A fashionable safety blanket: How dressing up can make you feel better

Anxiety is something we all experience in our lives, no matter your financial or social status. It’s a feeling that strikes you at once, cuts the ground from under your feet and leaves you feeling alone and helpless. The symptoms are different for everyone and in some cases it might become hard for you to handle simple situations that didn’t bother you before. Simple actions like breathing, going for a walk, doing sports, meditating or putting on comfortable clothes can make you feel better. As a Ukrainian refugee who experienced severe anxiety and depression when the war broke out, I thought I could cope on my own but I couldn’t. And seeking help if you can’t, is totally OK. Your experience is unique because it’s yours and only you know how to feel better, even if it is just doing the bare minimum at times.

I know pretty well that dressing up is not something you might think of as healing these days, but even changing into fresh clothes can make you feel better. Just feel that soft touch of your clean shirt that smells nicely, a comfy pair of sweatpants or a huge knit cardigan that feels like a warm hug.

Just know that, whatever you are going through right now is just temporary and it will get easier with time. Remember, there are so many people out there with the same struggles and as much as it feels lonely sometimes, you will never be alone. Change into something comfortable, go out and breathe in some fresh air and keep walking with your head up high. You got this! Here are a few outfit inspirations that will work for any occasion, even when you don’t feel like dressing up or leaving the house.