If you want to change your life, change your choices

My client Sandra sharing this fantastic testimonial on escaping a job she was unhappy in and pursuing something that now brings meaning to her life

SANDRA

My background is in Environmental Health where I qualified from Salford University in 1985.

I worked in Greater Manchester in several Local Authorities as an Environmental Health Officer working up the ladder until my last job promotion in 2010.  

From 2010 I was head of The Food Safety where I was responsible for an  Enforcement Team who would inspect food businesses and would award them with a Food Safety Rating (you’ve probably seen them they are green Food Standards Agency stickers with ratings from zero (being the worst) to 5 (being the very best)). A poor rating could finish a food business, so tensions were high if standards were poor or needed improvement. 

Any businesses which had infestations of rats/mice/cockroaches or were unhygienic and presenting a risk to health would be closed and prosecuted. 

I was working long hours (often working into the night) with the Police, Border Force Control or the Utilities, visiting at night when the takeaways, restaurants etc. were open and trading as our visits were always unannounced. I would regularly be out with the Food Team Inspectors to businesses which were difficult and particularly confrontational. I was in confrontational situations on a daily basis, closing businesses, dealing with businesses not happy with their Food Hygiene Score Rating (often with business owners shouting down the phone at me or to my face), I was in court and dealing with prosecutions and everyday supporting and supervising the team who themselves were in a very demanding position. 

This pressure was constant and was taking a toll on my physical and mental health. 

I was responsible for other areas of Environmental Health for example I was responsible for infectious disease control and would investigate Food Poisoning outbreaks - a particularly sensitive case was at a wedding when all the guests came down with diarrhoea and vomiting. My role was difficult, and I was always firefighting. 

My role also included Health and Safety in food businesses so there was never a dull moment. It wasn’t unusual for gas and electricity supplies to be tampered with and meters bypassed in very dangerous ways. 

In 2015 I was rock bottom when I had a new manager who literally undermined everything I said or did. It was becoming impossible to work with her as she was bullying and unreasonable.  

Running alongside all of this I was bringing up 2 boys and looking after our busy home. My mum was in poor health and needed lots of support. She was in and out of hospital and became terminally ill in 2012. Me and my sister looked after her at home (along with carers) as she didn’t want to go into supported care. I felt like I was a hamster running on a wheel and was feeling depressed and literally exhausted. Unfortunately, mum was in a wheelchair and eventually unable to leave her house when she died in 2016.

I had been practicing Iyengar yoga in 2012 to get a little fitter and to also help with my mental health. It was after my mum passed away, I went on a Dru Yoga Walking Retreat with my 2 sisters to try and recuperate and it was during this retreat that I realized that I couldn’t carry on and needed to make some drastic changes to my life. My mum had left me a little money, so I decided to use it to train as a Dru Yoga teacher. This was a big commitment as I was away for a week at a time over 2 and a half years and still working full time. 

I hadn’t intended taking early retirement at 55yrs but the situation with my new manager escalated and even though I complained nothing got resolved. The fight in me had finished and I literally had to leave the job that had made me so unwell.

In April 2018, with the support of Kev, my husband, I left my well-paid fulltime job. This was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I’m definitely not a risk taker but I just had to jump and take a leap of faith and it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.  

For the next 12 months, whilst I still was training to be a Yoga Teacher, I worked as a Contractor for a Greater Manchester Local Authority doing Food Hygiene inspections. It was hard work, but I finally had some control of my life. At the same time, I also worked part time as a receptionist at a physio clinic that specialised in treating patient with neurological conditions.

In November 2019 I qualified as a Dru teacher and had Yoga classes lined up at the clinic where I was a receptionist. The management at the clinic were really supportive, encouraging and so helpful. However, Covid hit, and everything was put on hold for a while. Fortunately, I am now teaching a fantastic group of clients that have varied neurological conditions and it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I’ve also taught a young adult’s group with learning needs and also senior groups.  

I now have control of how much work I want to commit to. I am doing something that is so rewarding and fantastic. I feel 100% better physically and emotionally and I can sleep at night. I don’t have my big salary anymore and I don’t have that awful Sunday night dread either, but I do have a small pension and my sanity is intact.

Previously I would do a shop and then waste loads of food as I was either working late or just couldn’t be bothered cooking as I was so exhausted. We were eating more junk food and takeaways and I wasn’t t looking after myself. Now I have time to plan and cook properly and the waste is much less.  

After the lock down I decided to kick start my new healthy way of life – ‘If you carry on doing what you always do then you get what you always get’.

I met Donna (from Pilates Moves You) and she’s been a game changer. I now practice Pilates as well as Yoga. I run for fitness and cardio health. I also recently started training with Shane where my goal is to get some upper body strength and achieve a full unassisted press up. I’ve never had a PT but in a short time I can see good changes. I’m setting myself goals and challenges and investing in myself without feeling guilty because I’m worth it. I’m of an age (60yrs) where I need to be thinking about bone health and building back my muscle. I’ve been hammered by the menopause and find that being fitter and exercising is helping me with better sleep and symptoms. I’ve invested all my time in my family and now its time to invest in me. I’m taking opportunities where I can and doing things that I want to do and that I enjoy.  

My advice is - if you are unhappy with something, you owe it to yourself to make some changes. Life is too short. I spent far too long in a job where I was desperately unhappy and undervalued and I’ll never get that time back but I’m making up for it now.