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Testing times bring people together, shared grief under difficult circumstances. Events shape our World everyday, many we have no control over, they shake us to the core. Opening the door of forgiveness and acceptance we move forwards with hesitation, carrying wounds less raw!
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Click above to take you to Claire's personal blog!
Hey all! It’s been slightly longer than a week but I’m currently in Bruges! What a beautiful city! We’ve been to a brewery, torture museum, LOTS of bars and LOTS of restaurants! Today is a trip to Ghent just down the road!
So today’s installation is about being ‘lonely.’ I use the inverted commas for a reason as I know, deep down, that I will never be alone in life. I have plenty of friends and family around me all the time.
I think my eyes have been opened to it quite a lot being away- I am here with my brother Ollie and his girlfriend Abbie. I said to them yesterday, I feel like I’m the only single person in Bruges!
I’ve lived by myself for over 2 years now and I absolutely love my little flat! I am so proud of what I’ve achieved by buying my own place, furnishing it, decorating it and generally maintaining it (I’ve even hung photos and built furniture!!)
However, if you’ve ever lived alone, you’ll know how hard it is sometimes to get home night after night and only have your own company.
Something that has become apparent to me more recently is my addiction to my phone and social media. I think this comes from spending so much time alone that I feel the need to speak to people over the phone. Sometimes I can go a whole day without a text or a call and that, I find really hard.
On the flip side of this, these times that I spend alone, I can do whatever I want to do… at the moment that will probably consist of reading my book all bloody day or watching some sort of rubbish on tv! But I’ve started to realise I need to embrace this “me time” and stop seeing it so negatively.
The rest of this year, for me, is to learn to enjoy my own company… learn to love myself… learn to not need my phone. But mainly… learn to stay off bloody dating sites and not be tempted.
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HELLO
Hi and thanks for clicking on the link to my first blog entry.
So why am I writing a blog? I’ve asked myself that question quite a few times this morning and I guess it is for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it is a good way of me looking at a journey I am currently on and secondly I hope that people who read will understand and possibly be inspired by my journey.
My name is Rich and I have suffered from mental health issues since my mid-late twenties which resulted in me taking an overdose of paracetamol , being admitted to hospital, and then under-going a couple of months of counselling. It helped and certainly helped me get my life back on track. I had a change of career, got back into exercising again (and raced in triathlons and ran quite a few marathons), and entered into a happy relationship which lasted for 8 years.
Almost 20 years on my mental health issues returned. I have spent most of 2018 depressed and unmotivated – my self-confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-value, and self-opinion have crashed.
I moved to Portsmouth last year relocating for work and was in a new and happy relationship which has now ended, has devastated me and left me heartbroken.
The things I said I would do when I moved here have just remained ideas and I’ve not been motivated to change that.
I have felt isolated and so alone. I have contemplated moving away on numerous occasions but I know this is not the answer and won’t resolve the underlying issues I need to deal with.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with my GP and I am also accessing support within work.
The one thing I have found that is helping is getting back into running again – it gives me time to switch off and gives me something to focus on.
I am goal/target driven – in work and away from work. With running I just can’t go out and do it for fitness reasons I need a target to aim for.
I’ve run 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons and marathons in the past and feel like I will always be looking at previous personal bests, average paces, run splits, and all that kind of thing and as I am a bit older I know I will not achieve what I had in the past – leading to frustration and a lack of motivation again.
I needed a new challenge and decided to enter an ultra-marathon instead – on 11th August 2019 I will be running 31 miles (50km) along the River Thames – starting at Kingston-upon-Thames and finishing at the Thames Barrier. At the moment I’m just getting myself out of the door and doing 30 minute runs at an easy pace – 31 miles seems like a long way off at the moment.
It sounds like the maddest idea I have had but when I think about it the idea is perfect – it is a target I have never set myself before, running ultras is more about the journey than the finishing time or personal bests, and running helps with my mental health so I guessed the further the better.
If it goes well then in 2020 I am going to enter a 100km (62 miles) ultra along the Serpent Trail on the South Downs.
So my blog is going to be about my journey and I am hoping that the journey will see me find peace with myself, address my current mental health issues and get them under control once again, and what steps I am taking to achieve to make myself happy again. -
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take part in 'roaming brit!'Would you like to take part in 'Roaming Brit' this Christmas? Why not email or message me your Christmas thoughts for the festive season. Whether you choose a poem, personal reflection or an inspirational quote, all words are welcome. You don't have to write an essay, just a few lines that mean the World to you at this time of year. All those who take part will have their work published, starting from 15 November 2018!
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'Now that I am older, rolling out of bed in the morning is easy... It's getting back up off the floor that's the problem!'
