Walking My Own Way

2020 started well for me but quickly deteriorated. I didn’t see it happening as I was so focused on doing everything and being everything to everyone, and then at the beginning of March everything came crashing down.

I had to take some time off work which I had never done and face the fact that my mental health was not good. This was very difficult for me as I have always prided myself on being strong and able to cope with anything but a perfect storm had happened in my life and everything was too much. That time off work coincided with the start of a global pandemic and our country going into lockdown which added to everything else that was happening for me. I needed to make some changes and I needed to get well, so I started running more as well as walking, while doing a lot of work on myself. I strongly feel that the exercise and being outside are what contributed to me getting back to myself and improving my mental health the most.

Once the lockdown restrictions were lifted and I was able to travel for my exercise, my walking took on a new pace and I started to explore the Cornish coast path. This meant facing my fear of being close to cliff edges and being at the mercy of the elements but also spending a lot of time in my own company.

After one walk where I got lost, scared, tearful and ending up walking 8 instead of 5 miles I almost gave up. But I persevered and as my confidence grew I found that the physical challenges, the walking, being in my own thoughts, being near the sea and the stunning views were actually making a massive difference to me mentally and physically and I surprisingly found myself wanting to do more challenging walks. I decided to rewalk the walk where I got lost and see if I could overcome my fear of it. Whilst on this walk, I had this moment of inspiration about a way to really challenge myself but also raise money for YZUP (Cornwall’s Young Person’s Substance Misuse Service) part of We Are With You the charity I work for.

I also wanted to be able to highlight how beneficial being outside and physical activity is for recovery from issues such as mental health and drug and alcohol misuse, but also as an alternative coping mechanism to those we may use when we are struggling. Mine has always been food and burying my feelings through overworking but I am now doing things differently.

The gift I got from this experience, and it really was a gift, was that it gave me a new insight into my work and the children and young people I have worked with over the years. The journeys they went on, and how hard they worked to turn their lives around. Also the importance of recognising the impact of our childhood experiences on our future selves.

I thought long and hard about where I would want any money raised to be spent and who should benefit. For me, the work that my service does with children and young people that are affected by a family member’s drug or alcohol misuse is where I feel we could use more money to reach more children and young people and support them. The money raised will go to the Cornwall Young Person’s Service (YZUP) and we will use the money to increase the number of young people we can work with who have been affected by the substance misuse of someone within their family. If I raise:

5K - would allow YZUP to offer support to an additional 13 young people in the year

10K - would allow YZUP to offer support to an additional 26 young people in the year

20K - would allow YZUP to offer support to an additional 52 young people in the year

25K - would allow YZUP to offer support to an additional 64 young people in the year

I have worked for YZUP for 10 years, firstly as a practitioner and latterly as Team Leader. I still feel as passionately as I did on day one that every child and young person deserves to have every possible opportunity to thrive in this world and to achieve their full potential. I believe that the service we offer gives this to children and young people who are often scared to seek support due to stigma and fear that they will be judged or treated differently as a result of sharing what is happening for them. They can also become isolated due to this stigma and dealing with the stress of substance use in their family, and sometimes even turn to substances themselves as a way of coping with life and trauma they have experienced. At our group work programme, they can meet other young people facing similar issues and realise they are not alone.

With your help we can reach out to so many more children and young people. I hope you can support my challenge by making a donation today to support our work.

“An estimated 751,000 (19.3%) children aged 10 to 15 years were living in households with an adult who reported going through one or more of the aspects associated with mental ill-health, domestic abuse or substance misuse in the previous 12 months.” Office of National Statistics.

So here’s what I am going to do… On the 2nd and 3rd May 2021 I will be embarking on a walk covering some of the hardest parts of the South West Coast Path in Cornwall. I will walk two solo marathons over two days (52.4 miles). This will work out to be about 30 hours of walking.

My walk will start at the harbour on St Michael’s Mount and crosses the St Michael’s Way across land via Trencrom. From here I will have a view of both of the coasts that I will be walking. From Lelant I will join the coast path, this is where the majority of my walking will be and I will end up back at Marazion at the end of the second day.

To give you an idea of the distance this is equivalent to walking from St Erth Roundabout to the Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor or from Chiverton Roundabout to the Tamar Bridge.

I will share my training journey via blogs, vlogs and photos on this page and through my facebook page @WalkingMyOwnWay. I also want to highlight the power of nature and the outdoors in increasing the quality of mental and physical health and promote positive activity as part of daily life throughout my training and my sponsored walk.