‘It gave me an overwhelming sense of happiness and achievement’

For 34-year-old Katie Hunt, a fourmile solo walk in the woods taught her she can conquer her anxiety, and that the #walk1000miles community is here to help her.

‘I don’t know how my anxiety started; a combination of difficult times through my life, and being a survivor of domestic violence – it’s taken me 15 years to publicly share that. Anxiety for me is like a constant cycle and usually starts off with a simple thought, then escalates to more thoughts until I lose the ability to carry out what I wanted to do. It affects every aspect of my life, from work and meeting people to visiting places by myself.

‘But a combination of planning, using my senses and #walk1000miles has encouraged me to not give up. I started off with tiny steps: I live in a flat, and would go downstairs and sit outside my door. I used my senses and was amazed by all the little things I didn’t always notice – the birds singing, the colours, the smell of the flowers. Then I started taking a moment in a nice spot when out with my family. I taught myself to focus on one step at a time instead of over-thinking everything.

‘Now I find a solo walk gives me this overwhelming sense of happiness and achievement. I have the odd worry here and there, but focusing on my senses helps overcome it. I feel happy, free, and at peace – lucky to be part of this earth.

‘The #walk1000miles Facebook group is amazing – so many supportive posts, and it’s helped me realise I’m not alone and that it’s normal to have fears. I feel so lucky to be part of such a wonderful group – it’s helped massively decrease my anxious thoughts.’