Kevin Ward

I’m 50 soon…which is a bit of a milestone. Or maybe it’s just a number. But either way, I’ve been thinking about marking the occasion in a way that’s meaningful. As many of you know, I run lots, cycle, swim in open water, do crazy things like triathlons. To think of something that challenges me is a bit of a challenge in itself. But I’m giving it a go, and over the next year I’m going to do 50 Fun Things I’ve Never Done Before (or 50 Fun Things in short) to mark my 50 years in the world.

Every so often I will post on social media some photos of whatever I’ve done. Having chatted about this with Jon Neal, from Suffolk Mind, I thought one way to make it meaningful might be to link the activities with my Emotional Needs. If you don’t know what these are, check out the Suffolk Mind website and the resources there.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 65. I’ve had experience of mental ill health myself over the last few years, and I know many other men who has as well. That doesn’t always mean a diagnosis of something, and doesn’t always mean getting treatment, or pills, or going to hospital. Sometimes it just means you’re stressed or feeling down and need to take a step back and think about what changes you could make in your life to get your needs better met.

If some of the 50 Fun Things might inspire people to meet some of their Emotional Needs, then great. If not, I’ll still have enjoyed sharing them, and perhaps I will have raised a bit of awareness for Suffolk Mind and the great things they do.  If you’d like to make a small donation to help them continue to deliver their services, I know they would be very grateful.

The first of my 50 Fun Things was to complete the Iron Man challenge…the second was to get a tattoo (my first ever) of the medal from my Iron Man challenge. Watch this space for 48 challenges still to come.