5 minute read
Running Up That Hill; Katelyn Brosnan To Tackle Kilimanjaro For Charity
What inspired the fundraiser? Was it a specific moment?
I always had this thought in the back of my mind: ‘why aren’t we taught how to be more resilient, besides putting on a brave face and pretending to be okay?’
It’s not until someone is already at their lowest moments that they ask for help, if they even ask at all. It shouldn’t be that way. We should know how to support ourselves and our friends. If you don’t have good mental health, what do you have?
I used to struggle with an eating disorder for years and had no idea how to cope without it. To me, helping raise funds for Lust For Life is preventing thousands of kids from going through that kind of pain.
When I heard about Bressie’s campaign The Rising, I immediately contacted A Lust For Life. They are what I wish I had earlier in my life and I wanted to support them; it was a no-brainer.
The programmes teach kids how to enhance and protect their mental health from the earliest age. Our vision is a world where every child and young person mentally, emotionally and socially thrives.
Why Kilimanjaro?
Brian Keane is actually the guy that organised the Kilimanjaro trip. I listened to his podcast religiously while I was recovering from my eating disorder years ago. He helped me see a different side to fitness that was positive, nourishing and empowering. He also inspired me to become a personal trainer myself.
When I saw he was inviting people to join him to hike up Kilimanjaro, I had to go.
There were three main reasons:
1. Meet my hero.
2. Redefine what I’m capable of with like minded people.
3. Make up for the memories I never made when I was deep in my eating disorder.
How have you trained for your hike?
I am currently weight training three times a week for 1.5 hours and doing cardio training twice per week, ranging from 5-15km runs. Also, I hike once a week when I can, and walk up hills around the farm with weights in my bag when I can’t.
Hiking itself is the most important training, so I prioritise doing at least 3 hikes per month.
You mentioned having dealt with mental health struggles in your school years; can you speak more about your experience?
Yes, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa while I was in secondary school. I’d describe it as simply no longer being in charge of yourself, but some other authority in your head is. It makes you feel powerless.
I’m thankfully on the other side of it now, stronger, happier and healthier than ever.
I have become a personal trainer since, to help people break up with diet culture and discover their true fitness potential. I want to show people how amazing it is to be strong, fit and capable without diet culture spoiling the experience. No more guilt driven behaviours around food and training, only value-based decisions. Fitness should be uplifting!
As Brian Keane says ‘your mess becomes your message’.
How were your struggles handled by the adults around you?
I’m lucky to have such supportive parents. At the start it was confusing, they weren’t sure how to help. Mental health hasn’t been a strong topic until recently. But they were very open to hearing my perspective, and taking advice from counsellors I was seeing. I wouldn’t be where I am now without such a caring home.
What changes would you like to see for school age children and teenagers as regards mental health?
The way dealing with mental health is taught now is very surface level. As a result, it gets dismissed quite easily by students. I don’t blame them. It isn’t talked about in a meaningful way.
I want to see young people become more emotionally intelligent and empathetic. We can’t cushion them from life’s challenges but we can prepare them. This way, they can grow as resilient individuals and live more fulfilling lives, without being dragged by mental health issues for years.
What advice do you have to people going through the struggles you have dealt with?
There are three lessons I took away from my struggles:
1. Be open to creating more meaning in your life.
2. The opposite of addiction is connection.
3. Nobody who cares about you will judge you for asking for help.
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A Lust for Life is an award winning youth mental health charity with a focus on early prevention education. They aim to create a generational circuit breaker in how we talk about and treat mental health in Ireland, by giving children and young people tools and skills to enhance and protect their mental health from the earliest age. Their vision is a world where every child and young person mentally, emotionally and socially thrives.
Support Katelyn’s fundraiser online; https://www.gofundme.com/f/rising-up-kilimanjaro
