My First Mental Health Swim – Sally

I am 53 and was always an absolute dud at exercise through school. Overweight for most of my life which brought with it a lack of body confidence or any desire to try physical activity apart from the odd burst of jogging. I have a young son and I didn’t want to be a parent who only did sedentary things with him. I wanted him to have a love of physical activity and being outdoors. I felt that my own issues had held me back for long enough! I also think that, with maturity, I care less about what other people think about the way I look or how good I am at something.

 

I have lived in Clevedon for nearly 10 years without dipping a toe in the lake or the sea. I am not a religious person, but during lockdown, I had, for want of a better word, a calling to jump in the lake! I kept going down and watching people swim; I wanted to be one of them. In a thread in the CLASS Facebook group, Nicky, who leads a Mental Health Swim meet, was offering to go in with someone for their first swim, so I joined in the conversation, and she offered to come in with me. Not sure if I would have gone in on my own the first time. So, I started at the beginning of November with not much kit and just in my swimmers.

 

I then signed up for a Mental Health Swim meet and it was great to be part of a group and swim together. All shapes and sizes. All lovely people and the chance to chat and have a mince pie afterwards. Haven’t litter picked yet – I do that locally anyway – but think it’s great to combine it with Mental Health Swim meets to give something back.

 

Rather than being worried before attending, I guess I am always ‘aware’ of my body and how it looks, trying not to compare myself with others. Things like Mental Health Swims just normalise that we are all different and just bumbling through life the best we can. It’s wonderfully non-judgemental and supportive.

 

If you are thinking of attending a swim, just sign up and wander down. You could even sit and watch for a bit and chat to the other people there. No pressure but lots of support to help you take that first step, even if only for a few minutes. Having someone like Nicky there means that even if you don’t feel confident to initiate a conversation, someone else will involve you.

 

I think that, for some people, the term ‘Mental Health’ could be off-putting if they don’t identify with that term or think they have poor mental health perhaps? I describe it as brilliant for my headspace or wellbeing.

Find out the latest news for the Mental Health Swim Meet at Clevedon by following her Instagram account @mentalhealthswims_clevedon