On a personal level, I refuse to believe 2023 is over! It simply can not be true. Unfortunately, the calendar says that it is indeed 29 December and therefore the year is coming to a close. So, to end on a positive note, here are some really nice things I’ve done for my body and mind this year.
Training for a half marathon
Note I did not say ‘run a half marathon’ because, if you’re new round here, I never actually completed the run. But the training was great! Brilliant! Way better than I thought! Highly recommend it, even if you don’t make the race.
Not drinking
Yes, I’ve drunk alcohol again since my eight-weeks-of-no-booze this summer, but that period without a Friday night wine is still one of the best things I did for myself. The sober lifestyle was triggered by an intensely anxious period, though it wasn’t necessarily being alcohol-free that improved my mental health. Instead, it was the fact that I simply did not want to drink, so didn’t. I hadn’t been enjoying a glass of wine or a spicy marg like I usually had, so I stopped having them - and it was the purposeful decision making that made me feel better and more comfortable. That’s a lesson that goes beyond booze, bordering on the ‘listen to your body’ cliché that is only cliché because it’s true. Now, the best thing I’m doing is finding a balance (OK, another cliché, I’m sorry) between looser nights and slower evenings - but only doing either of them when I really want to.
Seeing the professionals
Yes, I have therapy! But some of the biggest game-changers have been my magical body workers*. They include Florence Penny, founder of Flow Physio, who put my body back together after an injury, and osteopath Anisha Joshi and her amazing team at OsteoAllies - especially Sarah B, whose massage seemed to reset my entire body - who are the only people I’d trust for general maintenance and knot removal. Now tell me why this sounds like I’m thanking them in my Oscar acceptance speech?
Getting out of routine
Back in January, when I realised I had no responsibilities and there was no reason to be in England in the worst month of them all, I took myself off to Mexico. It was the least SAD way to start the year - topping up my vitamin D, wearing bikinis instead of sweatshirts, being by the ocean - and I vowed to never be in England for the first month of the year ever again (unfollow me before I head off again in January 2024).
That’s a very grand thing to do, I know, but the benefits didn’t come from swanning off to North America as much as they came from simply changing my routine. Doing something other than living in a perpetual state of hating winter, not leaving the house and making no plans were what really improved my life. I’m trying to focus more on breaking up my natural inclination in this way: planning something big or exciting at a time I usually do nothing, taking down time during a busy season or getting away from my desk when you’ve been sat there for hours/days/weeks on end.
Being serious about probiotics
I’ve dabbled in the bacteria game before, but I’ve been consistently taking probiotics for about seven months - the longest I’ve ever stuck with them - and my stomach has never felt better. My two favourite brands that have packed the most impact (shown in science, not just my body, FYI) are Symprove* and Heights* - glorious digestive stuff.
Following a plan
It started with the half marathon training. As a complete newbies to the world of endurance training, I downloaded the training app Runna*. There was something quite freeing about turning up for the run and being told what to do - not having to pre-plan anything or worry about whether I was doing the right thing because, of course I was, the pros inside the app were telling me to do it!
After my running stopped, I applied the same learnings to my gym training. I’ve been exercising consistently for 10 years but have never followed a plan - and the longer I was in the gym the less thrilled I was by the idea of handing the reigns of my movement over to someone else. But Runna taught me that sometimes it’s best not to think about it, so I downloaded Shona Vertue’s gym guide and… once again, I’ve realised that thinking less and following instructions are actually very good for you. Now can I apply that learning to every other part of my life I overthink, please?
Writing and reading
This is one of the best parts of every year (which is probably why it’s my job). But this year felt particularly special as I got to brain dump on my very own Substack to my really lovely subscribers. I worked through my thoughts and feelings about the weird body stuff that happened this year, from scary diagnoses to small epiphanies, in a uniquely shared way. And I got to read a load more writers sharing the inner workings of their brain in their own spaces too. Thanks so much for being here - I have loads more planned for Gray’s Anatomy in 2024 and hope you’ll be here with me.
*I’m lucky enough to be gifted some products and treatments thanks to my job as a journalist. Hopefully you know that I’m only recommending things that I genuinely love.
What a wrap! I really appreciated your insights into 'thinking less' in the gym - it made me curious to try out following someone else's instructions as well. And all the yes to Mexico adventures to shake up the winter. (I travel a lot over the summer period, so I enjoy the winter excuse to bunker down. But then again, I live in Portugal. So it's not *really* that cold.)