About Me — Kat Nicholls
I’m a writer, podcaster and educator who helps people discover their worth, build self-belief and grow confidence.
I’m writing this from under a blanket in my flat in Surrey, UK. My partner is working away at his desk and Phoebe Bridgers’ voice is serenading me through my headphones. If I had to describe my happy place, this would probably be it.
I’ve always enjoyed writing. In fact when I was first asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said ‘an author’ with confidence and conviction. And while I haven’t penned any books (yet) I have made a living from words.
When I was a teenager, I’m pretty sure they saved my life. I was falling into a dark hole mentally, letting depression and anorexia win an internal battle. The only way I could process what was happening was by writing in my diary. Day after day I would pour my self-hate and jumbled thoughts onto the page and feel lighter, even if only temporarily.
During my recovery, I again turned to writing.
I wrote a letter to my eating disorder and found it easier to distance myself from it. I made lists of compliments given to me, helping me argue with my eating disorder and letting me slowly rediscover my sense of worth. I started to let myself have fun with words, writing stories and finding a kind of calm as they rose to the surface.
When the time came to pick a course at university, I decided I wanted to study writing more and ended up completing a degree in media writing. Getting a job after graduation wasn’t as easy as we’d all been led to believe though. There was a recession, jobs were hard to come by and I ended up in retail for a number of years.
I kept on writing though. I wrote on my blog, I wrote for online publications for free, I had internships. After getting what I thought was my dream job at a fashion website and being sorely disappointed with the reality, I desperately started my search for a writing job with purpose, one I could sink into. And finally, I got there.
I started working for Happiful, writing about mental health, personal development and wellbeing for their various websites. Over time, they launched a magazine and I got to write regular articles.
Learning more about the industry, and slowly growing my own confidence led me to start a brand new blog — Blue Jay of Happiness.
This is where I started sharing more of my own learnings and tips to support others. I started a podcast, got coaching qualifications and started speaking at events, on radio and even TV.
And this is where I am today, four days a week I work at Happiful and on Fridays I create content for Blue Jay of Happiness. I joined Medium last summer to explore a new platform and hopefully connect to more people. I’m excited to see where this next step will lead me.
When I’m not working, you’ll likely find me watching films (Into the Wild is a favourite), reading (follow me on goodreads), practising yoga, eating delicious food without fear, learning about body positivity and intuitive eating, working on my own anti-racism journey and just navigating this topsy turvy world we live in, one word at a time.
If you want to join me, follow me on Medium, head to bluejayofhappiness.com or connect with me over on Instagram.
