From Depression to the Desert Race – How one girl healed then took the step to uncover mental health in others
Jodie is running 6 marathons in 6 days for young people’s mental health on April 5th, 2019 in the Marathon Des Sables.
On 24th December 2015, Jodie woke up not knowing how she was going to manage another day. Mentally and physically paralysed by depression, Jodie attempted to take her own life with an overdose. “I didn’t want to die but I didn’t know how to live,” says current PhD researcher Jodie. “I hit rock bottom”
North London mental health charity IHEART (Innate Health Education and Resilience Training) helped Jodie rediscover her mental health. “Thankfully I received the best support from IHEART and now I am raising money to help other young people benefit from the unique IHEART curriculum, which is being rolled out in schools.”
Three years on, Jodie is paying it forward, raising funds for IHEART, by running the toughest foot race in the world- a 250km run across the Sahara Desert – The Marathon des Sable.
IHEART Founder and Head of Education, Terry Rubenstein, is unbelievably supportive of Jodie’s courage and commitment “I have run one marathon. It was incredible but brutal. Jodie is running the equivalent of 6 marathons in 6 days. She is a warrior,” says Terry, author of Exquisite Mind and The Peach who Thought She Had to Be a Coconut. “She has her own powerful story of mental suffering and healing – Now she wants to help others ….”
In 14 months, IHEART has impacted 1500 young people, within 33 schools, trained nearly 200 educators across Europe, South Africa, and the USA. Adds Terry, “Jodie and her incredible efforts will allow IHEART to reach thousands more children in the coming year. But we need to reach many, many more. Please help us to help our kids.”
The worrying statistics speak for themselves
• 50 % of mental health problems are established by age 14, and 75% by age 24.
• 25% of 14-year-old girls across the UK are clinically depressed
• 1 in 15 adults in England is estimated to have made a suicide attempt in their life.
We need your help in sharing Jodie’s story to raise awareness for IHEARTs vital work instilling mental health within young people.
“Our children are suffering and in order to solve this problem, the IHEART curriculum shows young people how change can only ever come from the inside-out.” Jodie, 2018.