It's a new year, and not too far away from being a year since my old life ended.

2017 was a year of lows, but also some important highs.

I'm in a new relationship with someone who seems to really love me (for who I really am) and appreciates being with me. I also love him very much. He is a good, kind person, and we have an amazing connection. We have had a very passionate 9 months together so far, where I've experienced amazing feelings and experiences I have never experienced before (and didn't even believe were possible or really existed!) It's a strange thought that I would have missed out on so much in my life had my current relationship (marriage) continued.

Still, there's a long way to go in rebuilding my life. Though I certainly feel I'm building it on stronger foundations than before, I'm still a long way from knowing what I'm doing with this whole life thing, and life is still very hard sometimes. I'm still living with my parents (though hopefully that will change soon), still adapting to a new job where I've had to start from scratch after building up a teaching career of seven years. My social life isn't what it used to be, and I often get lonely. The distance between myself and my new partner doesn't help with that (although hopefully that'll change soon too!) The divorce has also been very hard and still takes it's toll as it still isn't over. I get quite down. It seems to have been Winter forever and the evenings are dark. I wonder how and when life will get better.

But I've also discovered ways to improve my mood and continue to do so. Exercise turns out to be a wonder cure for a low mood that I can't believe I didn't discover until recently. It lifts my mood almost magically! Exercise is certainly my number one recommendation for feeling down.

There's other things I'm trying to fit into my routine, ideally every day, though it's not always possible. Altogether they really do help. They are:

Eating 3 meals a day
Omega 3 and magnesium supplements
Getting outdoors
Having social contact
Exercise

There are others I want to incorporate:

Meditation
Yoga
Healthy Eating
Gratitude
Journaling

though at the moment I cannot say I do them regularly or that they are part if my routine. I know that if I try hard to make them part of my routine they will no doubt really help me.

I'm also working on improving my self esteem as low self esteem has haunted me all my life, and has certainly contributed to a lot of my problems. It's slow and gradual improvement, but I am optimistic. The voice in my head is slowly changing and becoming kinder (to myself). I am learning that my opinions are just as valid as anyone else's. That I am equal to every body else. That who I am is ok, and enough, and I can be myself (I don't have to change who I am to "fit in".) I tell myself nice things about myself, I focus on my good points, and criticise myself less. I think my confidence is gradually increasing, but undoing 29 years of low self esteem will inevitably take time. It's exciting that I am finally discovering the tools and techniques to start improving my self esteem though, and I look forward to continuing the journey towards being confident in myself.

I will update again soon on how things are going. My next steps will hopefully be incorporating some meditation and yoga into my routine, as well as having more friends + social life and hobbies. I also want to focus on having a greater sense of 'purpose' in my life. Big goals! But I am determined to have a happy a life as I possibly can, especially after going through so much. I want to rebuild my life to be better than it ever was before!!