Who am I?

I am someone who was diagnosed with a stress-related disorder 15 years ago and, to this day, it forms a major part of my identity. I am here to talk about how I am changing my relationship with stress by making what I believe are pretty simple changes to my everyday life. Come on the journey with me! I’ll share my learnings as I go.

Why am I here?

What's so special about my story, huh? Why do I feel the need to shout it from the Substackian rooftops? Both valid questions. I answer you with: why the bl**dy hell not? We've all got our own beautiful, messy stories, so… why not share them? That aside, there are a multitude of reasons for why I started this blog, and these two would be the main ones:

1. Turns out writing everything down is a fantastic way of collating one's thoughts (who knew!?). I’ve learnt more about health and wellbeing in the past 15 years than I could ever have imagined. Helpful? Yes. Chaotic? Obvs. My mind is constantly brimming with learnings and I feel the only way to tie it all together is to start jotting it down, so… here goes!

2. A way of hopefully helping others who suffer from stress realise how simple, everyday lifestyle changes can make huge differences to how we experience stress. It’s been my dream (cliché yes, but I'm embracing it) to help people change their lives for the better, and if only one person reads this blog and learns something from it, then I will consider my dream fulfilled.

Why now?

I had a miscarriage three months ago, and with that has come a whole new level of stress for me. I figure now is a good a time as any to start what I’ve been meaning to for years. Whilst the stakes are low, I want to learn out how to best manage my stress levels. For me, for my husband, and for our future children.