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It's time to get moving
Posted Friday 27 August 2010
It’s 8am and I’m on holiday. The temperature is already climbing to the mid 70s. And I’m running down a track surrounded by olive trees and being chased by a couple of friendly(ish) dogs.
To be honest I can’t quite believe it, but this is what happens when you sign up for the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. With only a couple of months to go, and some serious training needed to reach any kind of fitness, I’ve been running on my holiday every other day. And to my surprise, it’s quite good fun. Yes, it’s very hot and sticky, but the scenery of Northern Spain is superb and the running isn’t too bad either. According to my training schedule I’m only about a week behind now.
This is just as well – 10/10/10 is approaching. It’s the start of our Time to Get Moving campaign week, where up and down the country tens of thousands of people will be meeting up to take part in physical activity together to improve their mental wellbeing.
This is important because it breaks down barriers and improves the nation’s mental health (why not take a moment to find an activity near you). You meet people doing physical activity, it’s good for your body, and it’s good for your mind. I’ve noticed that since I started running I’ve become more alert.
There are lots of people who are getting moving for Mind at the half marathon – 470 in fact, our largest running team ever. People like Paul Cornell and Lauren Mitchell, who each have their own reasons for using this race to raise awareness of mental health. If you've ever wondered why someone would run a half or full marathon for a charity, take a look at their stories.
Now that I’m back from my holiday, I’m still running but have had the first of my “niggles” with a sore Achilles. This has led to a strange mixture of terror that this might be a proper injury, and secret excitement that I can even have a niggle. I was, however, brought back to earth when a friend said that problems with Achilles were common for “someone of your age who doesn’t run much”.
Meanwhile the best of luck to my colleagues Becky and Colin doing the Great North Swim next week, and all Mind supporters cycling to Paris and climbing the Three Peaks in September.
Paul Farmer is Mind's Chief Executive. You can sponsor his run here.
2 Comments
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I have had problems with depression and anxiety since I was at school. Now, to make matters worse, I think it’s now snow balled into OCD! But what I feel uncomfortable with - with the whole mental Health Services in the UK is that it seems resigned to simply accepting that Mental Health is with us, and that it’s just a “normal” part of life. I’m not saying it should still be classed as a taboo subject, but I don’t think it should simply be accepted same as a flu or a broken arm.
My personal opinion is that, beyond predisposition, it’s the environment that we live in – and more specific – the food we eat. The chemicals we ingest – I think is to blame in conjunction with the Society we live in. UK society is so stuck up and self-seeking that it’s bound to reject and emotionally injure us unknowingly. To say Mental Health is just normal, would be tantamount to saying – UK living is normal. It’s not! Stuck up Brits, binging on Diet drinks and keeping well within their own circles – is not normal.
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Yes David, I agree that the way our society is managed almost entirely through the financial markets , driven by consumerism does lead to people being rejected and emotionally injured. The thing that troubles me though is that so many talk about mental HEALTH when they mean mental ILLNESS. We talk about Mental Health Services which is what we hope they are aiming for but it can be confusing at times.
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