The cover of The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell promises that this is a ‘beautiful, beautiful book’. And it is. I found this gem of a book in a charity shop. Reading it was a joy. A very personal nature diary, it chronicles the twelve months of the British year in nature, as experienced by Emma, an illustrator from Cambridgeshire.
It’s well evidenced that time in nature is good for your mental health. Whether that’s simply a walk in your local park, mindful forest bathing, or regular cold water swims, spending time outside is good for your soul. During the long monotonous days of lockdown, getting outside helped people to cope with the anxiety and stress brought on by the pandemic, with time spent in nature a real lifeline for many of us.
The book is written in diary form, and starts in October, when the leaves are beginning to fall and the migrant thrushes arrive. Emma’s wonderful observations of the minutiae of the nature that surrounds us – whether it’s a tiny goldcrest flitting in the woods, a nightingale singing overhead, or some snake’s head fritillaries blooming in spring – reminded me of how wonderful it is to be surrounded by nature and simply notice what’s around me. My knowledge of flora and fauna isn’t as extensive as Emma’s, but I’ve resolved to improve it after reading this book and observing her joy at simply spotting a particular species of bird or a flower in bloom. She describes a murmuration of starlings;
“Tens of thousands of birds are behaving like a living liquid. My mind reels at the complexity of the mathematics and silent communication required for this astonishing behaviour… Writhing limbs of birds, coordinated by their brains’ responses to one another’s flightpaths, protrude then recede from its edge as it seems to crawl like an aerial amoeba.”
Emma’s honesty about her mental health, which suffers greatly during the winter months, means that The Wild Remedy is raw in places and difficult to read. Her mood plummets as the nights grow longer and the temperature falls, reaching its lowest point in March, often a point in the year when it can feel like the darkness and cold have gone on forever and will never end. It’s taking simple pleasure in nature that help to lift her mood, from a bird feeder that brings blue tits and sparrows to her garden and the sight of young meadowsweet leaves in the woods.
Emma’s descriptions of the wildlife she sees around her are brought to life by her drawings that appear throughout the book; pencil sketches and watercolours that reproduce in careful detail the nature that she encounters on her walks.
You can buy The Wild Remedy here, new or second hand.
2022 is a year that I’ve planned to use looking after myself a bit better – both my body, and my mind. I’ve vowed to stop seeing carving time out for yoga or a mindfulness session as self-indulgent, or a luxury, and telling myself I should be spending that time cleaning, working, or playing with the kids. But these things are part of a self-care regime that makes me feel healthy and happy, which reflects on everyone else in our home, too.
My first stop when deciding to commit myself to something is to read a little more about it, and there are so many different aspects to self-care that a general guide seemed like a good idea. Which is where Anna Borges’ book, The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care, came in.
The author, Anna Borges, is an editor, podcast host, and mental health champion, and I loved her warm, non-judgemental tone throughout the book. The book itself is divided into bite-sized sections of up to a page on a wide range of self-care topics, from yoga to medication and friendship bracelets to fidget toys.
I liked the honesty of the ‘Their Care’ sections where contributors talk openly about their struggles and what works for them, whether it’s dealing with post partum depression or an eating disorder.
The book itself is beautiful to read, with illustrations by Bob Scott in soft greens, pinks and blues. There are motivational quotes every few pages – “Say it more. Say it without apologising. No!” was one of my favourites, as this is definitely something I need to work on.
Bob Scott illustration
This is a brilliant book to read straight through from cover to cover, or to pick up when you’re having a low moment. Every page is full of pearls of wisdom in Borges’ tones. She understands how you’re feeling, and she’s not judging. There are some obvious tips – forgiving yourself for your mistakes, and thinking about your work-life balance – and some that you might not have thought of, but once they’re pointed out, seem like a no-brainer, such as establishing boundaries around the news (you don’t need to know everything that’s going on in the world) and stargazing. I can testify that a little stargazing session is most definitely a boon for the soul, especially if you can spot some actual planets!
There’s an easy to follow flow-chart at the back with suggestions on what kind of self-care you need depending on how you’re feeling, ranging from the gentle ‘lounging in something comfy’ and ‘reach out to someone you love’ when you’re really feeling unable to do much but sit on the sofa, to more energetic and effortful if you’re feeling ok, such as gardening and cooking.
Usually, when I finish a book, it either goes to the charity shop if I don’t think I’ll pick it up again, or on our bookshelves if I want to hang on to it. This book is staying out. Opening it is the equivalent of a warm, comforting hug, whether you just need a quick pick me up or a life preserver. Buy it new or second hand, or borrow it, but try to add it to your collection if you can. It’ll do you good, I promise!
We decided this year that we were going to give some of the mindfulness apps out there a try. We have some books with mindfulness exercises, and YouTube has some free ones, but we both liked the idea of having something that would both chart our progress and which we could personalise. Here’s Caroline’s Headspace review.
HEADSPACE
Headspace is one of the world’s most popular mindfulness and meditation apps, so it seemed a good place to start. It’s free for the first seven days, then £9.99 per month, so one of the more expensive apps.
Interface
I found the interface very simple, with a clean, colourful design. It was really easy to navigate to various parts of the app and find what I needed – a good thing as the whole purpose of the app is to relieve stress.
Headspace interface
Meditation
Headspace features a daily meditation, with themes such as ‘hope’, ‘creativity’ and ‘intention’. I liked having these suggestions as it meant I tried meditations that I might not necessarily have chosen. The daily meditations can be as short as four minutes and up to twenty minutes. I tried to do these in the mornings, and each of them left me feeling refreshed, content and ready for the day.
I also did the mindful eating course. This is a thirty-day course, with the first ten days dedicated to ‘learn’, the next ten to ‘practice’ and the final ten to ‘master’. Each daily session lasts about ten minutes.
I’m definitely guilty of mindless eating, when I’ll grab something without really thinking about whether I’m hungry, and finishing food on my plate without really tasting it or enjoying it. The course really helped me to re-evaluate that behaviour and think about the space in my head between the thought of eating something, and my behaviour – making the connection that just because I think about eating something doesn’t mean I have to act on it. There were some really good exercises, like trying out eating a meal without any distractions such as phone, computer or other people. I thought the app was worth the money for the mindful eating course alone. It had a number of really helpful practical exercises, and was genuinely transformative in shaping my thinking around eating more mindfully, and the storylines behind when and how we eat.
There are also meditations dedicated to dealing with difficult times – stress, anger, exam prep, interviews and work stress. There’s even one for dealing with your anxiety when you have to do a presentation, which will resonate with most people! I tried the ‘flustered’ meditation when I was having one of those moments with far too many thoughts crowding in my head from different directions, and found it really helped.
Children’s meditations
I tried out the sleep meditations for 9-12 year olds with our 10 and 12 year old. They were a bit giggly at first, but relaxed into the meditation after a minute. and once it had finished said it definitely made them more relaxed and sleepy. They did go to sleep very quickly afterwards, and I found it a nice way to wind down with them at the end of the day.
Exercise
There are a number of physical exercise sessions on the app, from vigorous workouts to gentle yoga. Most of them try to integrate mindfulness and breathing into the practice.
I tried some of the yoga sessions and thought they were well designed, if a little impersonal and business-like at times in some of the sessions. There are sessions of varying lengths, from 8 to 45 minutes, and for different times of the day – morning, daytime and before bed. There are also sessions for different moods, such as stress and anxiety, and different body areas such as hips, neck, and core. I liked the Afternoon Reset, a 20-minute flow for intermediate yogi that’s good for lunch breaks, and the longer Calming Flow for before bed.
I also liked the Lincoln Center Dance Breaks, which teach dance moves from around the world in short sessions, and the Move Minis, quick sessions for when you just need to move and get your heart rate up but don’t have a lot of time.
There are some great rest day meditations too, for days when you’re not exercising and want to let your mind rest as well as your body.
Sleep
I particularly loved this part of the app. The sleepcasts were stories to send you to sleep, read in a variety of calming voices, and I don’t think I stayed awake to hear the end of any of them! The wind-down sessions are guided meditations to help send you off to sleep, with a variety of exercises from deep breathing and noting to mindful walking and mindful cleaning to help you sleep! The sleep section also has exercises to help you get back to sleep if you’re a night-waker, rather than reaching for your phone and scrolling. And I loved the soundscapes with sounds recorded in natural spaces, like cicadas on a lake, forests, rain on rocks and water running under bridges.
Other features
I thought the nature breaks in the productivity section, with videos of scenes from nature intended to help you refocus when you need to give your mind a rest, were a great inclusion and really grounding when my head had a million tabs open.
There were also quick breathing exercises with a visual guide – breathe with the waves was my favourite – that are a good way to stop whatever you’re doing and take a short mental break, either from work, a stressful situation or just life in general.
Value for money
The app is great value for money once you unlock the paid for features – which isn’t an option for many given the £9.99 per month price tag – and provided you use it on a very regular basis, as I’ve been doing. The sense of wellbeing it gives me is definitely worth the monthly cost.
Compared to other mindfulness apps, I felt that the free content was extremely limited – there was very little that you could access without taking up the free trial, though the app is available for free for some people, including teachers. Once you’re in the trial, many of the meditation courses are at least ten days long – I guess this is deliberate in order to encourage people to sign up beyond their seven day free trial.
I would have liked a family subscription option, which seems to be available in the US, so that I could share the app with other people in the family.
With a library of hundreds of meditations, it’s likely that you’ll enjoy and get your money’s worth from Headspace if you use it often. The app is great value for money once you unlock the paid for subscription – unfortunately not an option for many given the £9.99 per month price tag – and provided you use it on a very regular basis, as I’ve been doing. The sense of wellbeing it gives me is definitely worth the monthly cost, so represents value for money for me – I don’t spend money on a gym subscription or any other sports (yoga, swimming and running are all free!) so I justify it that way.
There are a whole host of free mindfulness apps available – check them out here.
