Give yourself care
Hey all,
Sam here with your weekly mental health email If any of you have seen our social media (or received our last email!) you will have seen that I'm back in London!
Lockdown has been a crazy time for all of us, yet I was still really surprised with the levels of anxiety I've felt within myself. Pre-lockdown, the speculation of "what happens next?" was really overwhelming. The decision to 'hide out' in Wales with two of my best friends was an easy one to make, but there was an internal battle as to when was the right time to go. My mind then went into overly-productive manic mode! Moving SMASH online and making sure we had plenty of content coming gave me a crazy few weeks. I found it hard to sleep and the anxiety manifested in my body with muscle pains and random aches. However, giving myself some extra space and time to adapt a routine helped ease that a little.
I am so lucky that I have Ash and the SMASH community in my life. Whenever we remind you that our classes are about mental health as much as physical, it is also a reminder to ourselves that any sort of movement during lockdown (and after) is better than no movement at all! The love and feedback we continue to receive from you remind us how amazing we are as a community, and we are so thankful.
With the gradual easing of lockdown happening now, I realised it is a good time to come back and start seeing people in "real life" again! After spending 3 months with two of my favourite people, in a big house in the middle of the Welsh hills, I knew to expect the anxiety levels to rise at the prospect of coming back. But acknowledging it is always a brilliant first step to easing it.
Knowing that I feel anxiety in my body, I have been much more pro-active this time round to look after myself. I've made sure that I'm only working out as hard as I feel I need to, avoiding over-doing it, taking long walks to clear the cobwebs and reducing my work load until being back in London. After trying to build a daily habit of following YouTube yoga vids, I finally joined one of our amazing SMASH'ers Sandi for an awesome Yin yoga session (https://www.sandiplantos.com/yoga) something I plan to do more regularly. I've made sure I've talked with friends, and written a lot more. I have also made plans to meet with clients, some of the SMASH crew and, of course, Ash over the next few weeks.
We are all feeling the lockdown in different ways, and we are all experiencing ups and downs. I am very aware that I am more fortunate than some, but whatever feelings you are feeling today are still valid. What can you do to help yourself? Our affirmation today was: I give myself the care and attention that I deserve. Give yourself care. Give yourself attention. You do deserve it. And you are amazing.
Enjoy the rest of your week, and please remember that we are always here if you need a chat. By email, Instagram DM or a Zoom call - just ask! You are part of this wonderful community and we are here for you, always
Sam and Ash
