Everyone gets to the point where they need to take a break. Whether this is some time off work to just chill at home, a couple of days away with your other half, a family holiday, or just some time on your own away from the normal routine of life. 

I recently was in this situation myself; everything was getting too much for me, and I needed a break away from my normal routine. So, I spoke to family members and arranged a 10-day trip away. Once everything was in place, this then gave me the go-ahead to arrange days I would meet up with friends I hadn’t seen since last year. 

Despite my head being all over the place and not being able to focus on my writing, I was extremely excited to be getting away, the chance to be in a different environment surrounded by different people was exactly what I needed at the time, and I knew it was going to help mentally.  

Every time I go away, I take my laptop in case I have the inspiration to write, though, to be honest, at the time, writing was the last thing on my mind. I needed to clear my head and focus on myself! Before I could do anything else. Yet despite this, on the train journey down due to relaxation kicking in, I found myself able to write with ease as I lost myself in a writing frenzy, something I hadn’t been able to do in a few weeks.  

During my time away, my laptop spent most of its time in its case while I focused on myself. I relaxed, I laughed, and mostly, I focused on clearing my head, so I could return home in a better mental state than when I left. I would talk about what was bringing me down with my sister and my close friend; we would analyze it, break it down, and talk it over too; with their help, I was able to see things more clearly and clear my mind of a lot of unwanted clutter.  

During my stay, I made sure I was out a lot, keeping myself busy; I went to the 18th birthday of my close friend’s son, I met up with another friend a few times in the local city center, and I arranged to meet in person someone I did a lot of zooms with. I also visited family, went out for a meal, went bowling, and did a book signing for my children’s book. I sat up talking with my sister of an evening, laughing about old memories; we also ordered the odd takeout now and again.  

By the end of my stay, I was like a new person, totally relaxed, feeling much happier and my mind now was centered ready to get back to what I loved to do.  

Sometimes, life can get on top of us, whether we mean for it to or not; we must make sure that we don’t burn ourselves out, that we don’t push ourselves mentally too far, and that we don’t overwork ourselves. Remember, we are not machines; we are human.  

This was written by our contributing writer, Leah Palmer.