Why My Anxiety Was The Inspiration For NEOM (And Our NEW Calming Pen)

I am not what you’d call a quintessentially ‘calm’ person and that’s okay. My default state is busy, busy, busy and while I thrive off feeling energetic and engaged, it’s probably also why I used to suffer from really bad anxiety. In my previous life I was a magazine journalist and from the outside, I had what looked like the dream job. In many ways it was, I was living in London, flying all over the world to interview celebrities and out at launches and parties most nights. It was glamorous and fun but it was also full-on: I was burning the candle at both ends and working sixty- hour weeks, not sleeping enough and not taking care of myself. I started to get really bad anxiety, which would manifest in panic attacks. I knew I had to do something but wellbeing wasn’t a word back then. Instead I became interested in essential oils and experimenting with them to try and help with how I was feeling. Amazingly, I soon found they really did make a massive difference.

One of the first blends I created was Real Luxury from our de-Stress range. Made of a complex blend of 24 of the purest possible essential oils including lavender and jasmine. Real Luxury has become one of our bestsellers and most iconic brand blends today. Nearly twenty years on, it’s still an essential part of my daily wellbeing toolkit: whether it’s using our Great Day Body Scrub or Super Shower Power Body Cleanser in the shower in the morning to help set a calm mind set for the day, lighting a Real Luxury Candle at work, putting on my Wellbeing Pod at home, or using the Real Luxury Bath Foam and Magnesium Body Butter at night to set me up for a good night’s sleep. However you do it and whatever you use, it’s about carving out those little pockets of calm in the day.

I’m still on my own wellbeing journey myself and I still do get anxiety, but through the wellbeing toolkit I’ve created for myself over the years, I’m more able to manage my anxiety and put things in place to stop it happening in the first place. I know how debilitating anxiety can feel, which is why I’m so passionate about our partnership with the Mental Health Foundation. Prioritising our wellbeing is a key theme for this month’s Mental Health Awareness Week. By taking small steps and doing the little things to look after ourselves, we can try to avoid things spiraling into something bigger, like the stress-related burnout I had all those years ago.

I’m super excited about the launch of our NEW Calming Pen – just in time for Mental Health Awareness Week too! the ideal on-the-go de-stress solution, offering micro-moments of calm and composure throughout the day* With a brand new fragrance including soothing lavender, calming roman chamomile and uplifting sweet orange, it’s already become a must-have in my own toolkit. Easy to pop in your handbag or desk drawer, the Calming Pen epitomises NEOM’s approach to wellbeing: small things + done well + on a regular basis = big difference.

Wishing you a happy Mental Health Awareness Week.

Nicola x