How my breakdown inspired my business

This time two years ago I wouldn’t have time to write this blog. I was working full-time as the CEO of a national charity whilst trying my best to raise two children under three. I’d become a nonstop plate-spinner who was rarely home kiss her children goodnight. If you’d asked me if I was enjoying life, I’d have said yes…and I probably would have believed myself.

MY LIFE WAS “PERFECT”

Everything was right on paper – I had the job I’d aspired to and a lovely family. Sure, I missed my children but I thought this was the compromise every working woman had to make. What I hadn’t realised at the time was that, with my diary jammed so full, I hadn’t allowed any time for my own self-care.

There was no room in my life for me.

My lack of self-care started to show at work. My Board were telling me I was doing too much but I couldn’t hear them. As a result, when something particularly stressful happened, I dropped all my plates at once. They smashed.

AND I BROKE

I found it difficult to do anything, go anywhere, or speak to people outside of my closest circle of friends and family. Thankfully I was given help. First medication, then, after months on the NHS waiting list, I was finally assigned to a therapist who specialises in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). Her name is Hannah and she changed my life.

SIMPLE THINGS FELT IMPOSSIBLE

When I started working with Hannah she asked me to track how I was spending my time – I recorded every hour of my day. This helped us track what boosted my mood and what dragged me down. One week, I was set the homework of spending 15-minutes each day doing something self-indulgent. I burst into tears. Finding 15-minutes felt impossible. There was always something more important that needed to be done – entertaining the children, washing clothes, paying the milkman – my “to do” list was never ending…and it didn’t have my self-care on it!

What’s worse is that, when I finally tried to give myself 15-minutes, I didn’t know what to do. I’d become so busy being busy that I’d lost sight of any hobbies that boost my mood. I had to re-learn what I enjoyed. When I got into the swing of things I started experimenting; I tried crochet, reupholstered furniture, painting, exercise, started drawing again, and taught myself to sketchnote.

SKETCH-WHAT-TING?

If you haven’t heard of “sketchnoting” it’s a method of conveying information through a combination of hand-drawn “icons” and words. And I LOVE it! Sketchnoting gave me the excuse to be creative and the confidence to start going to conferences again. I didn’t have to talk to people if I didn’t want to – I could just sit there and sketchnote.

PEOPLE LIKED MY WORK

I started sharing sketchnotes on social media and was getting an amazing response. To start with, I thought people were just being nice. Then I started meeting people who’d printed off my sketchnotes and put them on their wall and a dyslexic friend told me he found my sketchnotes easier to digest than long-form writing. I was doing something that I loved, that was good for my mental health…and it was helping others.

MAKING MY PASSION MY BUSINESS

At the start of this year I built up the courage to apply for NatWest’s “Back Her Business” – a scheme that’s designed to support the set-up of female-led businesses in the UK. I found out I was accepted at the beginning of February and since, then it’s been a whirlwind of getting everything set up to run a four-week long crowdfunding campaign. I’ve bought the domain name “Sketchnotes UK” and I have secured my first four clients.

My crowdfunding campaign has raised over ￡4,000 and I’m in the running to win an extra ￡10,000 from NatWest if enough people support my campaign. I still have to pinch myself that people are willing to support me in this way.

IT’S ABOUT SO MUCH MORE THAN MONEY

The amount I have raised is obviously wonderful – it gives me the peace of mind that I can do this and still put food on my children’s plates. But this is not just about the money – every penny that people pledge makes me feel that people believe I can do this despite of, or perhaps even because of, my experience of having a mental breakdown.

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If you would like to help make my sketchnoting business a reality, you can support me by visiting https://natwestbackherbusiness.co.uk/sketchnotesuk/. Please do check out the rewards I'm offering to people who pledge their support.

As I am part of Natwest's "Back her Business" campaign, even a ￡1 donation will genuinely make a difference - the more people support me - the more chance I have of winning an extra grant from the bank!! Thanks in advance.