also want to make sure I write this more generally so that even if you're a college student dealing with the stress of exams or student activities, you can find an answer in this too.




Whether you're feeling like you can't breathe because of an anxiety attack or because you're drowning in stress, I hope something in this post can help you!

• Nerve Tonic: I am NOT A DOCTOR but I need to mention this. I wrote an entire post about this pill two years ago but felt like I needed to mention it again. I've gone through so many bottles since discovering it after I graduated but it's worth it. Whenever I feel an anxiety attack coming on, or just so much anxiety that I can't focus, I'll take two pills and I feel the cloud lift. I don't know what it is, but I promise it helps. Hylands creates a lot of pills for babies and children I really trust them. ALSO, I'm not addicted and haven't had any side effects and like I've said, I've been taking them for years.

• Essentials Oils: Since discovering essentials oils I've fallen in love. I have a diffuser and bought these off of Amazon and diffuse constantly. Whenever I feel very stressed out, I close my bedroom door, turn the lights out, and lay in bed while lavender oils diffuse. I also carry around this calming roller ball that I apply to my pulse points whenever I'm a little too high strung

• Water: I just bought this swell bottle so I am always equipped with a good amount of water, no matter where I am. I already drink a lot of water (besides coffee and tea, it's the only thing I drink) but I found that drinking water helps ease my anxiety and stress. It could be in my head but I feel like I read that somewhere...

• Candles: This is probably my favorite thing on the list -- I'm addicted to candles. Whenever I need a pick me up I turn on my string lights and light a few candles and it immediately calms me down. I cannot stop buying Evil Queen candles so they're currently my favorite to burn. The smell and vibe of a good candle is enough to ease any trouble! 
• Movies, TV, books: Whenever I'm really in a funk, I try to occupy my mind so a good book or television show (or a Youtube binge) is just what the doctor ordered.