EVIE White
EVIE's Isle of Skye Half Marathon page
Fundraising for The Junction
Story
Hello and thanks for taking an interest and coming to check my page out, I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm feeling strong enough to make it happen now.
I'm running for a few reasons...Firstly I'd like to thank and give back to The Junction. They are a fantastic little charity aimed to improve young people's health and well being within the area of Leith, Edinburgh. It's been a couple of years since I've worked with The Junction but I have gotten so much out of the experience; receiving free counselling, drop in sessions, volunteering opportunities and of course the complimentary services including yoga, rieki and massage. They are a great charity who have helped me in many ways and its a pleasure to run for them.
Secondly, I'm running for my own mental health; something I've really struggled with in the past. I've been running on and off since I was 15 when I first started to identify with my depression and anxieties and it really helped me through a hard time in my life; to get up, out of bed and to go to school in the morning. I never realized up until now how drastically physical activity impacts on our health and well being and my efforts to stay active definitely wont stop after the marathon.
Finally I am raising awareness of mental illness.! At the moment mental illness affects 1 in 4 of us in the UK each year, it is so common yet it still feels so taboo to talk about. It's taken me years to speak out about my own mental health but i'm not embarrassed or ashamed of it now. I've had a few mental illnesses in the past: depression, anxiety, psychosis, panic attacks and they are not easy go through let alone admit to anyone, more over yourself that you are suffering. The major battle for me is social anxiety, I still suffer with this on a daily basis and at times it can be unbearable; however I feel I'm making progress, I've been prescribed with anti-depressants by my doctor, am receiving counselling and can work a full time job and go to college without much trouble. I don't know that I will ever recover from anxiety but I have learnt to accept it and I can learn how to manage it better.
The more we talk about mental health, the more we can educate and understand ourselves and each other and the more acceptance we'll have.
Please help me to support The Junction so they can help young people in my area speak out about their problems and express their feelings in a healthy way while being supported to make the right choices for their own health and well being during an incredibly confusing time in life.