In the last three weeks - and indeed 3 years has been a lot going on around us.

Even if we are not directly involved with events, seeing the images and hearing the stories on the news and social media can feel incredibly overwhelming.

This can cause us to feel stressed, which can lead to difficulty concentrating, can affect our sleep pattern and contribute to us feeling irritable.

And. This in itself can lead us to feel more overwhelmed.

SO WHAT DO WE DO & HOW DO WE COPE WITH OVERWHELM?

AND HOW DO WE COPE WITH THE FEELINGS OF GUILT AS WE CARRY ON OUR LIVES AS NORMAL?

I have been eating and making a version of this muesli since I was about 16 years of age. It’s morphed over the years - and got better, more nutritious and I would like to think more delicious as time has gone on. I make a batch about every two weeks or so. We have it most days.

It's so good! And good for you too!

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Megan from @vetthrivecollective in this podcast interview.

Megan is a veterinarian who has taken it upon herself to support, promote and care for colleagues in her industry. Unfortunately, vets have a high incidence of poor mental health - including depression and anxiety.

Megan had participated in the Nutrition and Mental Health course and since then we've had a few conversations about how we can improve the mental health of the professionals in her workforce.

Listen to the full podcast for more information and hear what she has done to support the health of the people she works with in her clinic.

Do you remember the children’s storybook ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’? It is a 1989 children's picture book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.

It’s a story about a family who goes ‘searching for bears’. And along the way, they stumble across a number of obstacles.

the 10-minute anti-procrastination rule??​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​Try this hack anytime you notice that you are putting something off.

For most of us - there is always something that is in the ‘too hard’, ‘too unappealing’ or ‘too boring’ box that we are avoiding. Sometimes these things are things we put off not for hours or days - but for years.

I had this once. I had a stack of old paint. House paint - that I didn’t know what to do with. Every time I looked at it in the garage - I put it in the ‘too hard’ basket and let it sit there. For 10 years.

When you have difficulty getting something done (study, exercise, housework, cleaning the oven, getting rid of stuff...​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
Ask yourself - "Can I do (this task) for ten minutes?"​​​​​​​​

Although some women sail through menopause - for others it is a tough time which causes significant physical health issues and significant mental distress.

For those of you with primarily female hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) - unless you have experienced early menopause, these hormones begin to decline in your 40s. How much they decline and how this impacts you can depend on a number of things. Testosterone also declines as we age, however, unlike oestrogen and progesterone, post-menopause testosterone levels actually increase - and can revert back to levels that we experienced in our earlier years.

Oestrogen and progesterone don’t only affect our periods and sexual health - these hormones also impact our immune function, inflammatory response, cardiovascular health and our brain function - the decrease of these hormones can have a significant impact on our overall health and well-being.

Before we continue - to help you understand a bit of terminology.

One Life offers two online courses to support mental health and well-being.

The first - Changing Lives is a four-week online course for anyone who wishes to approach their mental well-being outside of talk therapy and medication.

The second - has been developed for health professionals - however anyone who is interested in nutrition and how it can impact mental health is welcome to view this content.

Read more about both of the courses here.

We’re generally stressed.

We have a lot going on. Children, jobs, relationships - a swirling to do list.

We’ve had chronic stress (thanks Covid). We have monthly stress (thanks menstrual cycle). We have hormone stress (menopause, puberty).

And we often walk around with a body full of tension.

So; here are three things to do to relax right now: