Lake district weather is like a metaphor for life, All 4 seasons in one day.
When I first went on sick leave last September I made a deal with my self, that no matter what the weather I would go out everyday and do something. I had been struggling with my symptoms for sometime, I had constant pain in ligaments throughout my body and my energy levels had hit rock bottom. Truth be told I was never really aware of how much your mental state can affect your physical abilitiy.
I have spoken to many service users over the years and listened to what they had to say, but never really felt what they felt. When someone who is experiencing mental health issues says they have no energy to get out of bed, we automatically think they are being lazy. I ask you…
Walk a mile in their shoes
How they feel may be very different to how you think they should feel.
Realising how much I hurt, and how little energy I had, meant I had to make a choice….
No matter what get outside
Now i’m lucky I have a training partner who won’t let me stay inside, Poppy is a 3 year old Black lab who will tell you she needs hours out every day.
She is meant to be a gundog but is scared of guns and planes and people and other dogs, she is pretty good but needs a lot of exercise.
Having Poppy is my accountability, no matter the weather, no matter how I feel I have to go out. When I am out it is a distraction from how I feel. I learned to plan my routine based on need not on feelings and it hasn’t let me down yet.
She is definately walking this Journey with me.
