What self-care means to Irish women – and how they’re doing it their way

From the depths of the pandemic period, we’re now emerging into a forever changed lifestyle where self-care, health and wellness are taking more of a priority than ever.

Here, three women give their advice for a renewed focus on living well and feeling great.

“I'm the worst for bottling everything up, so having the space to vent has been my saving grace”

Niamh Murray is 27 and is a quality and training professional from Co Kildare. She lives at home with her parents.

“The pandemic period wasn't easy but I was very lucky to be able to work remotely – I think I would've cracked up without having work as a distraction,” Murray says.

“I really struggled with not being able to see my friends, and with living at home – I love my parents and my brother to bits, but I desperately want a house of my own.

“Covid illustrated even further that a mortgage won't be happening any time soon, so that contributed to the hopelessness. We also had to get one of our dogs put down earlier this year which was a much bigger blow than any of us anticipated,” she says.

Murray recognised she needed to put some coping strategies into place. “I was reluctant at first, but I ended up going back to counselling. I'm the worst for bottling everything up so having the space to vent has been my saving grace.”

Therapy has given her a regular focus to help make things feel normal, and she made some other positive lifestyle changes too.

“I decided to do up my room, and the distraction of the painting, wallpapering and furniture building was brilliant. My friends and I set up Netflix party dates every Saturday to watch Drag Race and then we had a video call afterwards which was the highlight of my week,” she says.

“I ended up giving up smoking as well, I realised I didn't enjoy it without having someone to go on a smoke break with, so I just stopped, and it's really helped my anxiety.”

Sleep was a focus too. “I really needed to cut down on my screen time, so I started using apps to help me relax and stay off the phone,” she says.

Murray’s caffeine intake also came under scrutiny. “I tend to drink less coffee at home – one strong cup in the morning rather than several extra shot cappuccinos throughout the day. I think less caffeine has helped me sleep better,” she says.

“It sounds silly but I have a proper bedtime routine now that I just didn't have time for before the pandemic. I used to be on the go right up until bedtime, which seemed very normal. Now I have time to properly wind down, do my skincare and get a good night's sleep. My skin and sleep schedule have never been better.”

“I felt quite isolated as the restrictions were in full flow, and I was terrified to even hug my parents”

Sarah Petersen is 34 and is the owner of Dan-Éire interior design.

Peterson’s business stayed consistent through the pandemic and she was busy, her personal life took a dramatic turn, and this meant her lifestyle habits were out of kilter. She set about making some big changes that, importantly, she can stick to going forward.

“The pandemic had its ups and downs. My business was busy, a good complaint, but in April 2020, my 12-year relationship with my partner ended. Then, in July, I made the move out of my home back to my parents’ house. That was big – both emotionally and physically,” she says.

A generally positive person who describes herself as upbeat and optimistic, Peterson says that the loneliness of the pandemic was a huge challenge, one which she overcame using a variety of lifestyle changes, including one very big positive change.

“The best decision of my life was made on the 7th of March, when I got my little rescue dog, Molly. Physical touch is my number one love language – which doesn’t bode well in a pandemic where you can’t touch anyone! So I don’t think I would have survived the lockdowns without Molly. She was always there for a snuggle when I needed it most,” Peterson smiles.

Her physical health and well-being weren’t ignored either. “I actually made some big changes in my life,” she says, adding, “I started taking more exercise and I really concentrated on what I was eating.”

Other changes she embraced were geared towards her mental health. “I’ve learned tapping, meditation and I listen regularly to two hypnosis audios, one for confidence and one to help me sleep better at night. A lot of the anxiety I experienced was physical anxiety, so I cut out all alcohol, and coffee and sugary drinks stopped completely,” she says.

“As part of my gut health, I also started having some kefir with my breakfast in the morning and drinking Kombucha. I used to suffer terribly with digestive issues – this has been life-changing for me.”

All-in-all, things are positive in Peterson’s world. “I do more exercise in general, and am choosing to buy better quality food and more natural skincare products.”

“I found myself at my GP realising I was close to burn out”

Anne Marie Boyhan is 42 and is the owner of The Sleep Care Company. She lives in Dublin.

“It was so tough that I ended up changing my career, literally,” recalls Boyhan of the pandemic period. “Working full time, with two young kids, aged five and two at home, and home-schooling, I was stressed and it had a knock on effect on my sleep,” she recalls.

“My busy job in marketing in the financial services sector meant I was 'always on’. The lack of sleep definitely affected my physical well-being and with lots of brain fog and dizziness, I found myself at my GP realising I was close to burn out.”

While trying to improve her lifestyle, Boyhan studied how to get better sleep, and as a result ended up starting her business, The Sleep Care Company.

“I researched and looked for things that would be useful. Having a good wind-down evening routine, ditching the tech in the evenings (due to the blue light), having a set bed time and a buffer between the 'working day' and 'the night' to give our bodies a chance to wind-down and destress. Before this it all blurred into one.”

Refocusing on sleep as the most important part of her day, Boyhan’s mental and physical health saw improvement.

More energy meant she had an enthusiasm to look at exercise, food and a proper ‘wind down’ routine.

“I completely changed my lifestyle for the better. I took up an online exercise/strength training class, I seriously looked at my coffee intake, I focused on my evening routine and sleep hygiene – something completely alien to me pre-pandemic. It's funny because I was religious about my kids' bedtime routine but never did it for myself,” she says.

Boyhan also looked at her diet and focused on healthier eating. “At the start of the pandemic there was lots of alcohol and mindless eating going on,” she recalls. She then cut back on her alcohol consumption, and found that the lack of access to restaurants and eating out benefited her.

“As I was cooking at home I got really into cooking from scratch - previously I was in an office and would've eaten out a lot at lunchtime and frequented the vending machine,” she says. “Cooking from scratch is now a firm part of daily life.”

The changes she made during the pandemic period have now become routines.

“For me what works is getting outside for a walk, getting that daylight into my eyeballs, sticking to an evening routine, turning off my phone by 9.30pm, doing a 'brain dump' into a sleep journal, and more,” she says.

“They are small changes, doing even one of them helps - but they have made all the difference. I really believe that the best days are built the night before.”

Supporting your mood and mindset

Some of the ways we can support our mood and mindset as we come out of the uncertainty of the past 18 months are by making the correct dietary and exercise choices, and nurturing our gut health.

“Specific nutrients are important when it comes to mood balance and supporting our ability to handle stress,” says nutritional therapist Elsa Jones. “So too is our gut health, where it is estimated up to 95 per cent of our serotonin - the body’s ‘happy hormone’ - is produced.”

Udo’s Choice Super 8 is a hi-count microbiotic blend that contains eight strains of lacto and bifido bacteria. Each daily capsule contains 42 billion 'friendly' bacteria.

“A healthy gut, rich in ‘live friendly’ bacteria is crucial,” Jones says. “We can best do this by nourishing it with prebiotic foods, and supporting it by consuming ‘live’ foods. So, add nourishing foods such as onion, garlic, asparagus and oats to your shopping list, together with ‘live’ foods like tempeh, sauerkraut, kefir and natural yoghurt.”

You can also support your gut by taking a microbiotic supplement. “Be sure to choose a high strength one containing both lacto and bifido strains,” Jones advises, such as Udo’s Choice Super 8.

[ To find out more about Udo’s Choice Super 8 speak with your pharmacist or local health food store – udoschoice.ie ]