How I met Wellness Walks
My name is Jonathan. I was first introduced to Wellness Walks at the beginning of the second lock down. Kelvyn had put a post on Facebook offering 1-2-1 wellness walks for people struggling with isolation during the pandemic. He described them as a friendly opportunity to go for a walk, have a chat with no pressure to discuss anything in particular. He also explained he was a trained mountain guide, counsellor and mental health first aider. The post was very well received on Facebook and it quickly gained lots of exposure, likes and comments.
The post I first saw...
About Me
I am a man in my forties who has faced some considerable challenges in the past 10-12 years. Some of these challenges include a difficult divorce and custody case for my son that dragged out in the courts that took nearly 3 years and came at a considerable financial and emotional cost to both myself and my family. Struggles in my career going through periods of self doubt, unemployment and complicated contracts with difficult employers. These circumstances then impacted on my relationships with partners with most relationships failing due to the difficulties.
In June of 2019 I chose to move to West Cumbria on the edge of the Lake District and try to rehabilitate myself as the mental health support where I lived was lacking and the waiting lists were long. I had come to the conclusion I had to do things for myself. This did however prove much harder and has taken longer than I thought. Gaining employment in my chosen career eluded me and I looked at a career change, this didn’t work either. Very little was going my way, I reached out to my GP only to be told ‘self refer to the local mental health department’ they only offered 8 weeks of CBT; something which just wasn’t going to cut through this much historial mess.
By mid February of 2020 I gained some part time hours working as a barman but this only lasted until the beginning of April as the business forced furlough due to the global pandemic.
Like a lot of people I live alone and during the 1st lockdown my mental health suffered, although I could communicate via video and phone call I was completely cut off from physical human contact. This had a profound effect on me and I struggled physically, mentally and financially. As the 1st lockdown ended and I returned to work my employer restructured and cut jobs, mine included. I was now living on Universal Credit and really struggling to make ends meet. Gaining a new job preferably in my chosen career path was my main goal.
This was when I saw Kelvyn’s post on Facebook, so I reached out and was 1 of 88 applicants for 22 places.
After lots of job applications I was successful in finding a role in my chosen career. Whilst I waited for a start date at my new job I went on my first walk with Kelvyn and this took us up to the moorland near where Kelvyn lives.
It was a windy November day that blew the cobwebs out and got my heart going, I was full of hope but also very anxious about what the future held for me. Kelvyn and I slowly started to get to know one another, sharing our stories and enjoying the outdoors. It was just what I needed and a great start to what has become a regular feature in my life. In the last 20 months I have been on 8 walks. Kelvyn has been in constant contact and on a handful of occasions we have just met for a drink as the weather has been unsuitable. Kelvyn’s experience as a mountain guide, mental health first aider and counsellor shine through, he is constantly evaluating the ability of each member of the group, ensuring everyone goes at the pace of the slowest person, that there are enough breaks and that everyone is provided for and included.
How Wellness Walks have helped me
Wellness walks have given me the opportunity to get out in to nature and whilst I have suffered from isolation they have given me a time and a place to be, which has encouraged me to break the cycle of staying home. Each and every time I have been out (sometimes I have had to force myself to go) I have felt better in my person and my outlook for my future, this can be attributed to the following:
– The exercise
– The company
– The beauty of the mountains we walk in
It’s important that I try to explain more about the process. Kelvyn is very easy to spend time with, he has a kind, easy going personality that offers reflection upon ones circumstances, he is also not without opinion but his opinion is given with careful consideration. One of the most important parts of Wellness Walks is ‘I do not feel like I am on the clock and that it is a 45 minute session once a week where I must unload the last 7 days or make more progress on a bigger more complex issue in my life’.
In fact Kelvyn and Wellness Walks provide a space that is safe and secure but without boundaries, it breaks the traditional sitting in a tiny room and the stigma attached to that, it allows a more natural flow of conversation that isn’t always focused on my issues and thus creates an informal more relaxed space that I personally think has benefited me in a far greater way than traditional counselling. The more relaxed time scale allows for more ground to be covered and a greater sense of perspective and achievement in understanding ones own position and how things fit going forward. In taking the time to write this at Kelvyn’s request I feel I should thank him greatly as he has helped me in many ways, primarily the walks themselves, but also his kindness in checking in and prompting me to arrange Wellness Walks with him, but also the confidence and drive it has given me to start walking with others and for myself.
why wellness walks being funded matters
This one is simple, as I have climbed out of the particularly difficult set of circumstances I have faced over the last several years; finances have and will always play a difficult role to recovery, i.e one might argue the more money there is, the less of a burden surrounding making ends meet and any reduction in these pressures goes a long way to reducing anxiety and depression. The economy is becoming more and more stretched and this is passed on to every person no matter their financial status.
Wellness Walks being funded means I don’t have to choose between my mental health and any of the other areas that need my financial attention, they are just there and made available by Kelvyn and the Wellness Walks organisation.
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why i would like to see it continue
I would like to see Wellness Walks continue because they offer far greater support than traditional methods. My circumstances have improved greatly but I am not completely out of the woods yet, Wellness Walks are a great escape from the norm and do offer ‘A big breath of fresh air’ both physically and mentally to what can be a seemingly long hard slog in daily life. Whilst your funding helps small numbers of people like me, I feel it is really important to point out that larger sums of funding and more national recognition is needed to raise awareness of the work that Kelvyn and his team have begun in addressing the current shortfall of good quality mental health support that breaks the boundaries of ‘a little room for 40 minutes once a week’.
If you have taken the time to read my story please consider the support you can provide Kelvyn and Wellness Walks in elevating this organisation to help thousands  across the country and address the mental health crisis the UK faces today.
Thank you for your support…
