Hello all! I thought I would start off by telling you that I really have missed posting here on Nanny Mary-Anne.

During 2021 some other things in my life took over so I really didn’t have time to post on here.

However I would love to do more articles for you during 2022 as I see there are many of you that still love visiting my page.

Which is amazing!

I really don’t want everything I write about to be about me, so please do leave a comment and let me know how you are doing!

Who I am and what I do

Before I get into it, I thought I would tell you a little about me! If you already know my story, feel free to scroll down to the next part of my article.

I am a nanny, writer and avid traveller. My partner and I have been all over Scotland and on weekends and holidays you can find us discovering another part of bonnie Scotland.

Juggling nannying and writing means balance in my life that allows me to use my strong childcaring skills and also use my introverted side during writing. A good ying and yang way to live I think!

Writing has always been a massive part of my life.

I remember when I was early on in primary school and teacher had us write a very small story. After reading mine he proudly held it in the air and told the class what I had wrote was well beyond my years.

Writing hasn’t always came easy though! A few years down the line in school and I was tested for dyslexia. Back then the tests were very generic and defiantly not as up to speed as they are now.

So of course the test had came back negative. Although I still had struggles such as following sentences in books without my eyes mixing them up.

So I’m sure even till this day I have some form of it. But that’s not an excuse in any way!

I adore writing.

I love that I can let the world fall away from around me and suddenly the only thing that matters are my words and how wonderfully I choose to spin them.

The hard truth about self-isolation

I feel a major pull to write about this because I feel we should be talking more about it.

Talking more and encouraging people to reach out for help along the way.

The strange thing to me is that during all the lockdown’s we had, everyone was talking about isolating.

There was so much focus on mental health and now people going through self-isolation are expected to just get in with it.

Since I’ve struggled with isolation, I can very much bet there are other’s out there who are struggling too.

And by struggling I don’t necessarily mean dramatized emotions.

I haven’t been sitting in a dark corner eating ice cream every day, nor have I been flopping to the floor in sheer isolation agony.

You’ll meet people in life, or maybe you already have that expect that kind of drama from you when times are trying because anything else is harder to deal with.

Isolation is a struggle for me because I miss my independence and of course I miss my travels that are so imbedded in my heart.

How it started…

A little while ago, my partner woke up feeling strange.

He decided to take a home test because we had so many Scottish adventure plans for the first week in 2022. Not to mention I had lots of amazing babysitting lined up and new nanny family’s to meet.

As I sat planning out our adventure for that day, thinking there’s nothing that’ll stop us, then we glanced at the test and saw it was positive.

Since we both live together, we both had to begin isolating from that day.

It was a scary strange time.

One of my partners first symptoms was a fever and it was pretty scary to say the least.

So that night he barley had dinner and went for an early bed.

Over the next week and we felt pretty much fine, just slightly run down but I can say with 100% confidence that I’ve had colds in the past that were so much worse.

Now we are pretty much at the tail end of it and should be able to go back to normal in the next few days.

Self Isolation really affects mental health.

There seems to be some kind cloud over isolation that is never talked about.

The truth is that isolating is really hard and it can easily eat into your mind. Especially for people like us who never are at home.

Don’t get me wrong, the first few days were okay and it gave us a chance to do some things that we never do.

We binged watched the first Spiderman movies and played some games. It was fun.

That is until around the fourth day when we were still waiting on pcr tests, the weather was gorgeous and all I wanted to do was escape to the highlands and feel the best air in the world circle my face.

It’s the best medicine in the world!

What I have learned and how it will help you.

Ever since our first day in isolation I have found myself looking out the window crying for some freedom.

It’s been such a strange and different start to the year. I have absolutely had low moments and if I hadn’t been careful my mood could have taken over.

For me it gets me down when I feel like every day is the same and when I’ve not been able to use my freedom the way I would like.

Even if you are someone who likes to be at home more than we are, you will find moments where your mental health isn’t the best.

So what happens and how do you get through this?

Remember my points are referring to if you feel well enough to carry on as normal but of course if you need more sleep and rest, put that first.

• Get out of your pj’s and look nice

Now with this point I’m not saying stuff your thoughts down the couch and go look pretty for the sake of it. However to pull your body and mind out of a hard time, it can help to try and dress the opposite if your feelings.

This is something I learned after feeling really low and there wasn’t much else I could think to do but to throw on a dress and put effort into the way I was looking that day.

Your problems still exist but not looking the way you feel is a big confidence booster and it does help to life your mood.

• Workout

I noticed during our national lockdowns that there was so much focus on chilling and ordering in fast food. However there was little to no focus on eating right and working out still.

And the same goes for isolation! Make sure you are still moving your body and this does wonders for your mental health.

• Create

We are amazing individuals with limitless possibilities. Use this time during isolation to do something different. Create something you could sell, write a book even!

There are two types of people here. The person who watches tv all day and all night during isolation because there is “nothing” else to do.

Or there’s the type who is determined to keep growing and learning even when times are difficult.

A massive part of mental health is feeling like we are part of something and letting our creative juices flow.

• Controversial point but I don’t care –

Please question why you give up your freedom before you do.

Question why/ and what’s in an injection before blindly rolling up your sleeve.

Question if your morals and believes are actually what you believe in and not just what society is telling you to believe.

Don’t be afraid to think differently from everyone else, this world does not need more snowflakes and sheep.

• Cherish this time with who you live with-

I was saying to my partner the other day that although isolation completely sucks, it must be a really nice time to have a baby in the house. I feel you’d be spending so much time when them which must be nice.

Whoever you live with make sure to turn off the tv and spend some good quality time with them.

• Appreciate the endless adventures that are around you –

I think because I got so used to traveling Scotland over the years that I began to take advantage of it. I probably needed something like this time to wake me up and remind me of how breath-taking Scotland is and to never forget that.

And that is maybe something that will help you. We are so lucky to live in this world.

Never let yourself become so detached to it that you forget to feel each fresh breath of air on your face, marvel at the sun coming up and see everything you can get your eyes on.

Make plans, make adventures! Go see whales in somewhere gorgeous, visit historic castles that teach you about your country.

Your freedom is everything.

I can only imagine that when I am too old to travel, I would only kick myself for saying no to an adventure that I could have experienced.

Go be free!

I want to hear from YOU! If you have any thoughts on your own experience with isolation, please do let me know in the comments section.

Thank you.

Nanny M xx