I’m standing at the start of the Edinburgh Marathon feeling like a bit of a fraud. Trying to be something I’m not. Who am I to think I can run a marathon?
I experienced my first panic attack in my twenties leading to issues with alcohol and depression. Now I am a fitness instructor using exercise to cope with my mental health battles.
Grieving, homeless and with a cocktail of mental health diagnoses I became aggressive, retreated from society and lost a number of friends. In recovery I turned to sport.
Seven years ago my anxiety was off the scale and suicidal thoughts were coming regularly. Now I have rediscovered exercise and the positive effects have been immense