“So Simon Jones and I will be walking 15 miles and then
riding the 15 miles back”

If you’re on this page you know me, you know my opinion on
donating and unless it’s something challenging I’m not interested. So why am I
doing something you all know isn’t really going to offer me any challenge?

Compared to many people I’ve had an easy life, let’s be
honest here, I’m fit and healthy, I have a good group of friends and for the
most part :) I
enjoy my job. Had you asked me that 8 months ago however you probably would
have heard the IBS story. Since I was a teen I’ve had issues with my guts and
god knows I moan about it enough. In reality it took me from someone who was
confident and outgoing and tore me down. Unexplained pain in random parts of my
body was and still is common, doctors and tests found nothing and it created an
anxiety, something I was ashamed of and unable to manage.  Again, I’ll stop here, I am very lucky, my
anxiety stops at health issues, I know of many people who have to deal with it
whilst trying to live day to day so don’t for a second think I rank myself on
the “dealt a bad hand” pile, but I know how it feels when it hits and can absolutely
relate to the misery and depression it can lead to.

I tried a number of different places, therapies and
councillors, all “attacking” my hidden secret from different angles and nothing
worked. I learnt to push it away and just get on with things, every so often
having an almost mini break down. After a very difficult couple of weeks last
September I visited MCTC looking for something new to try. I worked with Angela
and it turns out attacking my anxiety was the problem. Anxiety is natural, you
can’t get rid of it, you can’t beat it and if you go head to head it will
overwhelm you. Assuming everyone reading this knows me, I’m a bit of a smart
arse, I research and I attempt to understand. In this case I’d found all the pieces
but hadn’t even spotted I was doing a puzzle. Angela didn’t try to educate me,
try to convince me of different ways of living, she showed me what I was
already doing and how to bring everything together. I was sceptical, had to
force myself to attend the sessions, but the more I went the more I started to
feel like I didn’t need to take control of anything, I needed to accept it, let
it be what it needed to be but with gentle persuasion guide my anxiety and calm
myself.

As I say, I’m a difficult customer/friend/colleague, I’m not
easy to lead or guide so although this doesn’t sound impressive to those
reading this, for me it was a huge change. I’m a calmer more relaxed person and
although I still get anxiety when my body hurts, I control, understand and
manage it 10 times better than I did.

You won’t see me asking for donations very often, this is my
first and probably my last but MCTC does this work with people who can’t afford
to pay for session and yet they have to find the money to pay their bills. You
might never need help and I truly hope you don’t but by offering any kind of
donation you’ll be helping MCTC offer support to those who really need it.

Ok, still not got your attention, how about if I offer to
double whatever is donated and if we reach £100 I’ll find some crazy costume to
wear for the walk :)