fter working in senior roles in the NHS for most
of her career, Celia Gaze never imagined life
would take her to a farm in the countryside
complete with llamas, alpacas and donkeys. ‘I had always
worked in London but, one day, I took a gamble on what
seemed like an amazing job in the North West,’ says
Celia. ‘I thought I’d found my purpose in the NHS, then
I had di culty falling pregnant and had two miscarriages.
When I finally got pregnant with my son, Matthew, it was
really important for me to take my health seriously.’
Celia’s job was made redundant at around the same time.
‘I saw it as a chance to review and reflect and, eight months
later, I was invited back to another department. My way of
operating had always been to wake up incredibly early, and
I suppose I was a bit of a workaholic. With an eight-month-
old child, however, it was more complicated than simply
getting up at dawn to get a handle on the day!’
Her new role was challenging and Celia was not meeting
its targets. She remembers: ‘I felt more and more stressed
to the point where I had chest pains from anxiety and
couldn’t sleep. I kept asking myself, “What is happening to
me?” I had been a high-flying career person and this was
not me.’ For a while, she ignored the symptoms. ‘Then it got
to the stage where my brain was a constant cloud and I was
snapping. I went to the doctor who diagnosed corporate
burnout.’ That was 10 years ago. Celia took time o, had
counselling and reconsidered her lifestyle.Ideas bloom in an expanded mind
During her time of introspection, Celia became fascinated
by wellbeing. ‘I wanted to understand stress and know
everything about it. I began to question why I had put
myself through it,’ she says.
She registered for a stress management course. ‘In one
module, we had to design a business that put reducing stress
at its centre – from the fixtures to the content and colours
in the workplace. I went way over the top, researching my
perfect business and visiting places that had been designed
to de-stress. I’ve always loved learning and courses; and it
was while listening to two women who ran them that I had
my idea – why couldn’t I take my partner’s rundown farm
and transform it into a place of learning? I could take the >>>A
APRIL 2020 PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINE 31TOP AND LEFT
The famous llamas,
Ezra, Laurie, Yasser
and Vincent, are
pros in front
of the cameraABOVE The farm
was designed
around de-stressing
and still has
guests’ wellbeing
at its heart“I could take my partner’s farm and
transform it into a place of learning; the
business I had been designing on paper”