Stuart is a walker hero in Country Walking magazine
07 December
him to manage life with bipolar disorder. He talks about his long-standing love of walking, and how more recently being outdoors has helped him to balance his mental and physical health.
Article text:
Here at Country Walking we'd doff our office bobble hat to any walker who through-hiked the Appalachian Trail, the 2,178-mile path that runs through 14 eastern states of the USA and over 350 peaks taller than Mt Snowdon. But for Stuart Skinner, the challenge was deeper and more significant — to walk the trail and visit local mental health groups and education providers en route to see how they tackle the discrimination and stigma surrounding mental illness in the US.
Stuart has bipolar disorder, suffering manic highs and desperate lows that rival the physical mountains he faced on the `AT', and he believes that outdoor exercise can have an extraordinarily positive impact in managing the condition.
"Walking a long distance really helped me get motivated every day," he says.
"When I was at university and having a bad day, I would go for a walk, and it would give me a sense of perspective, even if it was just a simple trip."
He admits to moments on the trail where he didn't feel like walking, which is unsurprising given the knee-deep snow, torrential rain and record-breaking heatwaves he faced on a daily diet of instant mash. But he never doubted his desire to reach the end of the trail, summiting 5,268ft Mt Katandin in Maine in a day under five months.
"I just had to force myself to start, and after a couple of miles the endorphins would kick in, and I became glad I had got up, rather than feeling bad about myself," says Stuart.
He's now a qualified national trainer of Mental Health First Aid, a concept developed in Australia, which uses the acronym ALGEE (Assess the risk of self-harm and suicide; Listen non-judgementally; Give information and reassurance; Encourage professional help; and Encourage self-help strategies).
From Stuart's own experience, such an approach would have led to a much earlier diagnosis of bipolar disorder, rather than his highs, lows and mood swings being attributed to pressures such as exam stress. Today, walking is an essential part of his daily routine, and living in Weymouth he is fortunate to have the Dorset coast on his doorstep.
"I didn't see anything on the AT that I liked as much as the South West Coast Path, and Durdle Door is my absolute favourite walk," says Stuart.
Find out more about Stuart's work at www.changethroughchallenge.org.uk and his walking experiences at www.therealadventuresoftintin.com
