Your midmorning croissant has magic powers.

In the throes of this rollercoaster we call life, the healing properties of a little treat simply can’t be understated. Rough day at the office? You need a lil' treat. Going through a breakup? Get yourself a lil' treat. Unable to shake that prevailing sense of nothingness and despair? Well, maybe consider therapy but in the meantime, no harm in picking up a lil' treat. A little pastry or obscenely priced flat white can take you out of your slump even if just for a brief moment in time, sure it’s capitalism at work but listen, in my life at least the damage is done in that aspect. Is the €5 a day we spend on coffee going to be the thing that prevents us from ever buying a house? Sure, if you ask Fine Gael. But it's that exact economic bleakness and uncertainty that has us needing little treats in the first place.

Via Instagram/ The Pepper Pot Café

A small, inexpensive gift to ourselves is one of the few things in life we can actually control - it may seem trivial to some, but it's actually essential. Maybe in an alternative, communal, resource-sharing world things would be different but as things are now, we all need something nice to get ourselves through the day. The quicker we acknowledge and accept that, the quicker we can get to enjoying our little treats in a guilt-free manner. Going for a little treat allows you to get out of the office, escape the shop floor or leave your desk for a few precious minutes and reset emotionally - it's an act of self love that you can implement quickly, and of course, if your love language is gift giving, one that you can bestow on another with ease.

Via Instagram / Bread 41 

The key component of a little treat is that it doesn't need to break the bank - it could be 5 sausage rolls for €2.50, it could be a coffee you make at home with your special milk frother, it could be a rewatch of your favourite series for the 900th time. You do whatever it is you need to feel better - we'll be over here doing the same. Header images via Instagram / Scéal Bakery / The Morning  READ NEXT:  - A definitive ranking of Dublin's Shopping Centres, as voted by our followers