Latest news with #LauraMitchell
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Stoke-on-Trent woman sets up social group for sober people
A woman from Stoke-on-Trent who found life got more lonely after she gave up drinking alcohol has set up a social group for others who have chosen to go Mitchell from Trentham said giving up drinking was the "best decision" she ever made, but that sometimes people thought she might not want to be invited to social events where the would be group, Sober Stokies, launched in May and now has 150 members and is due to have its first curry night later this Mitchell said although it was not a support group it had helped offer a sense of camaraderie. She said she made the decision to quit drinking because she was struggling with her mental drank to cope, which made her mental health worse - causing panic attacks and making her afraid to go outside to socialise with her May 2024, she decided to cut out booze for 30 days to prove to herself that she could do then extended this for a further 30 days of sobriety, but she has now been sober for more than a year."I realised how good I felt, and I fell in love with that feeling of feeling good." She said some people trying to stay sober might shy away from environments where there was alcohol, but that she still wanted to maintain her social life."I've tried everything, and I didn't realise just what an impact alcohol was having on my mental, emotional and physical health," she said."We are surrounded everywhere by alcohol, so going alcohol-free you are the minority."People look at you and think there's something wrong because you're not drinking."Her group includes things like coffee mornings and walks, as well as the forthcoming curry said the restaurant would still serve alcohol to other tables, but their table would be an alcohol-free Mitchell added it did not matter why people were alcohol-free, anyone would be welcome in the group as long as an alcohol-free life was their goal. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Scotsman
07-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Scotsman
Borders farming couple take to the road with upcycled luxury sauna
'There is a huge wave of sauna excitement running through the country' – Laura Mitchell Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A Borders couple who run an organic farm are taking to the road after launching a mobile luxury sauna venture. When an old A-frame in their garden was no longer needed, Laura and Willie Mitchell decided to repurpose the Canadian cedar into luxurious Nordic saunas. The pair combined their love of wild swimming and sauna with an unusual bit of farm diversification, to create authentic sauna experiences, branding the venture Cedar Hus. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After successful visits to Kelso, Melrose and Lindean Loch, the first mobile sauna - christened 'Beyla' - is now located at historic Traquair House in the Tweed Valley. The mobile sauna - called 'Beyla' - outside historic Traquair House in the Tweed Valley. Picture by Phil Wilkinson Laura Mitchell said: 'The Scottish sauna movement is heating up. We are catching up with our Scandinavian and European neighbours. We were keen to take saunas on the road and out into the local community with our mobile sauna venture, Cedar Hus. 'There is a huge wave of sauna excitement running through the country and Cedar Hus ensures that the Borders is part of the Scottish sauna movement too, bringing an array of considerable health and wellbeing benefits to local people and visitors alike.' She added: 'Whether it's warming up after a cold-water dip, or providing a fun, social way to catch up with friends, Cedar Hus brings luxurious Nordic sauna to iconic Borders locations. And it doesn't get much more iconic than here at Traquair, Scotland's oldest inhabited house. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
