By Florence Wylde Nicholas
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing ok and finding a way through all this. I am taking each day as it comes, trying not to think too far ahead and living in the present. Not an easy thing to do!
For those who do not know me; I am a Nutritional Therapist at Julia Davies Nutrition. I have worked with Julia for almost a year now.
Most of the clients that I see will know that I have an interest in psychology and within my practice I focus a lot on emotional wellbeing and the impacts of stress / emotional upset on the body and health. (For example, stress can really impact digestion. You can watch a video of me explaining this in more detail below).
With this in mind, I wanted to reach out to all of you with a few well-being ideas and point you in the direction of some of the amazing resources currently available that I have been using for myself and some clients already.
Breathing
Wim Hof Method: A breathwork method which has become very popular over the last few years. Wim Hoff is a really interesting man and many people swear by his breathing technique, which has been said to boost the immune system and help with anxiety. He is currently offering some free guides on his app ‘The Wim Hoff Method’ and he also has a youtube channel.
Barefoot walking in grass
Known also as ‘Earthing’ or ‘grounding’ is a simple and free process of connecting yourself physically with the earth and its electrons. Earthing has been found to lower stress hormones, reduce inflammatory mechanisms and improve mood and sleep. (You can read more about the research here)
If you have access to a green patch (in your garden or local outdoor space), kick off your shoes and walk slowly in the grass for 15 minutes.
Drawing
Get out the old crayons or colours, and draw whatever you see or what comes to mind. Creating art can give you another avenue of communication of feelings, thoughts and experiences and can help you to use creativity to improve feelings of well-being. The benefits come from the expression of creativity, rather than the art itself. So it really doesn't matter whether you consider yourself to be good at drawing or not!
If you have created any art, I’d love to see it! Please email us a photo or add to the Facebook group.
Podcast recommendations
Here is a selection of noteworthy podcasts on my radar. Some are funny and feel good, others are inspiring stories:
Fortunately with Jane Garvey and Fee Glover (Chatting and silliness with special guests)
Feel Better Live More: Episode 91: if this man can turn his life around, so can you (an amazing story of real life change, reaching your goals and determination)
Love Stories with Dolly Alderton: Dolly chats to special guests about their true loves (everything from friends, family, hobbies, lovers)
Dear Joan and Jericha: comedy show, agony aunt spoof - very funny but can be very rude. Do not listen to it if you are easily offended.
I hope you will find some of these suggestions helpful. I have plenty more so please let me know if you would like them. We’d also love to hear from you, do you have any suggestions?
Overall I encourage you to make the most of technology and reach out to your friends and family. Share your concerns and worries. We are all experiencing this together and although we each have different reactions to it all, there can be comfort in joint experiences and knowing that we are not alone through all of this.
Sending you all well wishes and warmth
Florence Wylde Nicholas
Nutritional Therapist