Who is the person behind Mindmoodpsychonutrition, Catia Soares, the Psychologist and Nutritional Therapist?
Catia Soares is someone just like you – real, vulnerable, with a loud laugh, funny with a weird sense of humour, loyal, caring, compassionate, stubborn, clumsy, impulsive, methodical, completely useless with tech and repairs, idealistic, creative, determined and optimistic.
In this week’s post I wanted to keep things lighter and share a bit about myself and who I am as a person.
I may look younger than I actually am. I’m turning 34 in March, and like the star sign Aries (I do love Astrology by the way!) I’m always very committed and passionate in everything that I do – there is no such a thing as procrastinating with me! However, I have also learnt (the hard way) about the tremendous importance of stillness, boredom, procrastination, relaxation and slowing things down in our lives.
Apart from Psychology and Nutrition I also have other interests and things you don’t know about me and I would like you to know.
Follow me…
Until I turned 18-years-old and went to University, I didn’t know how to cook. Not a single egg! I have always been a massive foodie though! I grew fond of cooking over the years but I continue to be a terrible baker – I just can’t get it right! I’m not a Nutritional Chef (or intend to be) – I describe myself as a SMART cook. I like quick, easy and nutritious meals and I’m a big fan of food prepping and batch cooking on the weekends. I like to mix different continents and cultures into my dishes particularly Japanese, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean. My meals always need to have a side of vegetables or salad regardless where I am or who cooks for me – forgive me my dear friends if I ever demanded a salad with your fabulous carbonara.
One of my passions is dancing. I have danced professionally since I was 9 until I was 22-years-old: jazz, hip hop, funk and contemporary dance. I used to be part of a local dance group and we performed all over Portugal where I’m originally from. At 15-years-old I wanted to quit school and go to a performance arts school which I never did. I chose Psychology instead, but sometimes a part of me still wonders where I would be now if I have chosen to become a dancer. I still absolutely love dancing, theatre and singing. In my free time you will see me going to dance shows, plays and concerts or pretending that I’m a good singer at karaoke house parties.
Performance arts, music and writing are part of the DNA of my family – my mum used to be a dancer, my grandfather still writes poetry, chronicles and lyrics, my grandmother was a music teacher, my uncle is a terrific singer and one of my aunties is a sculptor and painter. Besides dancing, I also thought about becoming a Journalist due to my passion for writing. In particular poetry and short stories/essays. I started writing poetry at the age of 10 and I have won several local poetry and writing contests and had some of my poetry published in a poetry magazine when I was 16-years-old. Writing is one of the things that gives me the most pleasure in life. I can be writing for hours and anywhere. These days I don’t write as much poetry as I wish, but over the last 3 years I have challenged myself to start writing in English and focus on the things that bring me the most joy and happiness – the expression of my true creativity. Most recently, I finally had the courage to perform at the Poetry Society Cafe in London and start my own Instagram page called @viol_etcamargo – if you are a fan of poetry and creative writing visit my page for extra support.
I’m a single child and until today I hate to be a single child as I have always wanted a sibling. I used to ask my parents every Christmas for a sibling as my present – I guess it wasn’t meant to be! This was a massive thing for me growing up as an extrovert type of person as all of my cousins and children in my neighbourhood were older than me which led me to spend lots of time playing by myself (I used to go for long bike rides alternated with singing for hours in my bedroom or playing with Barbies). Nonetheless, it has helped me to build my emotional resilience, creativity and imagination as a child! All positive in the end!
The last but not the least fact about myself is that I hate driving and I haven’t driven since I moved to London in 2010 (I even had my own car in Portugal which I drove 10 times in 1 year). Me and cars find no enjoyment whatsoever, but part of my short-term goals is to learn how to drive again and explore a bit more the english countryside – this time on the left side! Double challenge!
Thanks for reading this post and I will keep you posted on my future driving lessons!
Warmest,
Catia
