Hi, I’m Malise Honey, I am 26 and I’m from Doncaster. I will be taking part in the Manchester marathon on Sunday 19th April 2026 and I will be doing it to raise money for the BDD Foundation.

I also want to prove to myself and others that anything is possible, even when you think it‘s not!

I would really appreciate it if you could all stay and take a few minutes to read my story as this is going to be a HUGE challenge for me and it is something I never once in a million years thought I would be able to achieve especially with having to relearn how to walk again at 24.

I know I am going to struggle and find it extremely difficult and I am going to have to push myself in ways like never before but, I do believe with a lot of focus, determination and support, I can do it!

I am going to start by saying that I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Functional Neurological Disorder.

It was due to my extremely traumatic time as an inpatient in various hospitals in the UK trying to get help for my BDD (2020-2024), that caused me to start having non-epileptic seizures… which I had never experienced in my life before.

There was no understanding of BDD in any of the hospitals and I never got the help I needed! Therefore my BDD only got worse. During this time I was having frequent seizures and it got to the point I developed a lower limb tremor and I was left unable to walk and needing to use a wheelchair.

Then in January 2024 after seeing a Neurologist that's when I got the diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder, with non-epileptic seizures and a lower limb tremor.

Hearing this news on top of severely suffering with my BDD and still not receiving the correct help, broke me, I thought that was it, I would never have a life worth living.

However, I am very lucky and fortunate to have had my family fight for me throughout and they managed to get me out of them places for good!

I have followed the BDD foundation for years, they are a charity that aims to increase awareness and understanding of Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Once I was out of hospital, I was very fortunate to get a place on one of the BDD foundations remote peer-led support therapy groups and it honestly changed my life… it helped me massively and the support they offer throughout is absolutely amazing.

On top of my remote therapy sessions, I started having physiotherapy to get me walking again. I was determined and oh boy did I work hard. I pushed myself in many ways and even though it was hard, I never once gave up and I did it, I managed to finish my last physio session and leave there walking unaided!

I just want to say thank you so much if you have stayed to read this far.

I know this may seem extremely unrealistic to some people but, it is something I want to push myself to do, to raise money for this amazing charity that has helped me and many others. But, that's not all, I do hope to raise more awareness for BDD in process too and also like I said, I want to prove to myself and others that anything is possible, even when you think it’s not!

I will be forever grateful for everyone showing their support, donating and sharing the link. It means a lot to me.

Thank you everyone,

Malise 🫶🏻