MEDITATION WOULD HELP WITH HIS STRESS – BUT HE PREFERS HILL WALKING

Wilma MacDonald and her husband Andrew Ness, both 42, live in Edinburgh and have a son, four. Wilma is a nutritional therapist and Andrew works in IT

WILMA:

I used to work in finance and was incredibly stressed. I was suffering from insomnia and my hair was falling out in clumps. At the time, people were talking about Headspace [a meditation app] so I thought I’d give it a go. I was just desperate to find something to help me get some sleep. Then I got into transcendental meditation, where you practise daily, with a mantra, for 20 minutes at a time. The benefits were incredible.

I have a temper to match my red hair and it helped to even out my fluctuating moods. It can be challenging to find the time now that we have a small human, but when I can manage to practise I’m less likely to flare up or go down a spiral of comparison.

Andrew had tried meditating before we met and decided it wasn’t for him – and that’s that as far as he’s concerned. His job is pressurised and I know it would help him because stress doesn’t just go away by itself. But he won’t take my advice.

He had eczema for 30 years, but with my help he no longer suffers with it. I once found him clawing at his back with a screwdriver. He went dairy- and egg-free and within 10 days it was gone. But I do realise there’s no point in nagging him to meditate. It’s like working with clients – they make changes when they’re ready to do so. Otherwise they dig their heels in. I guess there’s a bit of the rebellious teenager in all of us. (maverickmotherhood.co).

I tried meditating once, long before I met Wilma, with one of those recordings you listen to. I’d been stressed at work, finding it hard to sleep and thought it might help me relax. But sitting in a darkened room with my eyes closed, trying to clear my head of all thoughts – if anything, it made me think about work even more as there were no other distractions. It made me even more stressed. I never tried it again after that.

To manage stress, I enjoy Munro-bagging [mountain walking] with a group of friends. We might pick off a few in a day. That’s the best thing for me – being out in the wilderness, away from the pressures of everyday life. I know meditation works for a lot of people, but I also know what I need whenever life is feeling a bit much. Being in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal – that’s what alleviates pressure for me.

ANDREW: