How to Unprocess Yourself: An interview with the delicious Melissa Hemsley (audio and video 🎉)
Plus: join us IRL in London next month
Hello everybody,
Today is a great day - for me - because I’m finally able to share an interview I did with the delicious Melissa Hemsley back in May.
It’s the bonus episode from our Mental Health Awareness Week pod-athon on the subject of moving for our mental health, and supports the launch of Melissa’s sixth cookbook, Real Healthy: Unprocess Your Diet with Easy, Everyday Recipes (hence the slight embargo on content).
And hopefully today can be a great day for you today, too - if you listen/watch - because Melissa shares lots of brilliant advice on self-care and mental health and reveals how she manages hers now she is balancing work with family life.
The podcast will be available for the world to listen to (and please feel free to share far and wide), but I’m only sharing the video version here with you guys. It’s unedited and unfiltered and a very real and lovely conversation on how - and why - we need to move to stay sane, as well as how what we’re eating impacts our mood, and some simple things we can do in and out of the kitchen to support ourselves.
Things you probably already kinda know, but also probably kinda need reminding of sometimes (and that I why I am here :)).
EVENTS
Further down the email you’ll find information on a self-health workshop I’m hosting in East London next month (7th August) - I’d love to see you there!
This Monday our Book Clubbers will be joined online by author Bunny Michael, who’ll be teaching us to how to UNlearn our most toxic learned beliefs (and channel our higher selves).
Members/subscribers we’re looking for any well-being warriors in the community to showcase their talents at our birthday day retreat in October 26th so if that sounds like you please get in touch by RVSP.
And I’m off to Latitude festival in Suffolk this weekend so holler if you’re going to be there (or come and find me at the Waterfront Stage on Saturday morning with the Disco Yoga crew).
I hope you have a delicious weekend planned, and would love to know any favourite takeaways from my conversation with Melissa.
With love from SH HQ,
Toni 💛
PS I also have a new podcast project brewing for September with Substack friend and journalling ninja Tanya Lynch so watch this space for more info on that!
🎧 LISTEN: THE MENTAL HEALTH INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA HEMSLEY
Today’s podcast guest is the delicious Melissa Hemsley, former private chef turned food columnist, best-selling cookbook author, real food activist, sustainability champion, mental health advocate AND mamma, who is passionate about spreading the power of feel-good food.
Food is Melissa’s passion. This conversation was recorded to celebrate the launch of her SIXTH cookbook, Real Healthy; Unprocess Your Diet with Easy, Everyday Recipes, but we also ended up talking about lots of lovely - and easy - ways to unprocess lots of other parts of our lives too.
I hope you will find this chat deeply comforting and nourishing on many levels, because that is always how I feel after spending any kind of time with Melisssa.
In this conversation we discuss:
The mental health and nutrition connection (research indicates a strong link between diet and mood/mental health, specifically ultra-processed foods).
The art of self-mothering and being patient and understanding with oneself, especially during times of major life changes.
The benefits of somatic practices for mental health, particularly in processing grief and trauma through body awareness rather than just talk therapy.
Parenting and mental health as Melissa reflects on her journey through IVF, pregnancy, and motherhood, and how these experiences have reshaped her mental health practices.
Mindfulness and wonder (and dogs!) as part of our well-being toolkits.
The simple self-care practices that can significantly impact our mental health.
JOIN: OUR SELF-HEALTH WORKSHOP IN LONDON THIS AUGUST
It's been a while since we've done an in-person event in my favourite city, and so I'm very happy to announce that Weds 7th August I'm hosting a self-help workshop near the riverside/City in east London as part of the Workshop Wednesday series in the GoodLuck Hope neighbourhood.
The workshop will be a two-hour hour deep dive into the S.P.I.E.S. self-development framework I use on myself and with the members of the Shelf Help Club as a way to measure our SELF HEALTH, a state of well-being that enables us to manage and enjoy life from a place of calm and resilience and that supports us to heal and grow.
SELF HEALTH, a state of well-being that enables us to manage and enjoy life from a place of calm and resilience and that supports us to heal and grow
By the end of the workshop you'll have a better understanding of which areas of your life are working right now and which could do with a little tune up and you'll go away with some practical ideas on how to do that.
And maybe some new self-help loving friends
Join us!
The art of self-mothering 🔥