Workout for Mental Health Winner - Carolyne Johnston!

"Hi Kate and the DediKate team,

Thank you for another fabulous challenge with such an important focus!

My Workout for Mental Health journey has been rumbling along for awhile really, even before you first introduced the up coming challenge. I was struggling with all things and it really got me thinking about my mental health, which I've been very fortunate with in the past.

I realised that I wasn't in a good place, I was incredibly burnt out at work, like a lot of people working in health care at the moment (I'm a Respiratory Physio at Christchurch Hospital), I was tired all the time, had no motivation, wasn't exercising at all or doing anything really and was battling with long Covid (a very mild case though thank goodness).

All the things you and your team were talking about were ringing so true to me, I had lost my groove and lost myself as well.

I decided to work hard at this challenge because I knew I had to basically. There was only one way forward. The first 2-3 weeks were awful to be truthful. Every workout was so hard, every movement hurt or was so tough, I hated every second and every step but because of the support and motivation from the group, I felt I owed it to everyone, not just me, to stick at it. And of course it started to get easier and easier from that point on and I can remember the exact workout where I had this moment of, oh my gosh I'm actually loving this again. It was the best!

I've completed the challenge, first time completing a challenge for me, I feel 100 times better, I'm not tired anymore, I've got the spring back in my step, and I feel like 'me' again, which I had lost for longer than I'm ready to admit. I still have a long way to go with my nutrition and continuing to be consistent with my exercise outside of a challenge, but I'm working on it and I'm in a place where I want to work on it again.

I truly can't thank you all enough for helping me find 'me' again.

Carolyne xx"