Category: Personal Journeys

too many men are toughing it out and not looking for or asking for help

My name is Joel Harris, I’m a 22-year-old postgraduate from Northumbria University where I studied sports coaching. I am also a coach at Blyth Town Football Club, which is a club where I’ve played for since I was 4. I have templesyndrome which means I stopped growing at the age 9 and find it harder…
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Dean Stobbs – “I will reduce stigma through education”

A definite go to when it comes to mental health, all with which it surrounds, is music, it matters not what genre, just pull up a seat, relax, and listen to your favourite music – it really does help. South Tyneside musician, Dean James, who for more than fifteen years worked in the NHS, and…
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“My mothers face flashed before my eyes and I thought I can’t do this to her”

It all started in Jan 2019. I had just returned from India after witnessing one of my closest loved ones recovering from a mental illness episode. When I left India, my close loved one was recovering and feeling better but I could sense that I was not able to overcome the sadness of seeing them…
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Jamie Chandler – “I also knew that, deep down, I needed to talk to someone”

In the ever-increasing world of sporting endeavour, whether that be of a professional, or an amateur ilk, collecting a serious injury can often be career-threatening (even worse as we all saw during this past summers’ European Championship). In our quaint little corner, in Northern England however, Spennymoor Town’s ex-Darlington and Gateshead midfielder, 32-year-old Jamie Chandler,…
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Richie Paxton, opens on a life in addiction as he continues turning his life around

Former footballer, Richie Paxton, opens on a life in addiction as he continues turning his life around and offers his own, sporting chance There comes a time in one’s life where you just have to stop, look around, and make some necessary changes; when those changes needed are surrounding that of addiction and mental health,…
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Art my Medicine

I have suffered in silence for many years. As a teenager, I had no idea what was happening to me. Everybody always perceived me as a bit anti-social, very shy and a geek. I was a high achiever, and although it did not make me very likeable amongst my peers, it helped to overshadow my…
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You aren’t in this journey alone…

So today is World Mental Health Day… here’s my story.. My personal journey has been ongoing for many years and many times I’ve almost lost the fight and have attempted suicide on more than one occasion and even today have those thoughts that make me contemplate my own life… But there only thoughts! I have…
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Sarah Hollebon – Living with Anxiety and PTSD

My name is Sarah. I am an emerging fashion designer with a mission to open up the conversation on social issues. I have suffered from anxiety since the age of 11 and have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from two separate incidents. The first incident happened when I was in my teens and the second one…
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We all wear ‘The Mask’

We all wear ‘The Mask’ Two halves of a life with differing outcomes, a life that has been locked away from the outside world with a façade, a mask, covering the true nature of the pain that comes from within.  After leaving school, in my late teenage years, I was subjected to bullying in the…
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Battling away from depression and into fitness during a pandemic

“The flow became a stream which soon turned into a river, and I’ve not looked back,” that’s how I look at battling away from depression, and into fitness, during a pandemic Expectations were quite high for 2020 since my first release with Fine & Dandi. Granted my mental health issues had been a constant thorn…
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its ok to not be ok text

Talking about my struggles had a negative effect on my mental health

***WARNING – THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS DETAIL AND DESCRIPTIONS THAT MAY CAUSE UPSET*** When I was sixteen, I was sexually assaulted by someone that I knew from school. This was the start of my struggles with mental health as this played on my mind for years and led me to struggle to trust anyone. I then…
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How people treat you, is on them. What I choose to accept is on me

How people treat you, is on them. What I choose to accept is on me Where do I start with my journey and my battles with mental health? It’s been such a long journey and one I didn’t even know I was on, until it became too much. I never talk openly about my journey…
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