Hello Loves:
Somehow 2019 is almost behind us. While many of us are looking ahead towards all that awaits us in 2020, now is also the perfect time to take a moment to reflect.
Look back for a moment and appreciate all of your accomplishments, how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown over the last 365 days.
It’s a lovely practice and something I try to remember to do on occasion. And I’ve decided to extend that act of reflecting towards this site as well.
I took a peek at my Google Analytics to see which posts you gave the most love to this year! Together we’ve talked so much about health, self-love and care, mental well-being, nutrition and so much more.
Let’s take a look back at everything we’ve learned together and talk about your 10 favourite health and wellness blog posts from this site in 2019.
Read to have some fun? Let’s do this!
Your Top 10 Health And Wellness Blog Posts of 2019
Before we get started, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of your love and support! When I started blogging I never imagined that I’d be where I am today. I was not at all prepared for all of the incredible connections I’ve had the opportunity to create. The beautiful friendships, the support from fellow autoimmune disease warriors, the love from everyone who takes a moment to read. Whether you’ve read one post or pop by every week, your support means everything and I am so, so incredibly thankful! <3
All right, let’s see what health and wellness blog posts resonated with you the most this year…
10. Struggling To Be Kind To Yourself? These 5 Tips Will Help
Self-love is fan-flipping-tastic. And so incredibly important for your well-being. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy.
In fact, self-love can sometimes be really, really hard. Being kind to yourself and prioritizing your wants and needs can feel really strange.
It’s normal to struggle! But that doesn’t mean that things are hopeless. Which is why we explored 5 ways that we can work on self-kindness.
The most important take away – make it your own. There is no one right way to approach self-love and kindness. It’s so important that you feel safe and free to do things in a way that works best for you! Which is why each tip in the original post can be 100% personalized. How fun is that?!
Want a little more self-kindness inspiration? The full article is waiting for you right here.
9. How To Tap Into The Power of Positive Thinking
We all know that “good vibes only” is impossible… so now what? How do we work on a realistic, positive mindset that will make us feel awesome when things are great but also help us work through things when life gets us down?
Together we got to talk about creating a positive mindset while still respecting and working through negative emotions. Because all of your feelings matter and deserve your attention, even when it’s not all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.
The coolest thing I learned researching for this one was how negativing thinking and positive thinking affects your mind and ultimately your outlook with a “zoom in, zoom out” effect. Each serves an important purpose.
But it’s important that you work to develop the right coping skills to help you get through when things get negative. And that’s where working on a positive mindset can really shine.
You can check out all the goodness, including 5 fantastic positive mindset building tips, right here.
8. Why A Professional Bra Fitting Is The Best Medicine
I am so happy to see this post on your most loved health and wellness blog posts list! While bras might not seem like a form of self-care on the surface, an ill-fitting bra can cause so much unnecessary pain. And it’s completely preventable! A professional bra fitting can make all the difference. And pain prevention is 100% self-care in my books (and yours too I hope!)
This post explores everything from what happens to your body when your bra doesn’t fit right to how your bra should fit and feel.
A little fun fact from the post that I wish every bra wearer knew – 90% of the support in your bra should come from the band, not the straps.
You’re supposed to hold the weight of your breasts with your back, not lift with your shoulders. And most of us are doing the exact opposite, causing tons of pain and discomfort. Ouch!
If you choose to wear a bra and you haven’t read this awesome post yet, you have to check it out! Because who has time for completely preventable pain, right? #nothanks
Get all the bra fitting details right here sweet friend!
7. 5 Easy Ways To Soothe A Sensitive Stomach
Tummy trouble finds us all (some more than others). And it’s a crappy experience (literally). But that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that you can do for yourself!
And it goes way further than simply reaching for the Pepto Bismol and praying that it acts super fast! Because when you don’t feel well you deserve tons of pain relieving options so you can feel better asap.
Want a peek behind the scenes? The original version of this post was one of the first blog posts that I ever wrote (way back in 2014!) I decided that it deserved a makeover and some new love this year and I am so pleased with how it turned out.
I’ve had a sensitive stomach since I was little so sharing my knowledge and experience in the area felt pretty natural. But didn’t expect it to be so well received. Thank you!
If you need a little help in the sensitive stomach department, it’s waiting for you over here.
6. Graves Disease Remission and How to Positively Navigate a Relapse
Another oldie from way back in 2015! I’m really surprised to see this lovely article, from what feels like a lifetime ago, appear on your top 10 health and wellness blog post list.
This post explores a few important lessons that I learned from my first Graves Disease relapse. After hitting remission for the first time, I felt convinced that as long as I was mindful and maintained a healthy lifestyle I would never have to go through this again. Life had other plans.
This relapse really forced me to start working towards something really hard… accepting that autoimmunity is incurable. Which isn’t easy and even now I have moments where I struggle. But that’s ok!
As the post says, it’s ok to be sad about coping with an autoimmune disease (or anything else difficult for that matter). Our negative emotions serve a purpose and we are allowed to acknowledge and work through them when they show up.
If you need a little help in that department, you can read everything right here.
5. 4 Years with Graves Disease + a Message to Newly Diagnosed Graves Warriors
Another oldie all about Graves Disease! This time from 2016. Do you want me to share more on autoimmunity in 2020?
On my 4 year Graves Disease anniversary I decided to share a message with anyone who needed it – you will be ok. And I stand by that to this day.
Autoimmunity has been incredibly difficult, enlightening, frustrating, emotional, educational… While it’s been admittedly difficult, it’s also allowed me to become more connected with myself than I ever imagined. And I love myself so much – I know I wouldn’t be who I am today if not for the experience.
Ultimately, it hasn’t been easy and there are still bumps in the road… but I am ok. And you will be ok too. Take your time getting there, but know that you will eventually arrive <3.
You can read the whole thing here if you need it.
4. How To Reduce Stress – 6 Fantastic Tips From Psychiatrists
Stress is sometimes unavoidable. And not always easy to work through. But you deserve to have some awesome stress management up your sleeve, and who better to help than psychiatrists and other mental health professionals?
I love that the professional advice in this post includes a focus on self-love and care. As well as the importance of leaning on a few shoulders when you need to. Because I think we all need to be reminded that we are allowed to seek help sometimes. Life’s too difficult to go it alone <3.
I also shared my own experiences with therapy in this one. Something I am still incredibly grateful for years later!
There’s no health without mental health sweet friends. If you need a some help managing stress this post is for you.
3. 7 Powerful Fermented Foods for Better Gut Health
It’s me! I seriously LOVE Rise Kombucha’s Blueberry Maple booch. One of my many favourite fermented foods <3
I like to think of fermented foods as the forgotten food group. So good for us, but often not given enough love. We should gush about this goodness more! Which I why I wrote an entire post about them. And you clearly loved it!
The fermentation process encourages gut healthy bacteria to flourish. And even boosts a food’s shelf life and nutritional value. Which is absolutely amazing!
By eating fermented foods, we’re providing our digestive system with more healthy bacteria, supporting our microbiome and thus our digestion, immune health, mental health and so much more!
And there are tons of options! Kombucha, Kefir, Miso, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, and Kimchi. Even Pickles, Yogurt, Soy Sauce, Vinegar and Chocolate are fermented. It’s easy to find a few to savour. Which ones are your favourite?
You can learn all about how cool your microbiome is and how awesome fermented foods are in the original post over here.
2. 10 Powerful Life Lessons I Learned From Graves Disease
Your girl celebrating life at one of her favourite places on earth (The Fundy Bay <3)
It was my seven year Graves Disease anniversary this year! Lucky number seven baby. And so I wanted to share some of the most important lessons I learned from Autoimmunity. Lessons that are helpful to anyone.
Graves Disease truly motivated me to examine my life and foster changes that would allow me to thrive in my circumstances. And there are so many ways that you can too! Even if you don’t have a chronic illness.
Together we talked about everything from doctor’s visits, to mental health, to support systems and even booty shaking. Yes, the last one is important!
It’s all still there if you need it. So give it a read right here gorgeous.
1. 3 Remarkable Self-Love Tips From BTS Love Yourself
I think I have the popularity of BTS to thank here… When I wrote this post I did it both as a fan of BTS and an advocate for self-love. I didn’t think that, a year later, it would continue to be my most read post. Kpop is taking over the world yo!
I am still so happy that BTS used their platform to talk about the importance of prioritizing self-love. And there are so many beautiful gems in their speech.
My favourite take away – you can have ambitions and still love yourself as you are. You’re allowed to strive, to dream, to grow. As long as you don’t withhold self-love until you achieve those things. Loving yourself is not the same as becoming complacent. Self-improvement is still allowed. It just works better with a ton of love and kindness behind it.
There’s more self-love inspiration waiting if you need it. You can read all the goodness right here.
Final Thoughts
It was such a treat to revisit all of your top 10 health and wellness blog posts from the year (thank you Google Analytics! Woo!) Together we’ve learned so much about self-love, self-care, mental health, nutrition and more. And I’m so incredibly excited to keep going in 2020!
Did you a have a favourite mshealthesteem.com post this year? What subjects would you like to explore together here in 2020? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Health and love,
Thought of the day: Look back for a moment and reflect on how far you’ve come. Be proud – you’ve made so much progress!
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Nicole
Love this! Positive thinking and good self esteem is essential.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Absolutely Nicole! They’re so important for our well-being. I’m happy you think so too 🙂
Neha
I liked this idea of giving a round-up of popular posts in a particular niche. At times it gets tough to keep searching posts around the same topic
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Neha! I was going over my traffic for the year and felt inspired to share. Your feedback means the world :). Thank you!
Ntensibe Edgar Michael
Yyyeeeaaaahhhhh….articles 4 and 1 respectively were some of the best I came across this year! They hit home on all fronts being that I am a living being in the field of psychology and mental health. You did so well! Happy holidays. I can’t wait to read those of 2020.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
That means so much Ntensibe! Thank you for sharing your personal favourites with me. I’m so grateful for your support and kind words. Here’s to all the goodness 2020 has waiting for us :). Wishing you a magnificent year!
Wendy @ One Exceptional Life
What a great way to look back over the year. This is a great collection of articles about wellness. Thanks for sharing.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Wendy! Thank you <3
Matt Taylor
Awesome Sara! It’s fun to look back at articles that so many people have enjoyed and have been helped by them. Here’s to another year! 🙂
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Thank you tons Matt! I couldn’t agree more. Wishing you a magnificent 2020 <3
Marcie W.
All of these posts sound great. I need to set aside some time and check them out. Thanks!
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Thank you so much Marcie! That means the world :). I hope you enjoy them!
Eileen M Loya
This blog is a great resource when you are searching for topics to read to uplift your spirits. I need to practice more self-care. My life has come to a point that I am caring for others at the expense of putting self-care in the backseat.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Thank you Eileen! I’m so glad you like this resource. I hope it helps! You absolutely aren’t alone – we’re often taught to put ourselves last. But know that taking time to care for yourself ultimately benefits everyone around you. When you recharge those batteries you have more to give. Easier said than done sometimes, but I hope the reminder helps a little <3. Wishing you more self-care in 2020. Big hugs!
The JOYOUS Living | Influencer (@thejoyousliving)
what a clever idea! i think i might try a similar post. i definitely liked #1 for sure! 🙂 Joy
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
I love that you’re feeling inspired to share a similar post Joy! That’s awesome! It was really fun to look back and share with everyone :). Thank you for your kind words!
kidneyfornikki
This si a great idea for a year-end feature! I will have to keep this in mind for next year. And I do need a professional bra fitting myself — thanks for remindin g me!
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Thank you so much Nikki! I was looking back on the year and I thought it would be so fun to share the posts that people enjoyed the most. I can’t wait to see what you share at the end of this year <3. And I hope you treat yourself to a nice, new bra soon. Always so fun when you find one that you love and that fits perfectly :D
katrina Kroeplin
those are def great topic ideas. health is an important topic for everyone.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
I couldn’t agree more Katrina! I’m happy you think so too 🙂
Niharika Verma
This was super interesting 🙂 Loved the idea of having all the trendy post at one place.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Thank you Niharika! I was looking back at which posts did the best and I thought it would be fun to share with everyone. 🙂 I’m really happy you enjoyed it! Wishing you a wonderful 2020 <3
EmmanDamian
I love this article – “HOW TO TAP INTO THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING” as I can really relate to it. Keep it up! You are really doing well.
Sara | Ms. Health-Esteem
Thank you so much Emman! I really appreciate your kind words :). And that’s one of my favourites too <3.
Khadijah tul Kubra
Thanks for the update. I appreciate the efforts you have made for this blog. All the best !!!