A brief Winter recap....
If you suffer with a mental health issue then Winter is usually our darkest months as the effects of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or general depression kick in, and even if you aren't officially diagnosed as a sufferer then it will likely affect most of us in some way anyway Many will shut themselves up in their home and avoid going out unless necessary to avoid the cold, damp and general greyness of the period.
Many of us with mental health issues will of struggled through Christmas and New Year and the prospect of another year of the same.
I obviously suffered this Christmas as it was my first Christmas without my Mum after she passed away last June. I honestly did not know how this period would go, but thankfully with the support of family and friends and keeping focused on my fund raising I got through.
I have also been surprised and happy at the amount of friends and associates on social media who have opened up more this Winter and reached out to to me and friends for help or merely a listening ear, and in many cases have let me into their partially secret lives of dealing with the dreaded Black Dog and all that it entails.
This is one of the main reasons I write a blog such as this and have many facebook and social media avenues to try and reach out and raise awareness. I helps to talk and it certainly helps to listen.
Despite having our own problems it helps to know we are not alone, and it helps being able to give at least a little advice of our own experiences in the hope it will at least help a little to ease the pain for others.
Escape from the darkness within....
At work this Winter for me it was the usual turn up, work hard and go home and then get back to my PC to focus on my fund raising and my plans for 2018. I have now just given my job up as a Concierge in a hotel I worked at for 8 years, and had gone part time there back in Oct 2016 as I took on another job at a local gym to give me a stress free atmosphere to help my Anxiety issues.
Continuing to work part time in the hotel had been better than working there full time and kept me in regular contact with working friends and regular guests, but a lot of the stresses to my Anxiety were still there and I finally decided to remove them by leaving for good and taking on more hours at the gym and concentrating on that job alone.
The gym tends to be full of happy positive people and plenty of people to talk to about life in general while I happily work hard to keep the gym clean and tidy on a daily basis. Just the general ability and access to being to talk about things is a massive help, and a testament as to why just being able to talk openly can help both yourself and those around you.
Being able to talk about mental health and physical health issues in general is a great way of raising awareness and indeed getting people to open up honestly , who likely wouldn't of done if you hadn't spoke so openly yourself in the first place.
My job move has helped me no end as the hotel was my main stressor and my main cause of my underlying Anxiety and in my mind my main cause of my 'darkness within'.
Job stress and stressors bring it to the forefront and once there it is always there and we have to learn how to live with it. Removing causes and stressors where we can is always a bonus mentally and psychologically and gives us a more positive feel for the future.
Spring, the bringer of light...
So it is almost Spring, or is Spring depending on which marker you use for the official start. For many of us including myself Spring is the point were we hopefully feel some happiness or relief that the darker colder Winter months are hopefully behind us for another year.
As you know my fund raising is mostly run based, and as you will know if you read my last Running For My Health blog I did the R.E.D. in January challenge for Mind (Run Every Day) to help raise much needed funds for a very worthy charity, and to raise awareness of the charity and the mental health conditions they help support.
The R.E.D. challenge did indeed help me keep a positive focus on things ahead this Winter more than normal, as I would of otherwise just stayed in hibernation/survival mode until Spring finally arrived.
R.E.D. also helped me focus on my main fundraiser for 2018 which is in memory of my Mum and as I will need to train throughout the year for it it gave me time to start planning in my head how it was all going to come about.
This Spring I am now ready to go and starting to get out there and start my run training for future events, as well as just getting out there for the fun of it to appreciate the sun and the scenery of nature where I live by the sea and coast.
The relief I have felt being out there in nature and enjoying all it has to offer, and finally feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin again has helped me feel like I have come through the dark period of Winter and the new light of Spring, and all that it brings is the start of things to come in hopefully a positive year ahead.
Mothers Day has just passed this last weekend and it was sad without my Mum, but I went out for a long run in the local dunes and pinewoods knowing it was somewhere she loved, as do I. It helped me feel better and to assure myself that running and fund raising is what keeps me alive and reassured me that the fund raiser in Sept and the challenge it entails in Snowdonia will be for a good cause and in remembrance of a fine human being, my Mum.
I encourage you to talk openly about your troubles where able, reach out to friends, reach out on the dedicated pages on social media where fellow sufferers and new friends await you. Get out into the fresh air and enjoy all that is around you. Start running, cycling, walking , swimming or whatever helps you get out there. Sign up for some runs, run for a charity close to your heart, fund raise or just raise awareness.....
I guarantee to you that it can be a life saver, a giver of new hope and and step in the right direction for your future happiness and indeed your daily survival.
Gru. xx