Nadine’s Story

1. Give a short biography of yourself, particularly your occupation and experience in sport.

Ever since I was 8 or 9 years old I’ve played team sports. I started with netball, went on to rounders and then when I was 16 I learnt how to play basketball. Out of all the sports I’ve ever tried, I loved basketball the most! What I liked about basketball was the fast pace of the game, the people who played it, and the stamina and strength required. I carried on playing basketball until I was in my mid 30’s, only stopping because of repeated ankle injuries! So now instead of basketball, I run every day if I can and for at least half an hour. Running doesn’t give me the same adrenaline rush that basketball gave but I know for a fact that it keeps my mind focused, my body in shape and my mood stable.

Strangely, I never considered the idea of sport or fitness as a career until I turned 30 and since that time I’ve never looked back. I’m now the Founding Director of a social enterprise that empowers vulnerable people to improve both their physical- and mental health using the power of exercise and nutrition. What lead me to starting this particular service for people begins with a very personal story that I am happy to share. 

 2. What personal experiences with mental health do you have? Either with yourself, people in your field or friends.

My dad was diagnosed with a serious mental health condition in his early 20s and I have other close family members who also struggle with mental health problems. In my dad’s case, having a mental health condition didn’t stop him from being able to work and earn a decent income, and he could still do all of the things that most of us take for granted, like doing the shopping, cooking and cleaning. But in 2012, the same year I decided to go into health & fitness, my dad’s mum passed away and that resulted him experiencing a psychotic relapse. What this meant for my dad was that he was sectioned and taken to a psychiatric hospital where he stayed for nearly 3 months.

By the time my dad was discharged home from hospital, he could no longer do any of the things he could do before. He literally went into hospital able to walk and came out in a wheelchair. Not only that, whilst on the ward he had also been given a diagnosis of dementia and was never able to work again.

 Over the next few months that followed, both his world and mine were turned upside down and very quickly his physical and mental health started to deteriorate. Having studied for a qualification in GP Exercise Referral I understood the power that exercise had on the brain and the body, so I did my best to encourage him to keep as active as possible but he just wouldn’t listen to me. The medications he was prescribed weren’t helping either as they were affecting his ability to focus and retain information, which made the situation even more difficult.

Over the next two years, my dad went from needing 2 carers each day to 8 carers a day, at which point he had crossed the threshold for needing 24- hour nursing home care. My dad is now only 66 and is one of the youngest residents living in the nursing home.

I vowed that I would do everything I can to help prevent what happened to my dad from needlessly happening to anyone else, which is why I started N.ableD (pronounced ‘enabled’). 

 3. How do you feel sport/fitness affects mental health?I speak from both personal and professional experience as to how sport or keeping fit, positively affects our mental health. The impact that physical activity has on the brain is HUGE, which is why I deliver educational workshops for people at risk of mental health problems to help them understand about the power of exercise. If primary and secondary schools started teaching their students about the impact that exercise has on the mind and the body, I think it would help the younger generations to understand what is within the power when it comes to managing both their physical- and mental health. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges cites exercise as the miracle cure to ill health but it is not even offered as a viable treatment offering for people suffering with stress, anxiety or depression despite the vast amount of clinical data supporting its effectiveness. This is what I am trying to help change. 

  4. What advice do you have for people in sport/fitness who struggle with mental health issues?

I would actively encourage someone who is already involved in sport or fitness but still struggling with mental health problems to start becoming very aware of their daily habits, such as the food and drink they regularly consume, as this could be like finding the missing piece of the puzzle, as it was for me.

I struggled with an auto-immune condition that affected my mental health to a level I had never before experienced. My doctors told me there was no cure for this disease and that I would have to take steroids to control the frequent and extremely painful symptoms that I would have for weeks at a time. I was adamant that I would find a way to resolve it myself and it took me 3 years to do it, only to discover that the answers could be found in the food and drink I was eating. And I thought I was already eating pretty healthily!

Nutrition is a huge topic that has unfortunately, become politized and monetized with diet fads and celebrities endorsing particular products or beliefs. This has resulted in people not trusting themselves with regard to what is actually best for their own body and their health. The way to start doing this is to tune in and listen to YOUR body, by feeling how it responds after you fuel it with a particular food, drink or product. If a food is making you feel lethargic, fatigued or agitated, then don’t eat it. This also includes drinks. Keeping a food diary is the best way to uncover how your food might be playing its part in your mental health. It was only when I started paying close attention to what I was eating and drinking, that I started to uncover that the source of my health problem was actually in what I was eating! It seems I have cured my own health problem that the doctors told me there was no cure for. 

 5. What advice do you wish you had been given before going through (or observing) the experiences you have?

When I was in my 20’s I was diagnosed with depression and I was immediately prescribed anti-depressants by my GP without them even asking me why I might be experiencing these feelings. I wish my GP had reassured me at the time, that there were different options available to me to help me deal with what I was going through, other than medication.

Had this have happened, I would have felt more empowered about taking control of my life and therefore, my health. In the end, I do feel that everything happens for a reason. I have learnt more from walking my own path in life, than I could ever have done by following others and I would encourage the people reading this to do the same.