Middle aged woman on a bike
I don’t know what caused my latest flare up, but once it starts it's a spiralling cycle of feeling dreadful, then feeling better, then a sudden urge to stay close to the bathroom, and then the inevitable hopelessness in knowing that you have little control over what happens when you’re away from your home unless you starve yourself. This is what living with IBD looks like…..
Let me tell you about mental health issues. I’m not talking about the kind of issues that are visible, or the kind of issues that cause alarm with your friends and family. Like many disabilities a lot of mental health issues can be invisible. Millions of people suffer daily with what seem to them to be relatively minor mental health issues. Issues that cause them problems with relationships. Issues that cause them anxiety. Issues that don’t allow them to appreciate their own self-worth. Issues that in isolation don’t really appear anything to be concerned about....
Over the last few weeks I’ve been starting to find joy in taking my bike off the tarmac and onto trails and lesser ridden tracks. Not much for now, but it always makes me smile. I think it’s the long forgotten mountain biker in me. Now I’m really not looking to get back into mountain biking (yet), but gravel and trail riding does appeal in bucket loads.
I decided to ride LEJOGLE for Solent Mind, the South Coast’s branch of national charity Mind. And I’m so glad I did. This whole journey has been both eye opening and humbling for me. I’m someone who has been relatively lucky. Although I’ve had periods in my life, even recently, when I’ve felt down, or... Continue Reading →
She is now patron of a charity called The Wave Project, that uses surfing as therapy for young people suffering from mental health issues, or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
She's back to being an adrenaline junkie, and is in a much better place for now
Grab a cuppa, and take time for a read.