I tell myself regularly, “Something needs to change” & inevitably (& naively) wait for someone to make MY situation better, for someone to else to put in the work in improving MY mental state while I self medicate by over-indulging on food and alcohol, waiting….it never comes!

There are two sides to the coin on the decision to make this journey, the first being: those who know me know I’ve always been very charitable, with friends, family to complete strangers so the opportunity to provide help to those who truly need it is nothing less than an honour. The flip side of the coin relates directly to the first paragraph above. During my 6 years (diagnosed) as clinically depressed, I’ve been prescribed many different anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications, put in 100’s of hours of CBT & various other therapies with various therapists with the sole purpose of:

A) bringing the illness under control (medication).

B) trying to understand  why I think & feel the way I do when the darkness falls & the demons start screaming, attempt to establish route cause(s), & what I can do to combat said demons & darkness when the light starts fading and those familiar, distant screams get louder (therapy).

Both A & B have been a constant combination of “hit & miss” in that they have provided short term relief to which I become dependent on while not really proving a sustainable long-term strategy for good/positive mental well-being…like taking pain relief to treat a bullet wound, it numbs the pain but won’t affect the wound.

What I have come to realise on a personal level is that there is (an almost instantaneous) mental improvement that comes with physical exercise and even more so when there is a social aspect involved. This is the (selfishly so) primary reason for making this journey in the hope that it gives me a springboard back into the health and fitness lifestyle that has been absent from my life for around 5/6 years (coincidence?).

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as the say. That is to say, hopefully over the next 10 weeks, my friends, family & even colleagues will see a marked and substantial improvement in both my mental & physical well-being…but more important, I will see and feel the improvement/benefits of the hard weeks ahead.

I’m doing this for me & if I can help others while helping myself….f*cking AWSOME!

If you took the time to read this, thank you.

If you didn’t and donated, thank you.

If you did and didn’t donate, thank you.

💪🏼🧠💙