This is quite a different style of post than my usual brownies, pancakes and porridge recipes, but I think it’s important to talk about all aspects of my life with coeliac disease, including mental health and self care. After reading this post from the Health Bloggers Community, it made me realise I’m not the only one who suffers with blogger burnout.

I’m your typical type-A personality: high achieving, constantly on the go and struggle to properly relax – even now, I started writing this post on a Monday at 9pm when I should probably be sat with a book and a cup of tea, winding down for the evening. I just struggle to sit for hours on end doing nothing! Don’t get me wrong, I love watching a good TV series or Disney film (only 90mins) but I’ll mentally schedule it into my day, then plan what’s next on my to-do list whilst still watching.

Image – HBC Bake Off

In some aspects of life, this is a great trait to have. Always on the go, passionate about work and personal projects, but that doesn’t work out quite so well when you have an autoimmune disease like I do.

It’s sounds a little strange to say I have a disease. Usually I say ‘I’m coeliac’ or ‘I can’t eat gluten’ for those who look blank at the word coeliac…But it’s part of me whether I like it or not (and it certainly isn’t going anywhere), therefore I need to accept that I can’t always be the energised, on the go person I used to be.

For the most part of my life, I forget I even have the disease. My kitchen at home is 90% gluten free, and all evening meals are cooked without a wooden spoon or contaminated sieve in sight! I prepare breakfast/lunch myself, so I always know exactly what I eat. This can sometimes make life frustrating when I get ill/stressed/too busy, as I suddenly come crashing down and realise it’s my damaged immune system that isn’t holding up its end of the deal.

The funny thing is, I’m one of the healthiest people I know. I don’t smoke, I barely drink alcohol, I go to the gym 2-3 times a week and I eat a healthy and balanced diet. However I still have this disease, so my lifestyle choices don’t make any difference when I’m ill, or glutened. Can you imagine if I didn’t have coeliac disease? I really would be superwomen!

Recently I’ve bit AWOL on the blogging and recipe front, as I just haven’t had time to create any new content. And you know what, that’s ok! No-one wants to see churned out and forced content week after week, and I certainly don’t want to share that. I’m much happier being a ‘sporadic’ blogger and only posting when I’m 100% happy with the content I’m sharing. Now I won’t go completely off the radar, you can still find me posting daily (well most days) on Instagram, as taking photos of my breakfast is now part of my morning routine.

For now though, I’ll make sure to post when I feel inspired and creative, and ultimately when I have some free time to create content. Mainly I’ll be taking care of myself, trying to stick to a daily yoga routine, drinking lots of rooibos tea and eating a cosy bowl of porridge ♡

Sophie x

*Feature image – HBC Bake Off