Category: Guest blogs

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Guest blogs

I wish every month were Pride month

by Patrick Hall So Pride month is now at an end and, frankly, I feel rather sad that it’s passed so quickly and that I didn’t really get to do anything to celebrate it. My work’s Pride quiz was postponed, I couldn’t attend any Pride marches and I spent most of the month either working or sorting out my house move. Having said that, the end of Pride month has always felt like a shame, especially when you see all of the flags disappear and all of the social media posts about LGBTQ+ issues vanish. And to top it off, violence against LGBTQ+ people in the UK and beyond has seen yet another surge. Fighting for acceptance as an LGBTQ+ person is a constant battle that takes work through every calendar month. I often wonder why all of these flashy corporate initiatives only last through June.  I’m very grateful for the help and support that I have received in my life and for the changes that have happened in the past few decades. But being an LGBTQ+ creative is still tough and it was particularly difficult for me when I was growing up. Being unsure of who you are and where you fit in the world, yet having to practise and perform in a world that is very sociable, is difficult. Knowing I was different and being mocked by people who suspected it certainly diminished my confidence. Going to music rehearsals, performing in front of others or auditioning for a main role in a theatre production was a daunting task; whereas now it would just be ‘experience’.What was hard was not having any role models or fellow artists that I knew were part of the LGBTQ+ community. Worse than that was not seeing myself in any of the novels or poems I read. I confess that there were characters or interlocutors with similar personalities, but having realised that I was part of a group that wasn’t considered ‘normal’ by most of the people that I went to school with, it was tough not seeing or reading about or meeting people that fitted into that group. Of course, I have a lot of difficulties with the term ‘normal’ and 100% dispute that being queer would make you ‘not normal’, but I just wanted to know that people were in the same boat as me. I loved the arts growing up and still do. Reading novels, playing cello and doing theatre kept me going. I guess it just would have been nice to express myself a bit more easily and I optimistically hope that it is becoming easier for people growing up now. Later on, I started to see signs of improvement. When I was studying literature at University, we were usually able to talk about LGBTQ+ issues openly and how they came up in the texts that we were studying. Every time I had a conversation about an author or a character that wasn’t straight or cis-gender with a tutor/ lecturer, it felt like we were exploring the issue senitively and open-mindely, without pigeon-holing anyone. Outlets such as publishing houses and radio stations have started to acknowledge LGBTQ+ artists and promote their works while mentioning how they identify.  Yet, there’s still a lot of opposition to these initiatives from people who claim their rights as non-LGBTQ+ are being threatened and that they’re being subjected to something that they don’t care about. It’s like they have to hide in a corner until Pride month is over and then everything is suddenly back to ‘normal’ for them. But I struggle to understand this. Pride isn’t about making people feel guilty for who they are or indoctrinating people, it’s about creating awareness of the problems that some people face and allowing those people to feel like they belong. While not important for some, it’s life-changing for others.  Of course I haven’t written this article to oppose Pride month as a calendar month. It’s great to have a month dedicated to LBGTQ+ people and I love seeing all of the events and creativity happen. However, whatever your workplace is doing to include LBGTQ+ people or whatever your favourite radio station is doing to promote queer artists, I think it needs to happen all year round. And conversations need to happen all year round as well. Creative fields are difficult to work in as people in them often feel under immense pressure to be confident and adhere to what other people think. The stresses of the pandemic have only made this worse. So why don’t we help our LGBTQ+ creatives to thrive, check in on them and appreciate what they do, because they may very well be struggling too? Return to News & Features…

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Guest blogs

Artists Online: the challenges of being a creative during a pandemic

by Patrick Hall In today’s article, we discuss the difficulties of being an artist during the pandemic – a topic which I am sure will resonate with many of our readers. The pandemic has been an emotional and financial burden on many of us; but it is even more difficult when you are being asked to perform in front of a camera and not on a stage, having to source expensive tech equipment or missing the buzz of performing/ practising with others. Relying on the internet or on alternative spaces to create art poses problems with accessibility as a lot of people can’t afford the right facilities or get hold of the right kind of space within the confines of where they live. Many of us feel emotionally drained when practising art by ourselves and long to be working with others again. But is there anything that we can learn from this pandemic? Has the pandemic taught us anything about how we can modernise art and carry it through the future? I’ve never been a professional artist myself, but playing music with other people and sharing my poetry, even reading it aloud sometimes, have been key components in my happiness and wellbeing. Before the pandemic, I was always on the lookout for music ensembles to join, opportunities to perform and poetry ventures in which to participate. When the pandemic started, I remember my cello ensemble rehearsal being cancelled straight away and I naively assumed that this would be a momentary blip. Months later, I realised that all of my time was being spent working, going for walks alone or just sitting inside. I needed a way to get back into the Arts now that rehearsals were a no-go and I couldn’t see my friends on a regular basis.  So I got into volunteering at a museum which was great fun because it gave me the chance to talk about and discover some amazing art, most of which had a local flavour to Devon and Cornwall. Volunteering for Be Extra was also great: although I couldn’t be with lots of creatives in a physical space, working with other creatives online and discovering fantastic artists through the wellbeing live events was spectacular. It is true that I am desperate to get back to an orchestra rehearsal, but I have loved how the pandemic has made me explore the arts differently and do things that I would not have done otherwise.  Now let’s hear about the experiences of our CTO and Head of Development, Lizzy Hardman: My expectations for this year were a lot of time spent shuffling my CV and applying to as many auditions and competitions as possible while getting set up as self-employed. Particularly before summer, companies had no idea when they would be able to put on a show so auditions were cancelled and competitions closed their scope – “sorry, we’re only accepting applications direct from conservatoires”. Even more brutally for me was the fact that having been a student, the majority of my income had previously been a mixture of freelance work, part-time employment, and student loans, meaning I was ineligible for the government support for artists. Then came the next kicker – recordings for applications. They’re really a double-edged sword. Yes you can perform from the comfort of your own home, you get the chance to redo if you’re unhappy, and you get to save on travel costs. On the other hand, it comes with the presumption that everyone wanting to apply has access to a space suitable for performance, and access to decent tech equipment. I’m fortunate in that I have a decent mic from my work as a narrator but other people won’t be in that position. So many of my recordings have been ruined by my neighbours cackling and mimicking me from next door, or people walking past the window when I’m doing a video recording, picking their nose as I emotionally pour out ‘Se vuoi serbarla a ricordo d’amor!’ It’s also difficult to get in the mindset of performance when just behind you is your partner eating crisps and playing Cyberpunk. The pandemic has made us think differently about how we can share and access art, making the most of the internet and new technologies. However, it has also brought about issues regarding accessibility and we face the danger that certain creatives will be pushed aside while we look to modernise. Unfortunately, this may not be the only pandemic that we face in our lifetime and it would be good to adapt the way we work and become more flexible. But it is crucial that we bring up the problems faced by creatives during the pandemic and how we can tackle these. Hopefully, Lizzy’s experiences and my own have proved insightful, but stay tuned for reflections from two more of our volunteers, which are yet to come.  Return to News & Features…

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Be Extra News Guest blogs

Lifting Lockdown: roadmapping out of anxiety

by Tash Bowen Over time and with countless practice, we have crafted perfectly feeble excuses to get out of plans. Easily believable and always vague, these white lies are specifically designed to protect our personal time and space. They enable us to avoid judgement from peers about taking time for yourself. Yet, why do we have such an ingrained fear of being honest about self-care? Why do we feel that “because I don’t want to” or “I don’t feel like it tonight” are inadequate excuses to steer away from socialising and take time for oneself?  As a species, we live by a series of carefully constructed rules and patterns to not only ensure our survival, but to maintain the pursuit of happiness. Set structures for behaviour and society enable us to feel comfortable and safe, and chaos threatens this. The pandemic brought chaos. A whirlwind of mass upheaval leaving death and destruction of old orders in its wake. Now, that may sound dramatic when written on a page, but it is nothing short of what happened. Every single one of us was affected to some degree – some more than others. The “lucky” ones managed to only experience a complete dynamic shift in their daily lives, and coped well, but this is still a highly traumatic experience for the individual. Jarring the traditional sensibilities that have been drummed into us since we were little. Now, change rears its head again. After a year of social restrictions, we’re slowly being eased back into normality. *Mental motion sickness has entered the chat*.  With the heavy mist of lockdown finally beginning to lift, there is a new-found appreciation for saying ‘yes’ to plans. We want to make the most out of every waking second that we have with the people that we love. But it is imperative that we do not abandon making the most out of the time we have for ourselves.  Despite being in isolation with the person in the mirror, very few of us actually dedicated time to enjoying the personal freedoms that can be found in being confined to one space. Instead, the weight of the pandemic and the financial, environmental and social stressors that came with it took pride of place in our minds and dominated our energy and thoughts. The list of questions has been and still is endless, but one that springs to mind is why do we still feel guilty about not wanting to say yes to every plan to go to the pub or for a socially distanced walk with friends?  Change can be very stressful. For those whose lockdown had its social benefits, the thought of having to reintegrate back into the previous normality is overwhelming. For those who were affected physically by the pandemic or sadly had someone taken away from them, the anxiety of risking infection is extremely high. Exhaustion, frustration, confusion and hopelessness loom, but we must take our time. We should appreciate that our bodies and minds require patience to accept that some occurrences are out of our control. To move forward, we may need to stay in one place; we may need to maintain certain aspects of lockdown to slowly allow ourselves to physically and mentally adjust. Bear in mind the rules in place to protect you and your loved ones but try and set your own roadmap out of lockdown. You have accomplished a lot over the past year. Now, I don’t mean that you’ve baked an incredible banana bread or learnt a new hobby. Achievements are personal and sometimes small, but the fact that you’re still here is huge and very important. You have not only survived but lived through a global pandemic. This past year has felt like a lifetime, but in the grand scheme of things a year isn’t a very long time at all – and you have achieved so much. Whether you’re ready to return to the old ways of working and socialising or not, you are not alone. Despite isolation, if you need to take more time to ease in social integration, do it. We all have to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves mentally and physically.  

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Guest blogs

Empty chairs and empty studios

How the global health pandemic has impacted studio spaces and their owners by Alice Strachen, co-founder of YourStudiosUK The effects of COVID-19 have devastated many industries, one of the first to shut its doors was of course the creative industry with theatres going dark and all TV and Film productions halting filming back in March 2020. With this closure, studios across the capital that usually would have been filled with rehearsals, fitness classes, filming and auditions were sadly left completely empty.  This has had a huge impact on the industry as a whole and the mental health of many. Studio owners have faced huge turmoil and with no clear route out of lockdown, they have been left unsure of when they will be able to fill their space once again and financially, the impact has been absolutely devastating. So the roll out of the vaccine has been welcomed with open arms, with the hopes of busy studios in summer 2021 in sight.  YourStudios was created to help creatives find their perfect studio to hire with ease and our hope was to help studios fill their spaces, help their marketing pursuits, increase their visibility and ultimately grow their overall profits. Creatives have produced some absolutely incredible work over the course of the past year, with many taking their work online, choreographing out of their bedrooms and doing their best to work out of their homes, however, research has shown that, “When you have a lot of demands from both work and family and you put the workplace in the home, family demands become very salient and you’re reminded of the conflict,” said the study’s author Timothy Golden, who is an associate professor at the Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. “But when you’re at your workplace, you don’t see the chores and family members, so you’re a little removed from the conflict”. Juggling the home/work life balance is an incredibly difficult task with many really struggling with motivation and productivity as a result. Having a separate space for our different pursuits is so important as ultimately, we want to be able to associate our home as a place of comfort and rest.  Another bad habit that has crept in for many is working from their beds, something which at one point maybe sounded like a total luxury and dream job, however has now become a difficult reality. According to psychotherapist and behavioural sleep medicine therapist Annie Miller, there’s a very specific reason why we shouldn’t work from our beds. “When we use our bed for other activities, like working, reading, watching TV, etc., we create an association with wakefulness. We want the bed to be a cue for sleep, and working in bed weakens this association,” says Miller.  With so many obstacles to overcome, any work that has been achieved over this past year deserves to be celebrated, but take comfort in the knowledge that our beloved studios will be open to us again very soon, we’ll be able to get back to yoga, work on the correct floors, have space and have be in the same space as others!  We can’t wait!  YourStudios launches in April 2021. Head over to their Instagram to keep up to date. Return to News & Features…

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Guest blogs

Writing The Wave: Journaling Through Uncertainty

Anxiety is often considered the result of uncertainty about the future, whilst depression can arise from a bleak outlook on what lies ahead. Though these are simplistic notions of mental health issues, they can be useful starting points in distilling how mental wellbeing is affected by our perception of what’s to come.  During the covid-19 pandemic, our familiar routines and plans for the future have fallen away, leaving nothing but the uncertainty of the present. This has led to an exacerbation of mental health issues, as over half of adults and two-thirds of young people said their mental health got worse during the first lockdown in April and May of 2020*. These issues continue to embed themselves amidst loneliness and uncertainty, as we’re now one year into these long periods of isolation.  One of the main factors which affects our ability to nurture our own wellbeing, is a lack of human contact. As social creatures, we not only want, but need, to speak to a variety of other people in order to organise our thoughts. Now, unable to speak to friends or access therapists as easily, our thoughts become muddled and heightened – including those anxious or upsetting ones. A way in which we can deal with this mental discordance is to organise and communicate through other means, one that doesn’t necessarily involve anyone else, yet allows us a form of social therapy nonetheless: writing. Journaling is one approach to writing for your wellbeing, focussing on the sole purpose of addressing your thoughts and feelings throughout the day. Although it may seem trivial to begin with, writing down your musings or recollections is a useful exercise in discipline and reflection. You can type your ideas, or write by hand, because the benefit stems from making the exercise work for you. Whether you write two lines, or two pages, a day, ensure that you’re getting what you want from your journal. There are endless journal prompts online, on sites such as Pinterest and Tik Tok. You may want to write about your worries, or even what you’re grateful for. You’ll find that putting your feelings down on a page helps allow yourself to let go of the stresses of the day. Not only is journaling ideal for documenting ideas and emotions, but it also allows us to remember what we got up to. This helps separate the days from the weeks that all seem to merge into one another. Journaling can be an important exercise in mindfulness as well as memory.  If quiet meditation isn’t your style, there’s always the option to blog your way through lockdown. Many people have turned to blogging as a way of coping and connecting during isolation. Setting up a blog is really easy, and ideal for reaching out to a select few people, or a wider audience. Whether you want to share what you’ve been cooking, write opinion pieces, short stories, or simply post about your day, there’ll always be readers who are keen to connect. Blogging can be a simple way to find people who are going through the same things as you, to learn from each other and feel less lonely.  Whilst writing about your life may have some appeal, it’s not for everyone. During a pandemic, you probably feel like you’re trapped in Groundhog Day. We’re caught in a loop of waking up, working, eating, working, then perhaps baking a lockdown banana bread – if we’re not all sick of them by now. The joy of writing is that it allows you reflection, but also an escape. If you can’t think of anything worse than writing about your day, then fiction and storytelling is a glorious solution.  Personally, reading has provided me with some much-needed grounding throughout this year, which may sound odd, as books are generally thought of as a way to escape to another world. They serve as my primary source of inspiration for writing. I find reading engaging, as it is an active process, unlike watching TV or scrolling on my phone. The act of reading forces us to build the story world ourselves; therefore challenges the reader to move, mentally, from that spot on the sofa they haven’t left since last March.  Reading is a great exercise in restoring mental wellbeing, whether it’s an indulgent romance, or War and Peace, the point should be that you enjoy it. No one can judge your choices. It’s called reading for pleasure, for a reason. Reading is undoubtedly the best source of inspiration for your own writing, as it can provide you with endless ideas and creative goals. To extend the act of reading, writing your own stories can be rewarding when you’re looking for a new challenge. The beauty of both reading and writing, is that no one needs to know what you choose to read, or produce, if you don’t want to share it. Some people make time to write in the morning, whilst others opt for tapping away on their laptop through the night. Writing provides a way of escaping everyday routine, whilst taking a moment to be present.  Whether you decide to engage in journaling, blogging or writing stories, each way you choose to express yourself and your creativity is equally valid. You have nothing to lose from putting aside half an hour of your day to explore what’s going on in your head, behind the scenes. Regardless of the method that works for you, you’re sure to unveil some of the inner workings of your mind. Often, we’re not even aware of the thoughts that linger on our subconscious, as lockdown has switched us into autopilot.  Whilst it is speculated that anxiety is a fear of the unknown, and depression is a lack of hope about the future, writing allows us to reflect logically on the past, and look to fantastical imaginings of what could be. Through writing, we can find ways to engage with those around us, even when they’re not near; and our

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Guest blogs

Walking in Turbulent Times: Part II

Missed the first installment? Read Walking in Turbulent Times: Part I here… So here we all are, a year into the pandemic, and with the end vaguely insight. We thought now was as good a time as ever to share the experiences of another of our volunteers who has taken to walking in these difficult times. This week we hear from Tash Bowen, one of our Social Media Officers and we hope that in reading her observations and insights, you can perhaps think about your own experiences with walking and where you may hope to venture in the future. Are you an artist, a musician, a writer, or a creative of some sort? Another of our volunteers, Nicole Mawby, has provided us with the following quote from Earling Kagge, a writer, art collector and explorer: ‘Language reflects the idea that life is one single walk; the word “journey” comes from the distance we travel in the course of a day.’ How does walking affect your creativity? What do you hope to achieve from it? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Deep breath in, deep breath out. One foot first, now the other. Repeat.  It’s fair to say that we can all let our emotions run amok from time to time. Personally, I find it most difficult to manage my emotional responses when certain situations are outside of my control. So, in the past couple of years, I have been concentrating on appropriately managing my emotional responses. Walking helps.   Each time I feel overwhelmed, I slip on a sturdy pair of boots and get out. I walk to accept, process, and understand my feelings, regardless of how long it takes. I walk to separate myself from an environment that is potentially physically and mentally confining me. I walk to appreciate the wider world that I often take for granted because I can let trivial circumstances overrun my rationality and disengage me from the matter at hand.  Being a part of a generation that encouraged lots of outdoor play, walking to and from places regularly, and the Saturday-staple family-walk, I have spent a lot of time connecting with my surroundings and realising my place within it. Each place has a deeply rooted and distinct history and culture, which, when recognised, can grant power to the self. The human species, however, is complex and there are parts of ourselves that we will never fully understand, so rather than drown in the intricacies of the self, it serves us better to ground ourselves in the reality of the great outdoors. To build a relationship with our natural environment means building a relationship with ourselves through physical and emotional grounding. This type of connection has been encouraged and strengthened by being born and bred in South Wales. With my home city’s placement between the mountains and the sea, there has always been a plethora of natural spaces for me to belong to and explore.  Residential streets where the distant hills rise up and engulf the houses in a sea of green, where the waves are made from other little houses and streetlights are dotted about like sea foam. Woodlands where the trees whisper to each other when gentle gales blow or they rumble in blustery winds, summoning stories from deep within their roots. Mountains silent in their watch over us, standing resolutely against the elements; shaping our skyline, carving the sunlight into separate segments, and casting it out across the valley floor. Fields where the grass and the flowers dance together, intertwining their bodies to create fluid movements that sway and flutter, caressing the legs of those who amble through. Beaches where the sand glides and swirls in a mist over its bed, pulling back the covers on shells and creatures that lie sleeping beneath. The sea can soar towards the sky as if reaching for the rain to be brought back home. It tumbles over itself, yearning, longing for the company as it crawls up the shore, crashing, shouting for people to step in. This place hugs you. It feels like standing on an open pop-up book, looking up to the crisp-paper layers that lie one after another. The roll of the hills is reflected in the motion of the sea and their presence serves as a reminder that emotional ups and downs are a part of life.   These fluctuations are inevitable – and the ability to accept that is imperative in managing your wellbeing. As a species, we are not easily contented with our lot, and with the dramatic rise in social media over the past couple of decades, the daily bombardment of how to be our best selves is relentless. Industry advertisements, movies, and TV shows, and pop-cultural figures all contribute to the already dictatorial dichotomy of what is good and bad in today’s society. So, distancing yourself from the ingrained, self-critical nature of the human mind is harder than ever before. One way to achieve this emotional distancing is through walking. Let the outside world absorb you in its setting, and as you focus on what is physically nearest to you, the most distant concepts of competition and morality can be let go. By grounding yourself in your environment you can regain power and reconnect with yourself as a part of something greater –as a part of the world. The relationship that you can build with reality in this way will bring calmness, focus, and the ability to alter what can be altered. Do not sit and hope for things outside of your control to change, instead accept what is within your power and change that – you can get outside and enjoy your space. Enjoy the finer connections that hold you here and fully appreciate them for what they are. Reality is multi-faceted, complex, sometimes stressful but always fascinating. So, resist the urge to get lost in your emotions, and get lost in your surroundings instead. Walking will help you to fully recognise your emotions, value them and hopefully,

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Guest blogs

Walking in Turbulent Times

Walking in nature’s equilibrium has been a source of inspiration and reflection for many artists. In Persuasion, Jane Austen writes of the heroine: ‘Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedge’. The pandemic has provided many of us the opportunity to explore the outdoors as we look to find calm. Being deprived of other means of inspiration, we look to what our leisurely strolls can give us. Some of our volunteers have taken the time to write about their experiences with walking and what taking to the outdoors has done for them in the past year. __________________________________________________ Patrick Hall – PA to the CTO For me, walking is much more than just exercise: it’s a chance to clear my mind of negative thoughts and relieve stress. I spent the first lockdown in Oxford. I was having a difficult time adjusting to working from home and then being furloughed. It was great to discover new places that I’d never seen before and revive old memories in a much quieter environment than that which the city used to resemble. Of course, being near people could be daunting with a new virus on the loose, but I began to love seeing other people enjoy the sunny weather and appreciate the space. I remember one walker by the river telling us all that we’d get through this and that is certainly a memory that will stick with me for some time. I returned to Cornwall, where I’m from, after the first lockdown, and walking has been a very different experience. I live in the middle of nowhere, where there are mostly just fields and desolate beaches. Despite missing the beautiful architecture and historic feel of Oxford, I have loved finding peace in the outdoors. The paths I have been taking are already very familiar to me, but it’s fantastic to experience them at different times of the day and enjoy the distinct lack of traffic. A venture in the frosty weather before work or a relaxing Sunday stroll can make a massive difference to the rest of my day.  Katie-Jayne James – Marketing Officer My favourite place to walk is down a popular trail along the River Taff and lucky for me, it’s so close to where I live. This walk offers so much; you have the river to walk along, bridges, wildlife, stunning wood carvings, vast fields, cafés, the sound of instruments and voices coming from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff Castle and that’s only naming a few! When lockdown eased, I was able to go back to my home in The Forest of Dean for a few days where I went on a few socially distanced walks with family and friends. Of course, these walks were all very familiar to me but, the experience was completely different. I had taken the beautiful scenery of my home for granted whilst growing up and now, I love going back there. Alexandra Deterte – PA to Director of Media  I consider myself to be very lucky. I am surrounded by parks and commons. The pictures below were taken up behind our flat at the Putney and Wimbledon Common. Such a beautiful place. One of the only places I have found in London where you can escape the traffic and see almost no people. It’s our little escape. Reminds me of home, being able to go for a walk amongst the trees and seeing just a small handful of people, often walking very muddy dogs.  Nicole Mawby – Marketing Officer “Placing one foot in front of the other, embarking on the journey of discovery, and experiencing the joy of exploration–these activities are intrinsic to our nature. Our ancestors traveled long distances on foot, gaining new experiences and learning from them. But as universal as walking is, each of us will experience it differently.”   — Earling Kagge I’ve always been one of those people that take photos of everything. Dappled light on exquisite architecture, vast seascapes at sunrise, and pretty much anything at golden hour. I like to keep a record of what I’m doing and who I’m with. When my walks became limited to where I could reach from my doorstep, these photos started to become less exciting: restricted to fluffy clouds, sheep in fields, and crumbling castles.  I decided to challenge myself to look more imaginatively at my immediate surroundings, to be curious and inquisitive. Looking with fresh eyes has helped me to look more slowly, become more mindful, and appreciate the finer details, which has influenced all aspects of my life. I have created some photo bingo cards to help you to look with new eyes. I’d love to see your results: Chloe Lunn – Marketing Officer I had a lecture back in October of 2019 where we discussed walking, and what it means to walk, looking at Kagge’s work, and understanding his words through our experiences. We were set a task of giving ourselves a question about our uni work, then going on a walk with this question in mind and recording our findings when we got home. Through this walk, I discovered how moving gave me so much mental space to think and process things. When I lived in Bristol I would walk almost every day with friends to see the views of the city, but this task made me realise how I’d left that enjoyment in one city and not carried it back home with me. Since lockdown hit, I have been carrying these thoughts and ideas about walking with me, rediscovering streets, fields, and parks I used to walk and play in as a child. There’s something nostalgic yet fresh about my walks now. I’m seeing places I used to know well through a new lens. I think having to stay in one area for a long time makes you start to look

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Guest blogs

Five Ways to Wellbeing

The Five Ways to Wellbeing are a set of evidence-based messages which were developed by the New Economics Foundation more than 10 years ago. These messages were designed to improve the mental health and wellbeing of each and every one of us. A decade later, these feel more pertinent than ever. We have put together some tips for each message, to help you, as a creative: ConnectConnect with the people around you. With your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building and nurturing these connections will support and enrich you every day. Now, connecting these days feels tied to screens (which I’m sure we can all admit is less than ideal) so, here are some alternatives to connect with loved ones near and far. Do an activity over Zoom rather than Zoom being the activity itself – this could be doing an art class together, cooking, or watching a film – you could take it in turns to host, find recipes, or choose the film. Design and send a postcard from home Walk and talk. Take a friend on your daily walk. Talk about what you can see and paint a picture of your local areas for each other. Be activeGo for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Have a stretch. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness. Try yoga. There are hundreds of free classes online. We love Fable Yoga on YT and Vanessa Abreu on IG. Go on a brisk walk around the block Make running fun. Try Strava or Couch to 5k to help with motivation. Dance like no one’s watching! Have a quick shimmy while waiting for the kettle to boil or while the adverts are on. Take noticeCatch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you. We’ve put together a series of photo bingos! Take photos during your daily walk to try looking at your everyday with fresh eyes. Have you seen A View From My Window? It’s a beautiful collection of views from across the world. Why not set up a mini group with your friends and share your own views? Noticing can also be internal: be curious about how you’re feeling – what are you doing when you feel your best? Do more of it. Keep learningTry something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Our website contains a whole wealth of resources from scientists and creatives that aim to inform, educate and inspire including resources from Wellbeing Wednesdays, our free weekly online wellbeing events. Our archive of Wellbeing Live events can be found on our Facebook. We invite creatives to host a short session on their practice, we’ve had singers, artists and therapists – there’s something for everyone. London Drawing Group are a feminist trio with some a whole host of pay-what-you-can classes and webinars on art. Sign up to edX, FutureLearn, SkillShare, LinkedIn for free courses on pretty much anything. …And keep your eyes peeled for future courses from us! 😉 GiveDo something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you. Why not gather up a pile of old drawings, postcards or receipts you might have piling up, and set up an art material exchange with your friends for them to create new artwork with? This could become a collaborative sketchbook lockdown. Once you’ve created a piece of art, why not swap it again? Cailleach Collective are facilitating a postal art exchange! All mediums are welcome. Volunteer with us! We’re always looking for volunteers to join the team – slide into our DMs or email us to find out more. Do you have a friend who’s always wanted to be an artist? Can you teach some of your skills? We can guarantee you’d both get a lot out of it. Remember If you’re working from home, try to separate your ‘work’ space from your ‘life’ space as much as possible. Give yourself regular breaks If you’re struggling with procrastination, give yourself 5-minute focus targets (Creative Lives in Progress talks more about this). This could be a great time to get your priorities in check. If you aren’t feeling up to something, it’s okay to say no. It’s okay to put yourself first. It’s okay to find some days difficult. If you need extra support You can find 24/7 support which is both free and confidential from the Samaritans on 116 123. Mind offer guidance and supportive resources through their website. Blurt is a social enterprise dedicated to those affected by depression (they also have heaps of feel-good content). Time to Change is a social movement working to change the way we all think and act about mental health problems.

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Guest blogs

Relationships and their impact on your wellbeing

By Alexandra Deterte Everyone needs friends, no matter your age. They are your safety net and support bubble when things aren’t going your way. They are your counsellor and shrink. They are your partner-in-crime, your sidekick, your secret-keepers, your bodyguards and your family. And to me, they are everything.  Recently, I went through a rather stressful and upsetting two years. In 2018, my husband was offered a job in London. We were in Wellington, New Zealand, and decided to jump on the amazing opportunity, so we started planning. The move was set for mid-March but on March 4th we received my rejected visa application, after which, we decided to apply again: paying the fees and once again beginning the three month wait. At the time that was OK. We thought we could do three months with lots of FaceTime and messages. It would be fine. June came and went and so did another rejection letter. We figured something was wrong and we contacted a lawyer for help, which is when we were told we would not be able to reapply until my husband had worked in the UK for a full financial year. The next fifteen months would end up being the hardest few months we have ever experienced. Lots of people know how hard and draining it can be to keep up appearances. On multiple occasions I was fighting back tears, fighting the urge to scream and give up hope but I knew that I couldn’t do that. I have two younger brothers and I like to think they look up to me as the positive, calm and annoyingly-like-mum, older sister. I wanted to follow my parents’ example. My parents have been in a similar situation for almost seven years and they never complain about being apart. Their work only allows them to see each other a couple of times a year; they never seem to be upset, or at least they don’t show it to anyone, but I did not have the same experience. On the inside I was falling, and falling fast.  Then Covid-19 presented itself and changed our plans again. At least this time we were able to think about how it was outside of our control. All we could do was wait. He was so far away and I was having to sort out our third and final application attempt on my own (and with the help of our immigration lawyer of course). Yet, it was the help of two very important people in my life that helped me the most. They were there for me 24/7. They lived a forty minute drive away but that didn’t matter to them – they still showed up on my doorstep every Friday for dinner since my husband left. There were days when I didn’t feel like talking and they understood that, sometimes,  just being there was enough. My friends, who I would like to refer to as L and D, were there for me through all the stressful correspondence from the lawyer and the accountant, through all the relationship doubt and worry and through all the times I couldn’t be bothered dealing with the visa anymore. They would be there to pick me up and to get me back on track. I have known L since the beginning of high school and we have been there for each other through high school drama and now real adult problems. We are grown up, but we grew up together.  L and D had a baby boy just before my husband moved away and I threw myself at that little kid. Baby T was my smiley, cheeky and sweet little man who was always happy to see me and would always make me smile. Having such a strong connection with these three very important people, meant I was able to positively focus my energy and time on them. I could be creative again and decided to bring out some of the skills I haven’t used for quite a few years and learn some new ones too. I was able to start my sand painting and quilt making again. I attempted to make “fancy” cakes for their birthdays and while  they didn’t always work out, I used Baby T as my reason to be creative; it helped me focus and relax. Knowing I was making something for him would allow me a moment to escape and be excited – it allowed me to create time for myself. Although Baby T was too young to know what I was doing, it still helped me focus on the small things and the people around me, which I could easily have lost sight of. Although being apart from my husband was very upsetting and stressful, the time that my friends dedicated to me, encouraged me to focus on time for myself. I was able to complete my studies, start a new job, and learn new skills. I formed new friendships and  built on my closest ones. I was able to spend an amazing amount of time with my family, visit my youngest brother at his Uni and giggle with my second brother even more. My family is great. All the caring questions about how my husband was and how work was going (even though I rarely knew the answer myself but would always say “great”) was very considerate and supportive but there’s something a little special about having an extra bubble of support.  The relationships I have with my family and best friends are very similar. They’re fun, supportive, challenging at times, but they’re always there. The only difference would be that I can speak to L and D about everything and anything. We went through High School together so there’s a lot she knows. I tell my mum pretty much everything already which I’m pretty sure she tells my Dad so it’s a two-birds-one-stone situation but there are times when I just need a truthful and honest opinion or a rant which

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Guest blogs

Better sleep in lockdown

BETTER SLEEP IN LOCKDOWN – WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, START SLEEPING – WORK HARD SLEEP HARD By David Cato The worst thing about the current pandemic is also the best thing about it – we’re all going through it. Across the world, online, in the papers, and on social media, the economic and social effects of our current situation are impossible to avoid. Not a second goes by without someone reading a news story, watching a documentary, or hearing someone’s recent experience and going, “holy crap, me too!” None of us are alone in this, even if we sometimes feel that way, and that’s why we can share in detail our own journeys, like my struggles with sleep, energy, health, and time management; I know that at least some of you out there will read these words and think to yourselves, “yep. Me too. I can relate.” I’ll admit it. I’ve always taken sleep for granted. Never really bothered to think that much about it. Ironically, during my time at university, lectures about sleep by a certain lecturer (who will remain unnamed) were a favourite nap time for many students. Curious. But it’s so easy anyway right? I’ve been doing it for decades. I spend over 30% of my time alive doing it, more than enough to qualify me as an expert in any other task or activity. It took me a long time to fully recognise the impact poor sleep was having on me. It took a global pandemic. The lethargy, the mind fog, the lack of any real drive to move, to act, to do things. I’d just adjusted to feeling this way over time and accepted these things as a sort of “new norm”. And it’s not like I can plead the excuse of ignorance here, after all, throughout my highs and lows and various mental health challenges over the years, I’d gained a general understanding of good sleep as an important contributor to a properly functioning mind, and good overall health. But knowing isn’t enough, implementation is key. I’ve heard the lesson a million times, we all have. Teachers, parents, pop-sci articles; all saying “Sleep is important. Have an early night.” Yet somehow, somehow, I still had to wake up from a few consecutive nights of good sleep, look back at my previous week’s self, and think “wow. What a difference!” for the lesson to fully sink in this time. Once I’d relearned how to force myself to bed on time, placed the phone out of reach and had a few good nights’ worth of sleep, it’s like my eyes were fully opened and my higher executive functions were accessible to me once again. Suddenly I’m planning, problem solving, remembering list items, acting decisively and with purpose. Over the previous few months, I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have energy. Mobilising myself to get up at a reasonable hour to do the very basics; hygiene and grooming, cooking, cleaning, shopping, tidying, is so much harder when I’m not (physically, as well as mentally) running at 100% capacity. The lesson here? We all have to recharge each night, properly, in order to perform (at a base level) for a full day. And all of those things, each small in it’s own way, collectively join to form the backbone of my basic daily life. With a clean eating space, a full fridge, and an organised and uncluttered living space (contributing to an equally uncluttered mind, I’ve found), the next tier of responsibilities and requirements are suddenly achievable! They no longer appear as the daunting, insurmountable cluster of mind-numbing tasks that I’d been so desperate to avoid. Maintaining relationships with loved ones (scheduling regular phone calls mostly), socialising with friends (digitally, of course), exercising and stretching my body, and paying attention to my diet and nutrition, all become so obvious to me. It’s as though once you have the underlying things sorted out, the next series of important tasks that rely on them are suddenly right in front of you, like the obvious next step to take. It’s extremely difficult to go from doing none of these things well to all of them in one go, but, taking things one step, one day, one task at a time, it all becomes possible. Progress, not perfection. And then, with all these aspects of ordinary life being worked on and maintained as a matter of daily or weekly routine, I find I have the mental bandwidth to take on new tasks too. I can seek employment, develop and maintain a professional image, cultivate a (limited) online presence. I realise I have the additional mental resources available to learn new skills, balance a workload, even withstand the soul crushing black hole of constant rejection that job hunting has become, and balance a positive hobby or two, like drawing sunflowers. Badly (I’m working on it). Essentially, a key discovery for me has been that, sleep is the primary foundation upon which all higher functions and abilities must be supported. No one has everything handled perfectly, and there’s only so much we can do to improve at any one time. But if you feel like you aren’t quite firing on all cylinders lately, haven’t got access to the full suite of mental and physical abilities you usually have at your disposal, or feel low in energy and mood without any more obvious causes, I can’t recommend pushing your sleep a few notches higher on your list of priorities enough. It’s been a game changer for me. Multiple times. Hopefully it’ll stick this time.  This blog was written by the wonderful David Cato. A graduate in Psychology and Criminiology, David is a huge advocate for mental health awareness. David is also one of our fabulous Outreach & Development volunteers. Read more about David in our second Meet the Team blog.