Challenging myself to raise mental health awareness...
Hi ... and thanks for passing by (even if it was only by accident!).
I have suffered from a chronic, but thankfully mild condition called persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) for over 40 years. It took me many years to realise I needed help … and several more to find the strength to ask for it. I was diagnosed with “depression” in 2004, but my actual condition wasn’t identified for another decade.
Although I still suffer symptoms on a daily basis, so many aspects of my life have improved since I started sharing my experiences and speaking openly about my condition (the blogs from 2011 and 2016 hopefully give some insight). That is partly down to the initial support from my GP; having a loving family and supportive friends makes a huge difference too; but my recovery has also been helped by taking on various “challenges" to try and raise mental health awareness: to encourage people to talk, and show that it is fine to ask for help…
This site is essentially devoted to those challenges - something in the region of 130-140 were completed from that start of 2014 to September 2020, but the list includes the final or definitive 100. If you click those in light blue, you can (if you are so inclined) read a bit more about the specific challenge; and the next page contains a series of photos - for which I apologise in advance for spoiling.
One of the underlying themes of the past six-and-a-bit years is that in order to complete many of the challenges, I have needed to ask for help, more often than not from someone I didn’t know well – if at all…
Just as I did when I first sat down in front of my GP all those years ago...
The challenges ended on 30 September 2020, with a 50km indoor row, which I managed to complete in 4 hours 52 minutes and 17 seconds (give or take...). The world around us is changing, and the need to look after our wellbeing remains as important as ever, Mental health will always be a huge part of my life, I've been blessed to meet so many wonderful and inspiring people through the challenges; and whatever the future holds, I will always try to reinforce the message that you should never be afraid to talk about how you feel, or to ask for help - you never know how much you might be able to achieve if you do.
I have suffered from a chronic, but thankfully mild condition called persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) for over 40 years. It took me many years to realise I needed help … and several more to find the strength to ask for it. I was diagnosed with “depression” in 2004, but my actual condition wasn’t identified for another decade.
Although I still suffer symptoms on a daily basis, so many aspects of my life have improved since I started sharing my experiences and speaking openly about my condition (the blogs from 2011 and 2016 hopefully give some insight). That is partly down to the initial support from my GP; having a loving family and supportive friends makes a huge difference too; but my recovery has also been helped by taking on various “challenges" to try and raise mental health awareness: to encourage people to talk, and show that it is fine to ask for help…
This site is essentially devoted to those challenges - something in the region of 130-140 were completed from that start of 2014 to September 2020, but the list includes the final or definitive 100. If you click those in light blue, you can (if you are so inclined) read a bit more about the specific challenge; and the next page contains a series of photos - for which I apologise in advance for spoiling.
One of the underlying themes of the past six-and-a-bit years is that in order to complete many of the challenges, I have needed to ask for help, more often than not from someone I didn’t know well – if at all…
Just as I did when I first sat down in front of my GP all those years ago...
The challenges ended on 30 September 2020, with a 50km indoor row, which I managed to complete in 4 hours 52 minutes and 17 seconds (give or take...). The world around us is changing, and the need to look after our wellbeing remains as important as ever, Mental health will always be a huge part of my life, I've been blessed to meet so many wonderful and inspiring people through the challenges; and whatever the future holds, I will always try to reinforce the message that you should never be afraid to talk about how you feel, or to ask for help - you never know how much you might be able to achieve if you do.
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I’ve lived in the north-east of England all my life. I work within the NHS, but spend quite a lot of my spare time researching my family history. I am also the author of Desperately Seeking Susan Foreman and Today Just Like Yesterday. I have had a lifelong love of sport, particularly cricket (which I attempted to play for many years), rugby league (which I didn't), netball and the Olympic Games.
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