There is no question that the pandemic and, more specifically, lockdown is going to have a long-term impact on mental health.

Research by Mind illustrates the scale of the effects:

65% of adults over 25 and 75% of young people (aged 13–24) with an existing mental health problem have reported worsening mental health

Modern day life is full of stress: fact. We all have plates in the air that we need to keep spinning, with the pressures of work and home life coming at us from all angles. The pace can be relentless, with curveballs appearing out of nowhere at times, taking us from thriving to just about surviving in the blink of an eye.

Around 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem each year. And the number of people struggling to cope with these issues is rising, demonstrated by the increase in cases of self-harm and suicide.

No man is an island/Entire of itself/Every man is a piece of the continent/A part of the main.

John Donne wrote these words in the Seventeenth century but I think the sentiment still firmly holds. It is impossible to stand entirely alone and live a successful, fulfilled life – as humans we need connection, we thrive within community.

That gut feeling

There is a reason your gut is often referred to as your second brain. In fact, there are more than 100 million reasons; that’s how many nerve cells line your gut to make up the enteric nervous system (ENS).

Stress is unfortunately an unavoidable fact of modern life. Whether through pressures at work, relationships at home or just the constant ‘noise’ of today’s 24-hour news culture, we all experience stress to some degree in our day-to-day lives.

I take a holistic approach to stress management and resilience but I’d like to focus on some key physiological strategies here.

Who else has been experiencing some sleepless nights recently? According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need 7–9 hours’ sleep a night to help them to function at their optimal level. Now, more than ever, proper sleep is really important for all of us.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to write about self-compassion, which is the biggest kindness we can show ourselves.