JCIP #279 - Leah Morris

In episode 279 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Leah Morris.Leah currently works as a Centre Manager at the Liverpool branch of James’ Place UK, a charity who are doing lifesaving work for men's mental health.Leah was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in her early 20s after experiencing some workplace bullying in a previous role prior to joining James’ Place UK. Prior to that, she had experienced panic attacks as a teenager whilst studying for her GCSEs but didn’t know what they were at the time. After she was diagnosed with GAD, she was prescribed medication in 2019, specifically Fluoxetine which she said helped get her back to a baseline level and she has now been off medication in 2020.At the heart of her mental health recovery has been fitness and exercise. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, she started running, doing the ‘couch to 5k’ programme. She got to the point where she was running 5ks three times a week for a year.However, in Christmas 2021, she bought a house and stopped running when she was dealing with the upheaval that moving house brings. She tried picking up running again in 2022 but couldn’t get back into it. In May 2023, she joined James’ Place UK and at the start of 2024, she got back into fitness, this time trying swimming to help her mental health. She found her rhythm again and now swims three times a week at time of recording. In this episode we talk about Leah’s anxiety, workplace bullying, the role fitness played in her recovery and the importance of having the right support network around you to maintain or boost your mental health.As always, #itsokaytoventSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkSupport Us:PatreonPayPalMerchandise