David Gray will be running both the Great North Run and Yorkshire Marathon for Health Stars
‘Grateful’ patient David Gray is running for Health Stars charity(Image: Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust)
A patient who was supported in his mental health recovery by the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is taking on two running challenges to “give back”. David Gray will challenge himself to run both the Great North Run and Yorkshire Marathon this year, to help the Trust charity Health Stars.
David was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2016. To help support his mental health he took up running, which kept him feeling well.
Having received specialised mental health therapy, now he is lacing up his running shoes to raise money for Health Stars, which creates better healthcare and brighter futures for people across East Yorkshire, Hull, and North Yorkshire. Sadly in August 2023, David had to stop running after an incident led to him being admitted to intensive care and placed on a ventilator, which took a toll on his body.
Since then, he has been receiving support from the Trust’s Community Mental Health Team and was referred for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) – and is now ready to start running again. DBT is a specialised type of therapy that is specifically recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines for people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BDP).
It aims to helps people handle strong emotions, build healthier relationships and reduce harmful behaviours such as self-harm or suicidal thoughts. David said: “I’m so grateful that I was offered this therapy and that I have an amazing therapist.
“Without this therapy, I am unsure if I would be here now. To help give something back for the specialist support I’ve received, I wanted to support Health Stars to enhance the health care and experiences of people accessing the DBT service.”
David has a JustGiving appeal page, where he is fundraising and updating followers with his progress. Recent posts there said he was back training in earnest after a holiday in Macedonia and “100 per cent of my fundraising will now go to the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Team, as a way for me to give something back to the service”.
He said on the page: “One of my DBT goals was to get back running…not for times, but to both manage my mental health and enjoy it. However, I still needed a goal to motivate me to get out the door and that’s why I decided to take part in this year’s Great North Run.
“I’m pleased to say that I started training at the start of April and have found my love for running again.” The Great North Run is in September and the Yorkshire Marathon is held in October.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Health Stars are encouraging people to support David in achieving his £250 fundraising target. You can visit his JustGiving page or go support Health Stars directly via the website.
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