“Shine saved me. There’s no other way to put it. During a time when I could see no happiness in life, cried every time I had to go out in public, cried every day because my new parental world overwhelmed me, and the valiant efforts of various professional councillors seemed to have no effect; Shine was the one thing that made me happy.”
On 17 September 2022, 30 Shine mums – women who have battled severe and varying forms of post-natal mental health challenges – will walk on fire for charity.
They will face their fears, own their power and look beyond the hot coals to stride forward, showing themselves and others that they are stronger than they know, braver than they realise, and capable of truly incredible things.
They are raising money for Shine PND Support, which offers creative art therapy classes, supportive drop-ins and other events for mothers in and around Cirencester, Fairford, Swindon and Dursley.
“To say we needed this firewalk, would be an understatement,” wrote one mum after last years’ firewalk. “All of us have had moments of black despair from which we never thought we would recover, but all of us have stood up, got up and kept going. We were phoenixes in every sense of the word. We just didn’t know it yet. “
Our Shine courses combine art, creativity and peer support in a series of mindful 12-week sessions. These are child-free activities (we provide a fully-funded creche) to ensure mums get some much-needed ‘me time’, boost their confidence and share their experiences and worries with other mothers going through the same thing.
In addition, we run ‘safe space’ drop-ins for any mums in the community who are struggling, free park fitness sessions, subsidised soft play meetups, social events and courses on wellbeing and nutrition.
All the money we raise will go to funding the courses and drop-ins and continuing to expand Shine’s reach so we can reach, and change the lives, of even more mums.
“Shine saved me. There’s no other way to put it. During a time when I could see no happiness in life, cried every time I had to go out in public, cried every day because my new parental world overwhelmed me, and the valiant efforts of various professional councillors seemed to have no effect; Shine was the one thing that made me happy.”
Emma Johnson
SHINE https://www.shine-support.org
SHINE https://www.shine-support.org
I am a freelance writer, social media manager and podcast producer, based in London and the Cotswolds.
