What is Mental Health Swims?
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The story behind the mental health peer support community, Mental Health Swims
Founded in late 2019, Mental Health Swims (MHS) is an award-winning, mental health peer support community.
“I live with a complex mental illness,” says Rachel Ashe, MHS founder and managing director. “I’m queer, mixed race and plus size, and despite the phrase ‘if you don’t fit in you were born to stand out’, the reality is it’s really nerve wracking trying to join a group when you feel like you don’t fit in.”
Mental Health Swims was created with this mission in mind. We are all about how to create welcoming spaces and ensure participants feel included and understood.
The heart of MHS
Our community makes us who we are. One of our aims is for mental health conditions and mental illness to be talked about more openly and to build empathy and understanding around mental health within communities so that people never feel alienated or alone.
In our journey so far, we have recruited some fantastic hosts who have put in so much hard work to create welcoming spaces based on a peer support model where people can show up as they are, share as little or as much as they like about their experiences, all while enjoying a shared love of the water.
Mental Health Swims hosts have wholeheartedly embraced their roles, yet each swim meet is unique, allowing hosts to feel empowered and to truly embrace who they are and build their own communities. Some groups are small and intimate and host a monthly dip, others are large and host dips every week. We are proud to have created a mental health support community that is accessible, inclusive and welcoming to everyone.
Where we are now
Since 2019, the Mental Health Swims community has flourished with groups popping up all over the UK and even as far as Australia.
“When I look back at those first swim meets to where we are now, it’s hard to believe how much Mental Health Swims has grown, but it also shows us how important peer support is and how having inclusive and welcoming spaces for people is vital, regardless of who they are and where they have come from,” says Rachel.
“I am so proud of all the amazing volunteers who have built this community and I hope that we can continue to work on building a strong peer support community network, as well as challenging the stigma and stereotyping around mental health and mental illness.”
What’s next?
We’ll be honest, times are hard and we’re currently exploring different funding options to ensure that Mental Health Swims can stay afloat, but we have big plans to reach even more people that live with mental health challenges to ensure that our meet ups are as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Watch this space!
Meet the host: Michaela Dawson, MHS Walney @mentalhealthswims_walney
“On a shingled beach at the end of the Cumbrian peninsula, I get to watch participants splash, play, jump with joy, find their calm and meet new friends. What a rush!
After experiencing some mental health issues, due to working as a nurse in a high dependency department during the pandemic, I turned to the water. I took some time to focus on myself, find my equilibrium and then use this energy to give back to the community.
Being a host is such an incredible feeling, I love seeing other people’s faces light up when they enter the water, watching their confidence increase every month and listening to how it has positively changed their lives.”
Meet the host: James Richardson, MHS Frensham, @frenshammhswims
“I was going through a rough time in my life; I was midway through an unexpected divorce and my mental health was suffering. The only thing keeping me on the level was my wild swimming. Excuse the pun but once I entered the cold water all my stresses and anxiety drifted away. I’d leave the water feeling refreshed and with a clear mindset that enabled me to take on the next challenge.
I strongly believe that volunteering for Mental Health Swims has been one of the best things I’ve ever done, it saved me, and gave me something to focus on and got me through some dark times. Then throw in the faces full of joy and happiness as people leave the water and it’s just magical. It makes me a bit emotional just thinking about how special it all is and I’d recommend it to anyone!”
Learn more about Mental Health Swims at mentalhealthswims.co.uk and on Instagram @mentalhealthswims
Outdoor Swimmer
Outdoor Swimmer is the magazine for outdoor swimmers by outdoor swimmers. We write about fabulous wild swimming locations, amazing swim challenges, swim training advice and swimming gear reviews.
