Thank you for visiting my page.I am supporting Mind in West Essex by taking on the Move for Mind challenge. All funds raised from my page will go to help people in my local community.

I have experienced depression & anxiety for many years & I have always managed the symptoms as best I can until last year. Even as I sit & type this I have knot in my stomach as very few people are aware of my story but I feel now is the time to share. 

Due to various reasons including a heavy work load & continuous poor health I found myself in total burn out & one morning after taking the children to school I came home & my body & mind completely shut down, I couldn't move, speak, see properly, there were no thoughts, just complete darkness. I was taken to bed when I then experienced just a total feeling of heartache, I sobbed & sobbed, it was the next day I managed to speak to a doctor who told me I had experienced a mental/nervous breakdown. 

6 months down the line I am doing well which is all due to my amazing family & support networks in place. I have days when I struggle but who doesn't! I continue to have health problems with long covid & severe asthma & I have found the connection between my physical & mental health goes so deep. I love to be active & outside & not being able to do these things has a huge impact on me, sometimes the 10 min walk to school is enough to leave me in pain & exhausted. I am so lucky to have a job that helps me so much (teaching yoga) & many skills that support me (hypnotherapy, meditation, reiki). My yoga mat is a place I try to get to every day even if its to sit for 10 min & try to focus on my breath. I describe my mat as my security blanket, if I have made it to my mat I have achieved something in my day. I have scaled back my work & I continue to teach in a studio I love so very much & those 3 classes a week have helped me so very much, I feel so lucky & so very grateful.

I have been seeing a therapist through Mind for 12 weeks now & I can honestly say with my hand on my heart this has saved me many times over. I can't express how much therapy has helped support me & has been such a huge lifeline. I have learnt so much yet still have so much more to learn. No matter how hard a session is I always come away feeling better, feeling that little bit stronger. This charity means more to me than I can explain through a few paragraphs which is why I would love to be able to raise money for them. It would be silly of me to set my goals high so I am going to be honest with anyone reading this.....some day I may manage 30 minutes of Yoga. On a good day I may take a 20 minute walk. I've even decided to try some just dance on the switch when nobody is about & make a total Pratt of myself (I love to dance when nobody is watching!). I won't be running marathons, or hiking mountains but I promise that every single day I will do the very best I can & if you can spare just £1 know that somewhere down the line that donation could save someone else.

Thank you for reading my story.

Much Love

Tracey x