Louise’s Story

From edge-of-anxiety to actually feeling like herself again

Louise came to me running on empty.

Not in a way that was obvious from the outside. She was functioning — working, travelling, keeping everything moving. But inside, she was permanently on edge. Anxiety had become her baseline. Sleep was difficult because her mind wouldn’t stop. And somewhere along the way, she’d stopped looking after herself in even the most basic ways — eating lunch alone in her car between appointments, or skipping it entirely, because there wasn’t time, or energy, or any real sense that she deserved better than that.

She came to me with a clear ask: she didn’t want to overhaul her life. She just wanted tools. Practical, daily techniques that could help her feel less like she was constantly bracing for something.

That felt like a manageable place to start. And it was.

What we worked on

The first thing we did was give Louise a toolkit she could reach for when anxiety spiked — things small enough to use in a car park between meetings, at a desk, or in the ten minutes before sleep that had become the hardest part of her day.

We worked on the 54321 grounding technique — a simple sensory exercise that pulls your nervous system out of spiralling thoughts and back into the present moment. We worked on breathing — not the vague “just breathe” kind, but specific, structured breathwork that signals safety to the body. We introduced the pause and pivot — a way of catching anxious thought patterns before they gather speed and choosing a different direction.

For sleep, which had been difficult because of rumination, we built a wind-down routine with real intention behind it. A specific herbal tea in the evening — not for the tea itself, but for what it signals to the nervous system: it’s nearly time to rest. Lavender hand cream by the bedside. A brain dump and journalling practice before sleep to empty the mental load onto paper rather than carrying it into the night.

We looked at her relationship with alcohol — she was drinking more than she wanted to be, and she knew it. Rather than restriction and willpower, we talked about alternatives that actually appealed to her. Kombucha was one she’d never heard of. She tried it and liked it. That small swap carried more weight than it sounds — it gave her agency in a moment that had previously felt automatic.

And gradually, as things settled, we started talking about movement. Not a punishing exercise regime, but something gentle enough to feel like self-care rather than another obligation.

What shifted

Between her first and second session, Louise’s anxiety, alcohol intake and approach to exercise had all measurably improved.

But the number that stays with me isn’t on a form. It’s the fact that Louise — who had been eating lunch alone in her car, skipping meals, treating herself as the last item on a very long list — started carving out time for herself. Not because I told her to. Because she began to understand that her nervous system needed it. That she needed it. And that it wasn’t indulgent. It was essential.

MYMOP OUTCOMES – MEASURE YOURSELF MEDICAL OUTCOME PROFILE