My Story

Sophia Vassallo is print-on-demand fashion design business, operated by myself, Sophia Vassallo currently as a sole trader in the United Kingdom.

Some of you may know me by Sophie Middleton, however I chose a name for this business inspired by my Mother's Maltese heritage and her maiden name. More importantly, I wanted to honour a late family member who passed away, having experienced similar challenges to my own.

I have faced challenges with my mental health for as long as I can remember. Growing up as an only child means that social development is different to those with siblings, and everything was and still is, felt in a very heightened state.

The highs are high; daydreaming, fantasising, ecstacy, lust, desire, excitement, obsession, falling into nervousness, crippling anxiety, dread, depression, despair and numbness.

I didn't really understand much about what mental health, psychology, neuroscience and the connection between mind and body was about until I became really physically unwell as well as mentally unwell from 2017 to 2021.

In 2017, I started having crippling stomach cramps and migraines and started doing restrictions of certain food groups and substances to try to identify the source of the problem. Nothing made a huge difference.

I steered my life in directions away from the U.K. in late 2017, perhaps subconsciously thinking that things would change in a different environment. Unfortunately stressful work environments deteriorated my health further.

Symptoms I was consitently experiencing:

- Migraines whenever I was shattered or exhausted

- Gastrointistinal cramps that made it hard to breathe

- On and off episodes of nausea and dizziness

- Tiny, itchy, red dot rashes all over my hands and stomach

- My body completely shutting down on the weekends, exhausted and numb and constantly having to cancel or make excuses to social engagements

In the Spring of 2020, I left a job and immediately experienced this overwhelmeing sense of threat and paranoia where I didn't want to use my mobile phone and laptop and communicate with the world.

It was truly awful. I just wanted to isolate myself with overwhelming anxiety and depression.

I wish I could say it was this one time where things were really challenging, but truthfully there have been many episodes over the years where things have been really hard, and I've needed to seek support.

I knew at this point in early 2020, that I didn't want to continue living in this recurring state and I knew I needed to educate myself to look after myself better.

What happened next?

From that Spring of 2020 onwards, I decided that I wanted to explore other means of anxiety relief aside from expensive medication and therapy.

I had been attending counsellors or psychologists, and later in my twenties started taking sertraline; and with these flare-ups, I knew more needed to be done.

I tried lots of different natural releif methods and products such as:

- weighted blankets

- liquorice root

- CBD tea, CBD gummies

- lavendar sprays

- colouring in books

- headspace app (recommended by the GP)

- eating only vegan food

- going for a run or a walk in nature a couple of times a week

- yoga almost daily

- reading more about anxiety and trauma

- watching YouTube videos about psychology and mental health