AN INTERVIEW WITH ELSPETH VAN DER HOLE

Elspeth has been on my radar for many years. I first followed her when I was training to be a makeup artist and wanted to work with her. I loved her drive and passion for creative fashion photography and her work ethic blew my mind. As I watched her more and more over the last 10 years, I have seen her become a truly inspirational woman. Her kindness and determination has made her an inspiration to many all over the world!

She has challenged the Mental Health Stigma for many years, shouting at the tops of her lungs for more awareness and support for all. More recently she has used fitness as a tool for her Mental wellbeing and I got the absolute pleasure of interviewing her for this post! 💜

Name: Elspeth Van Der Hole
Instagram Handle: @elspethfit

💜 Tell us about you

I am a fashion photographer and illustrator from London and I also do the occasional public speaking and blogging about fitness, mental health and business! Mainly focusing on my recovery from BPD and CPTSD.

💜 How did you first get into fitness?

I played hockey at school but dropped it at 15, then when I was at uni and struggling my counsellor suggested I take up hockey again and somehow made it into the second team! Then after uni I lost the love for it as my Dad died and I ended up homeless. Eventually I decided to try yoga at 24 as I’d heard it was good for anxiety and depression which lead to me swimming again! This then built up into pilates and body balance classes, then when I moved to London I joined a gym to make friends and feel like I had a bit more life as I knew no one here and took up weight lifting and yoga more seriously!

💜 What does your typical week in workouts look like now?

On average I probably do two yoga classes a week and three muscle focused workouts with a couple of dog walks! Maybe some cardio in the gym if I can be bothered haha!

💜 Who is your biggest fitness inspiration?

Gracefit! If you’ve not checked out Grace Beverley on instagram, she is EVERYTHING! A fitness queen, business queen, life queen. And just so wholesome!

💜 Tell me a little bit about you and your blog & Insta

So I used to blog but I’m focusing more on insta these days, got a podcast in the planning! But mainly I write about how mental health and fitness go hand in hand, and how I found putting my mental health first and using exercise as therapy has been more beneficial for me than using it as a weight loss tool!

💜 What’s your biggest challenge and what do you do to overcome it?

Mental health issues, everyday. I can struggle with my identity, abandonment and anxiety on a daily basis. Having non-weight-related goals has helped me so much. Predominantly working on inversions ie. headstands and handstands as the world is so much quieter when you are upsidedown! Because if you think, you fall!

💜 What tools or resources are invaluable in your day to day?

I’ve had a lot of therapy over the years, and there’s one main theory that helps me. It’s called Cactus Theory!

So you imagine your thoughts, feelings and emotions are a cactus. Every time you push and prod at a problem that you have no immediate resolve for, or no answer for, you sink the cactus spikes in further and cause yourself pain.

When we learn to live with the painful memories/emotions (the cactus) we can cause ourselves less pain. It’s helped me no end to remind myself to put the cactus down! It’s so easy to inflict emotional pain on ourselves by obsessing over past events.

💜 Who or what has inspired you the most?

This may sound odd, but my past self. I’ve overcome so much in my lifetime from parental loss, family estrangement, suicidal thoughts and attempts, homelessness and many other issues in between that when I’m low it helps to remember how far I’ve come!

💜 What are your goals for the rest of the year?

Weirdly my brain runs better without goals. Goals stress me out, so my aim is just to keep going how I am. Eat intuitively, no diets. Exercise for my brain and learn new skills. Mainly, I just want to be happy and content. So many of us mistake happiness for fun, when actually happiness is contentment and stability.