And Breathe......

5 in5 for Mind – Challenge Update – Running Injury Blues.

Unfortunately (as some of you will already be aware), I’ve had to postpone my #5in5formind marathon challenge, again! This time it’s because of an injury to my achilles.

It’s been about a month now, and originally, I thought it was just my calf muscle, but as time went by it became evident that the problem was bigger than that. This is the first week that I’ve been able to run properly, managing 14km on Wednesday; the good news is that the achilles seems to be holding up nicely, which it needs to, because I’m running the Milton Keynes marathon on Sunday 27^th June!

The whole injury experience had a huge effect on my mood, much more than I thought it would. I knew that running was important to me because I’d struggled during lockdown, when there were restrictions on the number of times you could leave home.

Signs from the Universe, or Just Coincidence?

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
C. S. Lewis

The Universe wants the best for you, is probably one of the most challenging ideas we face; like many mantras the words and the ideas behind them look and sound simple, however in practice it seems a bit of a joke, especially when you’re struggling.

When you suffer emotionally and physically, it’s ridiculous to even think that these things are happening for a reason, especially for good, but maybe in some circumstances they are; maybe they’re trying to tell us we need to make a huge change in our life; the question is , ‘are we listening, are we paying attention to what the Universe or our body is telling us?

So, the Supplements do Work!

It may just be me, but sometimes I wonder if what I take for my anxiety and depression works? Currently, I’m taking natural supplements, but it was also the same when I was on Sertraline.

This last week showed me that what I am taking does work!

I normally take a daily dose of 200mg of 5-HTP, a Vitamin B Complex with Magnesium Ascorbate, and 15mg of Zinc Complex. I started taking these because I was getting some nasty side effects from the Sertraline and the Diazapan I was taking; the Sertraline gave me night terrors and the Diazapan just knocked me out.

Towards the end of last week, I ran out of all the supplements I take, and stupidly I thought I would be ok without them for a couple of days, just until I could get to the local health shop (I had to wait for them to order some in because they were out of stock).

What happened over those couple of days was spectacular to say the least; basically, I hit rock bottom like a lead weight dropped from a tall building!

5 in 5 for Mind – Challenge Update.

A couple of weeks ago I received the news that the Milton Keynes marathon was being postponed from the beginning of May to the end of June. Normally this news wouldn’t have been too much of a problem, but the MK marathon is the start of my 5 in 5 for Mind challenge, so I had to decide whether to postpone the whole thing or not.

While I was a little disappointed, my general feeling was that it was good news because it would give me that bit more time to prepare, so I decided to delay my challenge in line with the new date for the MK marathon.

The new start date for the #5in5forMind challenge is Sunday 27^th June 2021.

Exercise for Better Mental Health.

With my 5 in 5 marathon challenge, I’m encouraging all of you to get out and exercise as a way of improving your mental wellbeing. We all know about the benefits of exercise to our physical health, but less is known, or understood about how exercise helps our mood, and how it can aid with managing anxiety and depression.

It’s not as straight forward as saying ‘exercise and you’ll feel better’, because sometimes it feels just the opposite. Exercise takes effort, motivation and dedication; you can be easily motivated at the start, but as it gets harder, or winter arrives, the gloss can soon loose it’s shine.

You don’t have to struggle with a mental health disability to understand that it can be hard to motivate yourself to exercise. Most people lead such busy lives that they don’t feel they have time to exercise, and often feel too tired when they do have time.

It can also contribute more stress, especially if you are not confident about your ability and how you look physically. Just one glimpse inside a gym or a quick search of social media can make you feel inferior and self-conscious.