LOCKDOWN HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL

BY SARA DARLING
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Lockdown has meant massive changes for everyone- especially freelancers like me. No longer am I zipping up to London for meetings, events, openings and exhibitions, or trotting off to the airport for press trips to somewhere fancy. 

In fact, my life had literally turned upside down. I moved back to my mums in Wales for some company- and to try and stop the demons at night who kept telling me the world was going to end. A huge lifestyle change was occurring, as work dried up and I, along with the rest of humanity paid attention to social media (or the news). Feeling completely out of control- which is a new concept for me, I knew I needed to ground myself. 

Signing up for countless meditation and yoga zoom sessions, starting to draw and knit and like the rest of civilisation, baking banana bread, I was still a bit twitchy. So I looked outside of the bog-standard self-help box and discovered a herb called Ashwagandha- also known as “Indian Ginseng” and widely used in Ayurvedic practices, which ticked my yoga box. 

A small evergreen shrub that grows in India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa, its root and berry are said to provide ingredients that help calm the brain, reduce swelling, lower blood pressure, and assist the immune system, which have been part of the culture for centuries.

Classified as an adaptogen, it is widely used around the world to help the body manage stress- which is ultimately what I was feeling. Stress and anxiety manifest themselves internally, so although you may be coping to an outsider, your brain might be fighting symptoms of depression and a darker internal dialogue.

Keen to try something natural, I began a course of one month tablets which I took after food. With so many benefits, I wasn’t sure if all (or any) would be evident, but what I did notice almost immediately, is that I had more energy and could stay up later than usual. 

I have completed the course, and I don’t feel different - different. In fact, from a hormone level, I am still feeling emotional, but I am much more positive in my outlook, and more confident in facing the ‘new normal’ whatever that might be.

If I felt like my moods were looking bleak, I wouldn’t think twice about using this tongue twister of a tablet again.

Available from LinkNutrition.com