I thought I would write about it on my blog as it’s a topic relevant to expat life, which provide many extra factors for a person to feel stressed. But, of course, this is not an exclusively expat issue and everyone feels low from time to time, so, expat or not, I’m asking all of my readers to share their favourite ways of fighting back the blues.

As for me, my first choice would be a cup of coffee with pastry :)) I know, that’s a bad choice – I can imagine where that would lead me, should I use this method every time I feel sad. Making a deal here – occasional cup of coffee with pastry.

Spending a day chilling in pyjama does not work for me – I’m very bad with doing nothing. After a lazy day I start feeling like I missed something or I’m late for something. Anyways, if I’m angry or stressed – you’re most likely to find me cleaning. I never clean better than in those cases. I guess, it’s a handy stress relieving mechanism.

I also recently discovered anti-stress colouring books. I read somewhere that colouring in some intricate designs is close to meditation – your brain stops thinking about everything else and concentrates on drawing. Try them – I’m really surprised how well it works!

If I had a bit more free time, I would go a step further and instead of colouring I would do embroidery. My mom taught me how to do it (together with knitting), when I was a kid and I find it very relaxing. Choose a difficult pattern that would take up all your attention. This way you could distract yourself and have a beautiful picture in the end :)

So what do you do, when you’re feeling stressed or low? Would love to hear about your tips and tricks!