GET OUT OF YOUR BEHAVIOUR GROOVE

SAYS SARAH WILSON, AUTHOR OF FIRST, WE MAKE THE BEAST BEAUTIFUL (BANTAM PRESS)

‘I was super-bored and lonely and, I think, like a lot of people who’ve been anxious for a long time, I wanted to talk about it in a different way,’ says Wilson, whose mission is to help people (and herself) learn to live with not always being mentally healthy, and to also thrive with it. First diagnosed with insomnia and anxiety aged 12, she’s had a successful career as a journalist, a TV personality in her native Australia and as an entrepreneur. She wrote the book to kick-start a new conversation around mental health. For example, one of the effects of her anxiety, she explains, is that she can tend to become what she calls a ‘control freak’ and perfectionist. When she finds herself in this mode, what helps, she says, is stepping outside of her routine.

1 ‘Eat dinner foods for breakfast. This morning, I ate mashed pumpkin with garlic. Sometimes I eat grilled sardines on lentils. Or lamb chops.’

2 ‘Go to a 10am movie showing on a sunny day.’

3 ‘Grocery shop at midnight. It feels slightly wrong and lonely but, equally, much more fun than going on Saturday morning.’

4 ‘Put your head where your feet normally go when you climb into bed. This tiny change is like a holiday. Everything looks different in the morning.’