Chris Livett
We are all dealing with life trials and tribulations, some of us better than others. I wanted to share Chris Livett’s story – good luck for the future brother – inspiring man
Garage or not?
as bikers we all face that difficult decision whether or not to ride our bikes in the winter. The grit and salt loves eating aluminium, the ice loves ticking our front wheel to go sideways and the low sun makes our bikes less visible than a stealth bomber.
I came across this image of the ultimate bikers Christmas tree – I would love to do this and video my families reaction. Please send me a photo if anyone has ever done anything like this.
So have the Winter bikers blues hit you? if so any words of advice to anyone else who reads this? Remember if you are struggling at Xmas there is help out there. Drop me a line if you are struggling.
Whilst Travelling
After nearly 4 weeks of travelling it will be soon time for me to take a rest for Christmas. For many of us this is a time of year which causes stress, anxiety and financial pressure and can lead to issues with loved ones. How do we manage this difficult time? each and everyone of us with have different strategies, but what if the strategies are not there?
I was recently on Majorca and I came across this image
It roughly translates into “All the bridges are in love with a suicide” when I read it I was firstly saddened that someone had needed to express this in such a brutal and rushed way, but then it got me thinking and the big issue that it took me to was the social isolation felt by many at Christmas time. We are sold all these happy images of families, presents, friends, nice foods and cosy evenings around a real fire.
I am currently exploring different ways people are supporting each other at Christmas time, Anyone got any stories to share about how they are helping others at Christmas? Send a reply if you read this.
What a first week…
As well as working on my two other companies it has been all spare hours getting the infra-structure in place for the Mental Health Motorbike. Mainly this website.
Here’s what we have achieved this week:
- #mendolunchday – had our very productive meeting and great lunch with 6 strangers talking and offering each other a sounding board to share concerns and celebrate achievement. This was an amazing experience which will certainly be incorporated into the MHM plans next year
- Got the Instagram, Facebook, Youtube channel and Twitter accounts up and running
- Facebook – www.facebook.com/mhmotorbike
- Twitter – www.twitter.com/mhmotorbike
- Instagram – @mhmotorbike
- Youtube – search Mental Health Motorbike
- website – www.mhmotorbike.com
Been pushing hard and already have over 100 Facebook followers and I’m actually feeling this is a service people will use. Now I need the energy to do it justice – wish me luck! Paul
The starting point…
I think it is quite normal to feel a little out of your depth when you start something new, but this project is taking me to another level completely. It came out of seeing so many people around me struggling with depression and mental health issues. I suppose the tipping point which made me realise I have a skill set to do something which might help others came after news of an old friends suicide. Years ago this person reached out to me but we lost contact and I am left with a feeling of ‘what if…?’
A project of this nature means I have to also look at where I sit with my own mental health and it means taking a hard look at whether I am strong enough to open myself up to other people issues. At the moment this is an unknown but I feel with the right support in place I can at least have a go.
It is a cool thing to set up something which is not currently out there – I really do feel like I’m trailblazing – the use of of motorbike to encourage discussion seems unique – but what I’m hoping is it will be a very powerful tool to reach a certain demographic of society who need to support. If it is successful I will expand the number of bikes going out by develop a training programme to build the team and even set up as a registered charity.
I am going to be looking for support so if you see the potential and want to offer some support please join my team at the moment I’m ‘Billy no mates’ but I know this won’t be for long reading your messages of support, these have been this best motivator. let us see where this journey takes me… Thanks guys Paul x
Depression
Depression comes in a variety of shapes and forms and at some stage most males will be affected. The challenge is getting them to talk about it. Currently around 17% of the population are dealing with depression and the one simple fact s they will need some support.
This great article written by Daniel Davies for Mens Health magazine gives a great insight to the different forms of depression.
If you are displaying symptoms shown in this article maybe it is time to look for some support