RUNNING PUT ME IN A BETTER PLACE

Lewis Fieldhouse, 31, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

We’ve come a long way;

mental health is discussed more openly now than ever. It’s a sign of how much has changed for the better that everyone from the royal family to pop stars, actors, sports figures and celebrities have been willing to talk about their demons.

But while such openness is breaking down the stigma surrounding mental illness, the statistics show that more people are suffering than ever. The charity Mind says one in four adults in the UK experiences mental health issues each week, so it’s likely someone in your circle of family and friends is struggling right now. Perhaps you are.

Piecing together snapshots from various findings paints a bleak picture of the state of our mental health. The latest Mental Health and Wellbeing in England survey shows that almost six per cent of people in the UK suffer with anxiety and three in every 100 from depression. Phobias, addictions and post-traumatic stress disorder are also among the issues mental health professionals encounter every day. And one in every 100 people in the UK lives with a severe mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder.

These common problems often surface early in life; roughly three children in every school classroom have a diagnosable mental health issue, according to CAMHS, the NHS’s child and adolescent mental health service. In fact, three quarters of all mental health issues are established before someone reaches 24.

NHS England plans to spend £13 billion on mental health services this year. Yet there is still a long wait for help for many, as the demands on these hard-pressed services mount. Tragically, some can see no hope: the most recent suicide statistics from the Samaritans charity show that more than 6,500 people took their own lives in 2018 – the majority of whom were men. According to the Campaign Against Living Miserably, (CALM), suicide is the biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the UK.

Medication and talking therapies remain the default treatments for mental health issues. According to data from NHS Digital, there were 70 million antidepressant prescriptions issued in 2018, almost double the 2008 figure. Meanwhile, well over one million people are referred to NHS talking-therapy sessions a year. But running could be another way to help combat these issues.

Numerous studies have shown how exercise – and running, in particular – can be beneficial to mental health. A link between physical activity and mental wellbeing has not been irrefutably proven, but there is growing evidence from around the world of its benefits. For example, a review re-evaluating earlier studies, which was published in Australia’s Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, concluded that aerobic exercise three times a week at a moderate intensity over nine weeks can help to treat depression.

A US study of 1.2 million people published in The Lancet in 2018 found those who exercised reported better mental health. And, closer to home, in a study conducted by Elizabeth Goyder, professor of public health at the University of Sheffield, 69 per cent of 60,000 UK parkrunners surveyed said their mental health had been improved by their regular Saturday morning 5K.

Behind all this data are stories of people who found running has had a life-changing effect on their mental health. Three of those people have been generous enough to share those stories here. Their testimonies offer inspiration and hope for anyone going through dark times. ‘i have run on and off throughout my life, though, if i’m honest, I’d never really enjoyed it. But my relationship with running has fundamentally changed over the last year.

I’m a full-time musician and was living in London for six years, having grown up in Harrogate. But when my mum became very ill with cancer, I decided I needed to move back home to care for her. I’d reached the point where my work didn’t matter and I just wanted to be there for Mum. I moved up in August last year.

I have been having counselling therapy for more than three years; I started when my mum became ill. It has helped with my anxiety, but once back in Harrogate, I decided I needed to do something else positive for myself, as looking after Mum took a toll on my emotions. I wanted to do something physical, and running filled that need. I had seen on social media a group called Early Bird Run Crew that was social, not competitive. That appealed to me. They met every weekday morning for a 6am and 6:30am 5km run around The Stray, a large open space in the town.

Getting up before six was unusual for a musician like me – I was usually coming in not long before then, after returning from a gig. But I made myself go running three times a week. I liked that it came with no expectations. If you wanted to jog slowly and chat, that was fine, or you could steam around the route and that was cool, too.

After starting last summer, I would run with regular members and talk about my mum with those I’d come to know better. It helped me put my mind in the right place to face another day of caring for Mum before she passed away in October. A few days afterwards, I was running.

I realised getting up to run was a habit that gave my days a structure. Although my counselling has been the foundation for all the positive things in my life in the past three years, the running has added to that. Together, they have changed my outlook and I’m now less anxious than I was. Even though it’s still soon after Mum’s death, running has helped me feel I’m in a better place.

While running outside in the country, I feel grounded and very much in the present; I focus solely on running. I like to concentrate on my breathing and fall into a rhythm as I move forward; that’s very relaxing. I’m sure running has helped me process my feelings after Mum’s passing.

I realised just how important running is to me when I suffered a knee injury recently. I was desperate to get out and run. It’s now part of what I do. In the future, I would like to do something like a coast-to-coast run or an epic sort of run like that. I now love that sense of simply travelling across the earth’s surface as you run along and what that does for your mind.’ •