Journaling is my no. 1 self-care practice, even above yoga, nutrition, and exercise.

I used to despise my body - even in my twenties when it was lovely and firm. I was profoundly empty inside and used drugs, alcohol and food to try to fill the bottomless pit of low self-esteem and not feeling 'enough.'

Are you single and feeling stuck? If you are, it's a feeling I know well.

My solo life is excellent now, but it hasn't always been.

Every woman has a back story, how they got to where they are now, from where they used to be. I'm no different. But as the years add up, the story of who I used to be, the old Hannah, gets further from my mind. 

Sometimes I think: Was it even me?

But yes, it was me.

Personal stories are complicated and messy and don't always have a set beginning or end, so it can be hard to remember just exactly what happened when.

What I do know is that I did not start looking at my life through an honest lens, or asking the harder questions about the choices I'd made, until I was single.

I couldn't sleep on Thursday; I was tossing and turning all night, my mind working overtime. But I wasn't worried about what you might expect right now - the pandemic, the price of groceries, or when I'll see my friends again.

​No. I was worried that I'd make a fool of myself, let people down, or offend people with my most recent venture - The Spinsters.

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If my old self knew that her future self would still be single after all these years, she'd be devastated. But the future Hannah, who I've now had the pleasure to meet, is far wiser.

I was reminded that there are really only two things that can cause anxiety - our own thoughts and caffeine

​When I arrived back in the UK, I felt relieved. I think I'd been lying about how I was doing, not wanting to admit how on edge I was really feeling, even to myself.

It's day 19 of quarantine in Italy

 I think it's day 19, who knows? The days are all the same, so it's hard to be sure. 

I've found myself spontaneously reciting lyrics from trashy 80's songs that I didn't even know I knew. I keep going to make a cup of Earl Grey and realising I've already made one...

It's hard to stay present right now.

The work we do, the meditation, the yoga, and the self-care - this usually helps. While of course, it's beneficial, I still find my thoughts attempting to spiral out of control and take themselves off to Africa before I can catch them. We must be vigilant with our thoughts.

Human beings are incredibly adverse to pain, especially emotional pain. We'll do anything to avoid it - have a glass of sauvignon blanc, eat a tub of Ben & Jerry's, or spend hours looking at our neighbour's lives on Facebook. These behaviours or addictions all serve the same purpose - to avoid ourselves and our pain because it hurts.

So why is it then, at what seems like any given opportunity, we seek to consider the worst possible situation for ourselves and those we love? Ok ...

As a woman who lives, works and travels alone, I have valuable tips I can share with you all.