Some of you will already know about the sad news I received last week, but if you don't and may be triggered by talk of death or drug use, it may be best to come back to this email when you are ready.

The SMASH team are working on some exciting projects right now, so our March will be full of a lot of excitement…

Can we challenge ourselves to take a day out of our year to do something different? Maybe something that we need to check off our bucket list?

If you haven't already, join the revolution.

'I love myself'

Sam and Ash

Last weekend I went to my 'home town' of Manchester for the first time in over 4 years. Although it's the place where I grew up, I realised that, as of this year, it hasn't been my home for 18 years! That's half of my life where I've been a 'southerner'!

An old man is teaching his grandson about life:

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is bad – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

“Because you'll find out that we come, In different shapes and sizes”

We are each unique, amazing and inspirational in our own way. Even if we cant see it in ourselves, believe me when I say that there will be something about you that somebody will aspire to have in themselves and more often than not, we never know just how many people we are inspiring without even trying!

The media have labelled today as the most depressing day of the year - Blue Monday. Cold mornings, dark days, summer feeling like it's so far in the future and our routine getting back to 'normal' can affect the way we feel.

I wanted to highlight the issue of ‘gaslighting’ and the effect it had on me, as I feel it’s something that needs to be spoken about more. Ash and I have always said that we would b honest with our community when talking about our own mental health journey so, here goes….

And..... breathe! It can feel quite overwhelming after all the fun and festivities of Christmas, so much so that it can sometimes feel like we haven't taken a deep breath in weeks! So, before we continue with our first email of 2020, take a moment now to close your eyes and take 4 long breaths (breathing in for a count of 4 seconds, holding for 2-4 seconds and exhaling for up to 8 seconds).