From Comfort Zones to Coastlines
A journey to the edge of the wilderness with a group of strangers
The ocean is calling and I must go. I don’t know about you, but I crave being out in the elements in all weather. The stormier the better. I want the ocean to roar back at my rage. Goodbye to normal, to the relentless routines and weekend family errands and Hello to friendly strangers, new conversations and outdoor activities. I’m welcoming you to join me on my journey to West Wales, to the exposed peninsula of St Davids - the UK’s smallest city.
On this occasion, I’m not the facilitator or the host on this weekend retreat, but a guest speaker, offering to hold space for 50 health practitioners. They are attending in hope that they will learn all about alternative lifestyle medicines and therapeutic practices. This retreat promises more than relaxation; it will offer a communion with nature’s most primal forces. Cold water therapy anyone? If you’ve ever been to the most Western tip of Wales, you’ll know its rugged and unforgiving coastline, surrounded by the ever changing dance of the ocean.
For those that embark on this journey with me, there will be an understanding that wellbeing transcends physical health. It will encompass the renewal of the mind, spirit and emotions. West Wales is the perfect backdrop for this transformation. It is a place where individuals lean into the unfamiliar, where uncertainly will bloom into adventure and where comfort zones will be stretched to embrace the unknown. Bring it on !
I so am looking forward to discussions with these GP’s, about why therapeutic journaling should be high on the agenda for all health practitioners. If I’m brutally honest, if nothing changes within our society in the next few years, we will be living with a mental health pandemic.
I’m sure there will be some doctors that will find expressive writing as an alternative lifestyle medicine a little too woo woo, so it’s up to me to encourage them to try something a little more radical. If anything it will empower doctors to prioritise their own emotional health, develop self-awareness and nurture their resilience.
The benefits are numerous both for the doctors and their patients. Therapeutic journaling in my humble opinion, is an alternative lifestyle medicine that is long overdue in the medic world, a powerful tool for transformation that offers doctors a way to break free from the limitations of their existing system and embrace a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.
It’s going to be a great weekend, one I’m thrilled to be a part of. I’m not sure what the wifi reception will be like when I arrive. Who knows if I’ll get the opportunity to write here on Substack tomorrow. No doubt a digital detox will be most welcomed by all. See you on the other side.
Until the next time
Take care & stay safe xx