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I was diagnosed with Borderline (Emotionally Unstable) Personality Disorder in 2016 and found running to help manage my mental health.

However, in August 2023, an impulsive action, triggered by my negative thoughts, resulted in me being admitted to intensive care and ventilated. This wrecked my body and I lost my ability and love of running, so I stopped.

By mid 2024, I started to notice my mental health was deteriorating rapidly and I reached out for support. That support was not easy to access and, much to my dismay, I was admitted to a mental health assessment unit in September.

I was discharged with the recommendations of changing my medication, being supported by the Community Mental Health Team and to undertake Dialectical Behaviour Therapy - a therapy that can be difficult to access across the country.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a structured, evidence-based psychotherapy specifically designed to help people manage intense emotions, improve relationships and reduce self-harming and suicidal behaviour. It emphasises balancing emotional acceptance with positive behavioural change and consists of pre-treatment, skills group, individual and coaching sessions.

Luckily for me, the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust has a small team that offers DBT and I started pre-treatment in November and then my skills group and individual sessions in December.

I finished my 64 weeks of skills group on 24 April 2026 and have around 3 months of individual sessions remaining and am so grateful that I was able to be offered this therapy and that I have an amazing therapist. Without this therapy, I am unsure if I would be here now.

One of my DBT goals was to get back running…not for times, but to both manage my mental health and enjoy it. However, I still needed a goal to motivate me to get out the door and that’s why I decided to take part in this year’s Great North Run.

I’m pleased to say that I started training at the start of April and have found my love for running again.

As training has been going well, I have decided to up my challenge and I will now also be running the Yorkshire Marathon (York).

I am aiming to raise a minimum of £250 for Health Stars, which is the charity of Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, in order to give something back for the specialist support I have received.

Any donations made through my fundraising will specifically help enhance the health care and experiences of people accessing the DBT service. These will be used to purchase resources and equipment that NHS budgets do not cover.

You can find out more about Health Stars by clicking the following link: https://healthstars.org.uk

I will share updates of my training and more information on Health Stars through this page and on Facebook.

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