I have suffered on and off with anxiety for years, varying in degrees of intensity and mostly just writing it off as normal worrying, which the more I speak to people, is more common than you’d like to think. The lifestyle choices I was putting myself through are fairly common place, not exercising enough, drinking too much, awful sleeping pattern, the usual suspects.

In December of 2022 I was coming up on a year of a new job as the solo developer at a great design agency, there were highs and lows but the way I dealt with the lows wasn't right . This build up in bad habits resulted in me having a fairly serious panic attack at work.

Not long after I was watching a podcast where one of the hosts mentioned they’d completed a sprint triathlon, the distance seemed long enough it would take some training but not so long it seemed unobtainable. I set myself the task of completing a half triathlon this year, my goal being the Bristol Sprint triathlon. This consists of a 750m swim, a 23km bike then a 5km run. When I started my training it was difficult with early mornings but I joined up to the jubilee leisure centre as it was close by and affordable. The morning swimming sessions have really helped me get a grasp on my mental health and physical fitness. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle each day, and it didn’t take long to figure out it’s also a great community spot. Everyone there is so nice regardless of age or gender but they’re facing a difficult period of instability with inflated gas prices and maintenance costs.

The fact is funding is being diverted elsewhere and 74% of all leisure centres across the UK are considered ‘unsecure’ and are at risk of closing before March of 2024. These are places where our future children will learn to swim and people like me who have struggled with mental health issues can get a grip on life again.

With this being said I’m looking to raise money for both the Jubilee leisure centre, and CALM, or Campaign Against Living Miserably which is a mental health charity focused on helping people who are find life tough.