Mental Health Awareness Week
The 15th May-21st May is Mental Health Awareness Week. So we thought what better topic to discuss on the blog this week than SELF-CARE!!!
We feel super passionate about taking time for yourself, whether you’re a busy Mum, Business Owner, Student or you’re enjoying retirement. Sometimes it’s really hard to take time for you and it’s even harder to start saying no to things that empty your cup rather than fill it.
Kelly and I have just arrived back from Dubai for Kelly’s hen holiday. We had a fab time and really did practice the perfect few days of self care. However, it’s not always like that and I’ll be the first to admit that I suffered burn out whilst working for the NHS and trying to juggle my aesthetics business, children, partner, home and everything else life threw my way.
Outwardly I’m confident, bubbly and driven, but what many people don’t know and don’t see is that I have suffered on and off over the years with varying degrees of anxiety, usually brought on by not listening to my body, doing too much in a short space of time and burning out.
When I first went off to uni it wasn’t to study nursing - I headed off to an equestrian college intially, and this is where I experienced my first ever panic attack. It was crippling and at the time I didn’t think I’d ever over come it. It hit me unexpectedly out of the blue, I’d been a confident, loud and full of life teenager and loved being centre of attention, singing, drama school etc. Then bang…crippling anxiety, panic attacks and such low confidence which, ultimately lead to me leaving uni after only a few short weeks.
It took quite some time to over come this but I did and I went on to do my nursing degree and slowly build my confidence back up. However, since then my ability to deal with stress has changed, I know that I take on a lot, my life is fast paced in terms of work and personal goals, we’ve had a lot of family ups and downs, and despite this I am always pushing ahead to the next challenge, next goal, which is great when I spin all the plates and use my anxious nature positivity to drive ahead however, when those plates get dropped and I have nowhere to channel my energy this is when I can struggle.
Life isn’t always smooth sailing and we all have our personal struggles, relationships, bereveament, ill health, work stress, financial struggles and this is NORMAL.
I guess what I’m trying to touch on is that it’s taken me years to listen to my body both physically and mentally and to know when it’s ok to step back and rest and be kind to myself. It’s ok to rest, we shouldn’t feel guilty for it. I still don’t always get it right and am still learning that it is good to stop, it’s ok to put the work phone away and ultimately if you aren’t in a good place and are over stimulated you can’t even begin to take care of anyone else.
Practice your self care, be that walking your dog, watching Netflix with a cuppa, heading off on a girly holiday or having a massage or treatment that makes you feel good! Make time for family, put your phone away, be in the moment, it’s not always easy and we’re all guilty of this.
Mental health can affect each and every one of us at anytime, the stigma is improving but there are still many of us that won’t talk and open up. So whether you suffer from depression or anxiety or are just feeling a little low know that we are always here during your appointment to off load and have a cuppa. It really does help to talk, and you might be surprised to learn that most of us have been there too.
Below are some links if you or anyone you know may be struggling with mental health issues.
Love
Tanya xx
MIND Charity:
T: 0300 123 3393
Email: info@mind.org.uk
https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/
SAMARITANS:
Opening times: 24/7