Last week I rode over 100 miles for the charity Mind. This week I took delivery of a jersey in support of a site providing a hub for mental health. Take a look. It encourages talking, and removing the stigmare still surrounding mental health.
It's not a sign of weakness to admit you need help, a lot of the time you just need to talk. The listener only needs to do that, a solution is not always needed. Talking can reduce loneliness, our minds can build very effective walls. I couldn't have breached mine without help. And that didn't really start until I wrote about my experiences. I guess I wasn't ready to let anyone in to my world until then.
There are some powerful stories in the interviews, Nick speaks very well about his story.
I had talked to my doctor about what I was going through; maybe I didn't express myself well enough, or downplayed how bad I was feeling. The advice I got was to find a less stressful job.
There is a great sense of achievement knowing I pretty much helped myself in the early days. Arranging a short Cognative Behavioural Therapy course confirmed I had been moving in the right direction. The big step forward was definitely talking.
You'll also notice the picture is a very rare "selfie" in the jersey bought to highlight and help ASCND. Taken on the bench where I had sat in March 2020 and admitted to myself that I needed to talk.
If you're unsure about your mental health, seek help. I think doctors are better at this now. Go to the Mind website.
The CBT course I attended was booked online.
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