I've raised £2300 to Sean’s place, by running the Liverpool half marathon, May 2020
Organised by Connor Woods
Story
I am running the liverpool half marathon in may 2020, to help raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention.
On 17th September 2016, I was taken into the A&E department at aintree hospital where I learned that I had a mental health illness. From then on, I then spent 38 months with the early intervention team. Without there help over the last 3-4 years I don’t know what position or state I would be in at this moment in time.
I knew virtually nothing about mental health and how many different types of illnesses there was. According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) there are
“nearly 300 mental disorders”
The definition of mental health can be influenced by our society and culture, but most mental health disorders are across all countries and cultures. This suggests that they are not constructed just by social expectations, but have a pyschological and biological basis too.
Because of my lack of knowledge on mental health, I tried to self diagnose with depression which is a common illness. Depression causes people to experience low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. Depression symptoms can vary in severity, from mild to moderate to severe depression. If you experience symptoms of depression for most of the day – every day – for more than two weeks, you should seek help from your GP.
The nurse at aintree’s A&E department diagnosed me with psychosis. I did not get told this until a couple of weeks later. I didn’t take in what it was or even understand it at the time, but over 3 years on I am starting to learn more about it.
Psychosis is a mental health problem that causes people to perceive or interpret things differently from those around them. This might involve hallucinations or delusions.”
This is a direct quote taken from the nhs website. My reality was muddled by my own thoughts and letting my thoughts cloud my judgment on what was real and what wasn’t. In my world everyone was against me, even close friends and family.
On the nhs website, it states that people diagnosed with psychosis
“have a higher than average risk of self-harm and suicide.”
It has taken me over 3 years to get to the point where I am getting more comfortable to understand my mental health issues and to learn more about it.
My aim for doing this half marathon is to raise money for Seans place, which is a new charity set up in the Sefton/Liverpool area that offers free mental health and wellbeing support for men suffering with mental health illness. I also want anyone that suffers with mental health to be able to realise what there going through is normal. You are not the odd one out.
According to the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, as of April 2019 over 1.3 million people were in contact with mental health services in the UK.
I am proof that whatever you think your going through now will not last forever. It might take one person 1 year, another person 7 years. Not one persons mental health is the same as the next.
Understand that things will get better and they will improve. Don’t let suicide be your only option.There is a lot worth living for you just haven’t seen it yet. Things will change and things will get better. It could take 5 months, it could take 5 years. It has taken me over 3 years to get to where I am now and I am only at 85-90% mentally fit. It could take me another 3 years to get to 100% but I am willing to accept that and embrace it’s not an overnight fix. If you feel alone, there are services out there that can help you. You have to be willing and accepting of the support that they are offering you. Don’t be afraid to speak to people about it because you might think your ‘the weird one’. Embrace that what your going through is normal and there are people and services that are there to help you. Embrace your abnormalities.
I am Connor Woods, and in September 17th 2016, I was diagnosed with psychosis. I spent 38 months with the early intervention team. I was signed off Friday 29th November 2019. I am a suicide survivor.
Samaritans hotline - 116 123
Information and quotes used:
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/types-of-mental-illness
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/d/depression
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psychosis/
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-services-monthly-statistics/final-april-provisional-may-2019
My chosen charity:
