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I have decided with mental health awareness week and the current situation to put myself out there with a challenge of doing a 100K in 30 days to highlight the impact COVID-19 is having on mental health. 

Whilst everyone's experience is different, for some of us the current situation may be impacting on our emotional health and wellbeing.  It is known that exercise can increase our wellbeing but it can be difficult to get motivated. Therefore, it is hoped this will motivate me whilst also raising money for a good cause – NSPCC Northern Ireland. 

Many of you will know this is a charity close to my heart. As both a child who has benefited from their support and now working for NSPCC, I have the honour of delivering direct services to children who have experienced the trauma of sexual abuse.

Trauma means that memories are held in the primitive part of the brain where our emotional and sensory memory is disconnected from the thinking part. This means that these children then experience flashbacks, nightmares and somatic symptoms such as headaches, tummy pain etc with no understanding to make sense of this. 

NSPCC are still here for these children. The work we do is important in terms of allowing children the opportunities to discuss and process what is happening to them through their own Language ie the medium of play and creative therapies. 

This work has never been more important given the current situation with COVID-19.  For children who are already finding it hard to manage due to trauma symptoms, the additional worries and stresses mean these children feel more overwhelmed, more unsafe, increased flashbacks, and decreased sleep to name a few. Children cannot use some of their normal coping strategies to manage these such as having routine, engaging in hobbies and connecting with people. 

Therefore, the work we do at NSPCC in our direct services to support children is vital. This has meant being more creative in our approaches and reaching out to children in creative ways.

On behalf of the children we support, thank you for your donation to help us to still be there. 

Michelle.