A Co Antrim man has committed to running or walking 5K every day for two months to raise awareness of and funds for local mental health services.
Despite hitting his lowest point last summer, with the intervention of friends, family and medical professionals, Steve Caldwell's mental health has improved significantly.
Steve has suffered with his mental health since the age of 30 and was coping well until he went into isolation with coronavirus, which triggered low moods.
The 37-year-old teaching support assistant, who lives in Antrim town, said: "I've battled mental illness for the best part of 10 years now in the form of depression and severe anxiety.
"With the help of my doctor, medication, my faith, family and exercise I have been doing really well.
"The last couple of years have been completely incident free and things have been great. The worst bout was last summer after I tested positive for Covid-19.
"August and September were nothing short of a breakdown - including suicidal thoughts, 24/7 care from friends and family and complete hopelessness."
Steve added: "Compared to what others have had to deal with, my physical symptoms were very minimal in that I lost my taste and smell for a couple of days.
"But the kicker for me was the impact on my mental health - it was just devastating and I am still recovering to this day."
Fortunately, with the help from Steve's local mental health crisis team, GP, and therapist, his mental health has improved significantly.
Now inspired by his own experience of mental illness, Steve, plans to complete 5K every day throughout February and March to support local mental health charity, AWARE and raise funds to support other local people living with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Steve has committed to walking or running every day for 59 days and by combining his love for fitness with fundraising, he also wants to use his challenge to encourage others to talk about their mental health.
"Exercise has lifted my darkness so much in the last decade - this 5K a day challenge is a way for me to promote exercise and to connect with friends, family and my community as they join me for a 5K throughout the next few months" he explained.
"Having walked the dark corridors of mental illness, I want nothing more than to use my experience to remind others that things do get better, to keep fighting, and to believe that dark nights end, morning comes, and the sun does shine again."
Lesley Wright, Community and Events Officer at AWARE, added: "We are incredibly grateful to Steve for taking on his 5K challenge in aid of AWARE.
"Not only is Steve raising vital funds to help us continue supporting those with mental illness in Northern Ireland, but he is also encouraging conversations about mental health.
"This mirrors AWARE's mission to combat mental illness stigma and create a society where mental health is discussed openly without judgement.
"Thank you so much, Stevie – we're wishing you all the best for the rest of your challenge."
You can keep track of Steve's progress and support his challenge here.
Anyone who needs to talk to someone about mental health issues can call the Samaritans on 116123 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000
