From Interventions to Influencer? A Psychologist's perspective on Brand Deals.

Over the last year, I decided to "get into fitness" (as you do in your 30s). Run clubs, HYROX, and half-marathons seem to fill my friends' Instagram feeds as they navigate our new generation's version of adulting.

Somehow, I got the run club bug, and the next thing I knew, I experienced visible changes and weight loss. Then, not long after that, I was on a call with a leading health and beauty brand in the UK discussing my participation in their next campaign.

Dubai did it! Yup, spending enough time this year in the capital city of influencers will undoubtedly have you making content, blogging, and before you know it, you are a paid influencer!

I was the anti-influencer because I prided myself on being a doctor. But what I discovered was that there is room for both professional expertise and posting content.

My time working with this healthcare brand introduced me to the clinical excellence guidelines for health professionals in the media. The reviewer helpfully noted why edits were made and how these fitted with the intention of protecting the public and service users. I felt reassured to collaborate with brands taking an ethical and thoughtful stance to their content production.

Aside from the fears of failing at ethics, I enjoyed communicating important topics in a digestible way. Sharing my personal experiences and the psychological impact of weight loss showed me that there is space for a psychologist to contribute to the conversations on weight loss where physical health is prioritised, but often the psychological experience is less spoken about.

In the same way I would devise a tailored intervention, as an "influencer" I am tailoring information - making it relatable and digestable for the brands audience.

Other perks included being paid (very well) to speak. This affirmed to me that there is value in my knowledge, experiences and expertise and there are companies that are willing to invest in this information.

Suprisingly, I felt guilty for how easy this all felt. After all, half a day was spent in a make-up chair and the other half was spent talking on a couch to camera. I guess we are taught that we need to "earn" money and that can sometimes feel like it much come with "hard work."

Slowly, I am teaching myself that work that isn't hard, is also valuable work. Yes, it feels good when hard things are earned, but occcasionally its ok to earn in an easy way. Hence, why passive income exists!