Ep 54. Women's Running Workshop. 19. Mental health, part 2: anxiety & panic

Welcome to our 19th Workshop. I’m back chatting with Holly, digital editor of Women’s Running. We have some very big things to talk about in this workshop. Holly has had a grim time of it, but in true Holly style, was more than happy to talk about everything with me here. Obviously it’s not all grimness, because we do tend to stagger off at very peculiar tangents, so we start by chatting about the crap emails we receive and by banging on about Duran Duran. We also talk about other good things to run to, including – and this is a new and exciting one for me - running to musicals. 

Then we fess up that neither of us made it to the start line of our race that we’d booked in for mid-August, and we explain why that is. For me, it’s mundane injury stuff, very blah blah blah. For Holly, though, it was an altogether different experience that stemmed from her mental health taking an almighty (and scary) plunge. So we talk about that here: what her experience was, how she bolstered herself, what she’s done to bring herself upwards again, and – joyously – how the methodical nature of running has been one of her valuable tools during this period. We also talk a lot about yoga: how we both furtively say “namaste” like imposters, how we like a sweaty session, whether Haribo would be a good yoga fuel, and that while we love it, we actually haven’t done any yoga for blooming ages and we need to get our collective arses in gear. Now let’s get to it, and give Holly a collective cuddle.

You’ll be really pleased to know that this podcast was recorded almost two weeks ago now, and that in that time Holly has continued to look after herself and assures me that she is feeling better every day, thanks to all the tools she has at her disposal. If you’re feeling any similar symptoms to Holly, please have a look at useful websites such as the NHS and Mind, both of which have lots of brilliant information, helpful practical advice and ideas on where to go if you need more support.

Podcast listeners can claim the best discount we have for membership to Women’s Running, which is 35% off. Simply enter WRPOD at the checkout for your discount. Happy running.

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