Lewis Capaldi, my campervan and me 🚐
Well, I’m back from the fields of Glastonbury and have finally managed to scrub off all the dirt, but I’m still recovering from partying until well after the sun came up.
It was an incredible week, ending with a 5 hour ‘rest’ on the hard shoulder of the M5 and a visit by the Transport Police because there were no recovery vehicles available for my decrepit campervan in the aftermath of the Glastonbury breakdowns! 😂
Capaldi comes a cropper
It seems my campervan and I are not the only ones that need a rest. Although I didn’t see it as I was watching another band, Lewis Capaldi’s performance made the headlines. Reports showed his voice failing on stage and that he didn’t complete his set. Despite this, his audience showed up and supported him by singing the words for him.
Capaldi’s physical and mental health have suffered lately. It is said he was anxious about doing the Glastonbury set, whilst being exhausted from long hours and feeling the pressure of fame. After some emotional song lyrics and sadness from recent family losses, his Tourette’s Syndrome was triggered and his voice failed.
Lewis Capaldi has become a figure-head for mental health. When celebrities are open about their life challenges, it normalises these issues for the rest of us and makes it easier for us to speak out.
Capaldi has since reported that he is taking a break for his mental health, something that sounds like it is long overdue. We all need balance in our lives. Both wakeful physical rest and good quality sleep are required for us to function well. Like sleep, physical rest is one of our tools in our toolkit for good mental health. It is especially important in today’s world when we’re constantly on the go, being bombarded with phone notifications, messages, emails and negative news in our 24-7 lifestyles. No wonder we’re often burned out! Hence the need for our Getaways.
Rest-oration
Wakeful rest is critical to human health and is one of Wholistic Wellness Centre’s Pillars of Wellness, an organisation we work closely with. It can include reading, crafting, watching a movie, listening to music, meditation or other mindful tasks. It is extremely restorative for both physical and mental health, and should always be balanced with the other main Pillars of Wellness being movement/exercise, sleep, proper nutrition and activities that support psychological wellness, like connection. Applying these principles gives us a foundation on which to build good mental health and resilience.
Wholistic Wellness Centre is a Health and Wellness Consultancy, with a very different approach to wellness from the mainstream medical world. They take a ‘whole’ approach to health, looking at the root causes of physical, mental and emotional health. They offer free 10-15 minute consultations to discuss how they can help you with:
· amelioration and remediation of existing conditions
· avoiding medication
· optimisation of health and immunity
· prevention of future disease
They have had success in helping people with hormonal problems, hair loss, thyroid problems, epilepsy, fatty liver disease, long COVID, gut issues and many other concerns. They know that remedying physical wellness challenges helps support the mental health challenges that we all face, and vice versa.
Fleeing from lions
Applying physical rest puts our body into ‘rest and digest’ mode, rather than the ‘fight or flight’ high-stress mode. This allows our body and brain to rest and repair. The body cannot do both at the same time.
We are designed to be in the calm state of rest and repair most of the time. However, with our busy lifestyles and constant bombardment with information, the balance has tipped to being more on high-alert. This triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which puts the body in a survival state, for example as though it is being chased by a lion. This is supposed to be a short-term experience as it rapidly depletes the body’s reserves; it is physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting. However, this high-stress state has become the ‘norm’ and our bodies are unable to cope with it, especially when we also pump them with caffeine, alcohol and other stimulants or depressants just to function. No wonder so many people are burned out!
This high-stress environment is even more detrimental to people who are biologically female, when they have not yet completed menopause. This is because of the impact of stress on their hormonal balance, which impacts thyroid function, energy levels and fertility. We discuss this on our Getaways so that women can better understand their bodies and men can be more mindful of how a woman’s cycle, and environment, affects the women in their lives, be they partners, daughters, friends or colleagues.
Our take-home message this time is to ensure you build in good quality rest to allow your body and brain to recuperate and avoid physical, emotional and mental burn-out. If you are suffering and would like to understand how better to support your body, or those around you, we recommend getting in touch with Wholistic Wellness Centre for a free, no obligation chat.
Well wishes,
Andie. x
Image: by juicy_fish on Freepik
