Meet the group who are tackling mental health stigma one stride at a time

It makes for sad reading that approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year (mind.org.uk). And overcoming these struggles can be tough. For Jessica Mary Robson two things helped her out of years of suffering with anxiety and depression – running and her community. Here, she explains how this coupling evolved to become a support group that has improved the lives of many struggling with poor mental health.

Run Talk Run came about from my own need to have somewhere that was less intimidating to open up about my mental health. Having experienced anxiety, depression and bulimia throughout my teenage years and early 20s, I was frustrated that formal therapy seemed to make me close up even more. I often found myself lying to my therapist, and not necessarily giving the whole truth about what was going on for me. My low self-esteem made the eye contact and the intimate space rather intimidating when I was in that dark place. Running, on the other hand, seemed to have me spewing verbal diarrhoea about everything that I was experiencing. It was as though being outside, with distraction at my feet and a lack of eye contact, enabled me to share the thoughts that were swimming through my mind much more easily.