A Traffic Management Foreman at HW Martin (Traffic management) Ltd in Derbyshire has walked 1 million steps in less than 2 months to raise AWARENESS OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND MONEY FOR THE LIGHTHOUSE CLUB CHARITY.
Barrie Saunders, set himself this ambitious target after taking up walking daily as part of his own recovery.
“At the start of 2021 I was feeling very low and I didn’t recognise the person staring back at me in the mirror,” he explained. “I was experiencing severe mood swings, isolating myself and lashing out at people, even my family. I wasn’t enjoying the work I was doing and when I was at home I wasn’t going out. I felt like I didn’t have a life. .I have done some Mental Health training through work and started to recognise red flag behaviours in myself.”
Barrie was offered mental health support through his employer but he elected to try self-help in the first instance.
He credits walking for helping his wellbeing and found that setting a step goal helped to focus his recovery.
He said: “Walking is the best decision I have made for myself in a long time. I wanted to share my experiences to help others and as a thank you for the support I received from colleagues and family. I set myself a target of 1 million steps in 2 months in aid of the Lighthouse Construction Charity, After averaging nearly 19,000 steps per day, I hit my target of 1 million steps 8 days earlier than predicted!
Walking became my therapy and coping mechanism and I am now feeling more like the old Barrie, The 1 million step challenge allowed me to continue doing something for me, but also for mental health. If the money I raise helps someone else and this fantastic cause then this has all been worthwhile.”
Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity said, ”This is a huge achievement by Barrie and we can’t thank him enough for his personal efforts in walking 1 million steps and the fundraising efforts of colleagues, friends and family. Barrie has also shared his personal experiences of mental health and this isn’t easy. This is why it is so important that we spread the word about the support we can offer the construction community and their families.” . Barrie’s Just Giving Page is still open for donations. Barrie Saunders – 1 Million Steps Challenge.
