Lately, I've been feeling the weight of life really heavily. I have really great days, but there are also a lot of things that really just push me into a dark place. It gets to the point where I can't eat, and my physical health suffers as well. The bright light inside of me dims a little.

Also, lately, I've decided to take these matters into my own hands. I have learned lots of lessons, and through them, I've realized something super important. I control how I feel. No one has the power to knock me down unless I let them. Things can't truly stress me out, unless I allow them to. So, as an attempt to prevent stress, I've created a “detox” for myself. I've taught myself some pointers and decided to apply them to my life, no matter how difficult. I'm hoping that in sharing this, maybe you'll apply some of these to your life as well, and feel a little lighter.

The first thing I’ve learned is to understand that not everyone is going to like you. No matter how much you try to better yourself, someone will ALWAYS find something to dislike about you. You cannot change their opinions about you, but you can decide not to let THEIR opinions of you, become YOUR opinions of you. I always take the negative things other people say about me and choose to believe it and beat myself up. Up until recently, I've always had really unhealthy ways of handling other people's opinions of me. Now, I'm understanding that I have the power to tune out all of the hate. I can be called names or be misunderstood, but I know who I am. The only person I should really strive to impress is God. All the other opinions are irrelevant. You have to not depend on other people; you have to build yourself up. I have to tell myself that I'm smart, I'm really good at loving others, and that I have a heart of gold, and then I have to go out into the world and believe it. One of the keys to a stress-free life positive affirmations, and blocking out all of the negative energy.

Which leads me to my next point. Don't surround yourself with negative energy. You can't hang around negative atmospheres, and expect to have a radiant lifestyle. Immerse yourself with bright souls who do one of three things.

1. Make you a better person.
2. Strive to be in a good mood/spread positive vibes
3. Put in as much into the relationship as you do.

You have to select your tribe carefully. You become the company you keep, and you will reap the consequences of the people you choose to put effort into. Make sure your relationships are equal in love and effort. If you're being treated unfairly, give someone a chance to fix it. But if they don't fix it, then you have to respect yourself enough to know it's not healthy and walk away. I am slowly but surely learning this one.

Next… there are going to be people who treat you badly in life. It's inescapable. I am the first one to admit that I have super fragile feelings. I get hurt so easily, and it always hurts really badly. There are going to be people who think they are above you and can treat you unfairly. And they won't apologize to you. And you HAVE to learn to forgive them, even when they aren't sorry. You have to learn this for YOU. You don't have to do it for them, but it will bring you the peace that you need to make it through the hurt. Once you learn to do that, you move forward with happiness. They can do whatever they want and act as nastily as they please, but you walk away with grace and lightness.

Being healthy is another important thing to remember when de-stressing. You HAVE to eat; you can't barely eat because you're scared. You have to eat, you need to get the right amount of sleep, you have to exercise and learn to balance all the different areas of your life.

Also… be present. Don't let stress pull you away from life’s greatest moments. Let go of the things you can't change, and live for the things you can. Don't miss things you can't get back, because you're obsessed with the stress.

The last thing I'm going to write about is probably one of the most important. As my generation likes to put it, “Treat Yo Self.” Please do it. Soak in your bubble bath, make a playlist, go check out some books you want to read, get coffee and watch your favorite movies. Take time to love yourself and create your own happiness. You gain so much power over your feelings when you decide to be the orchestrator of your own gleefulness.

I believe in you. I also believe in me. And I think my stress detox is going to teach me a lot and eliminate all of the unwanted elements that consume my days. I'm really excited about it.