Well I drove to my little Welsh cottage alone last week. I had felt a bit nervous about the very long drive, my husband Pete usually does the driving, but I made it on my own and my little cottage with its views over the estuary was there to welcome me.
The next day I got up early and set off to do a 2 hour mountain walk around a tarn or Llyn as they are called in Wales. The sun was shining but it was bitterly cold and there were streaks of snow across the mountain tops. I could see the path I had to follow as a faint trail snaking it's way up and down the slopes. The lake was a steely grey green and the rocks were patterned with pale orange and lime green lichen. It made a stunning other worldly scene and I felt very tiny and insignificant in the majestic, timeless landscape.
I felt really nervous at first and my breathlessness kicked in which is my main remaining symptom of GAD. I thought perhaps I will just walk to the lake shore and then return. The weather was fine but it can change very rapidly in Snowdonia. I had telephoned my husband Pete and told him what time I had set off and said I would ring as soon as I got back to my car and found somewhere with a signal.
I overcame my fears and set off at a brisk pace, feeling a bit dizzy at first. After an hour and half I was round the lake and had reached the level ground on the other side with a slope down past the churning, tumbling waterfall in the collage to the safety of the car park.
I felt elated and invincible 😀😃😄, I had done it!!
To everyone out there who reads this, try to find your own challenge, if you have been house bound as I was in the early days of GAD and depression a couple of years ago, it might be just a walk to the local park to see the spring flowers breaking through and hear the birds singing, that will be your mountain walk, which you can build on.
My thoughts and best wishes to everyone, know that you can and will get better.
Kim
and just this one..
