Balancing taking care of yourself and caring for loved ones can be hard and confusing. Sometimes, taking more me-time or giving a friend space, versus being there for them, can lead to a heated and tearful argument or feelings of guilt. Other times, doing so creates an outcome of a healthy and strong platonic or romantic relationship.
Insomnia? Craving a good night’s sleep for once? Try putting “Sleepyhead” by As Tall As Lions on repeat to help you fall asleep, worked for my friend recently and I hope it aids you as well <3
I had an AMAZING time offering The Strange is Beautiful Alternative Self-Help Guide at L.A. Zine Fest 2016! Besides offering the guide, I was honored to interview three exhibitors of diverse backgrounds, a UCLA zine librarian, a Skylight Books zine lover employee and last year I had the opportunity to interview Daisy Noemi, one of the organizers of L.A. Zine Fest, for a zine community piece <333 I love the zine community, and I hope you fall in love with them too!
46 pages of alternative self-help, interviews and more
Change, even good change, is always painful or hard because it is a change in your identity. Habits become character which becomes your identity. So the habits you are changing will also change your identity in a good way.
When I struggled with depression, and was writing sad poems and music, I was releasing things at first, but then it became a static habit. So by changing the habit when it was no longer a needed form of release, I changed my well being too.
Also, we have a relationship with everything we do. We have a relationship with food, with sleeping, with depression etc. So breaking a bad habit and starting a good habit, even though this is a change you consciously and willing decided to make, is essentially similar to a romantic breakup with a partner. It can be traumatic! It can be hard.
So if changing aspects of your life has got you feeling down and you feel you like slipping back into your old habits, acknowledge that it is hard, know that this is normal, and keep going! You’re doing a great job :)
-Shannen Roberts
Founder of The Strange is Beautiful