THERE is now a general acknowledgement that physical wellbeing aids mental health. Fresh air and exercise have traditionally been recommended as a source of well-being and now studies have endorsed this.

At the Haven Project, clients with personality disorders are learning the benefits of exercise on their mental wellbeing. They are also fundraising to help support others in need.

WE have all felt sad, lonely or angry at some point in our lives - but most of us know what makes us feel this way and we can finds way to cope with it.

For people with personality disorder, these emotions are much more intense and there is sometimes no reason for them.

The mental condition is one which frightens both those who have experienced it and those who witness it.

It can lead to self-harm or even suicide attempts.

It is not a desire to end your life, it’s a way of making the emotional pain stop.

However, for clients at the Haven Project in Colchester, they have channelled their feelings through exercise - covering 939 miles on a static bike, walking and swimming.

They have raised more than £1,000 for the project which supports people with personality disorder and now they want one day each month to be dedicated to exercising.

For Julie Hexley, 60, self-harming was bringing the pain from the inside to the outside.

She said: “It’s not being able to relate to other people, I have difficulty with relationships.

“My emotions are so intense, I suffered with abandonment issues and I go to great lengths to reject people before they reject me.

“It’s not being able to fit into society. I have lost family and friends through this, they don’t understand my emotions.”

Since going to the Haven Project, however, she has found support and has not had another admission back to The Lakes mental health hospital.

“Here I have people to talk to as trust is a big issue for me,” she said.

“We just didn’t think we would do the exercise but this has just hyped us all up to want to do it.

“When I was having a bad day I would go out and walk and it would prevent me from self-harming.”

The by-any-means-athon was an opportunity for clients to experience how mental and physical health go hand in hand.

Jackie Turner, 37, started going to the Haven Project three years ago.

She said: “I was self-harming on a regular basis, I had no self esteem, I felt down trodden.

“I didn’t know what was wrong with me, it kind of felt like no- one was listening. But by coming here it’s about being around people who know you are not well and they are helping you to live with a personality disorder.

“It’s about life skills and knowing there’s somewhere to come to when you are having a crisis.”

She said being out in the fresh air whilst walking was a really good thing for her as it “kept her head quiet”.

Pernille Petersen, the Haven’s project manager, said everyone benefitted from the exercise challenge.

She said: “Immediately afterwards there was great enthusiasm about doing more and people who never thought they would do anything were getting involved.

“I think people are now putting physical exercise into their tool bag instead of doing things that are harmful, and that’s really important.”

For those with personality disorder, who want nothing more than to be seen as human beings, harmful releases can sometimes feel like the only option.

Julie said: “I was diagnosed 20 years ago when it was all just coming to the forefront, some of the reactions from doctors were horrific.

“In the beginning when I was diagnosed and I was in hospital, every time they noticed something about me they would give me pills.

“I was walking around like a zombie. It frightens me as I didn’t know from morning to morning what sort of mess I’m going to be in.”

Jackie said it took her a long time to get a diagnosis.

She said: “I was diagnosed five years ago and was just given medication.

“People are frightened to come out and tell someone as they immediately think you are a raving lunatic.”

It is sad there are still people who dismiss the disorder, and those people may not know how to cope with it.

But Julie and Jackie have developed the perfect attitude towards it.

Jackie said: “I have a personality disorder, it doesn’t have me.”

The Haven Project needs support. To donate or find out more, go to hehavenproject.org.uk/donate.