compose Guest time Feb 4, 2023 comment 0
“Possible” is a new short film from Catherine Dunn that seeks to help break down the barriers around discussing mental health. It explores the topic by introducing cyclist Jenni Myers, who has long struggled with agoraphobia and took on the uniquely challenging 2,200-kilometer GBDuro race across Great Britain last year. Watch the 17-minute film here…
Words, photos, and video by Catherine Dunn (@_catherine_dunn)
In 2022, ultra-endurance cyclist Jenni Myers took part in GBDuro, a 2,000-kilometre off-road race from Land’s End to John O’Groats in the UK. But the race was merely a backdrop to a much more personal story of healing. Jenni has suffered from agoraphobia for a large portion of her life, which made her drive to compete in such an extreme race all the more impressive. But this drive is inherently linked to her own recovery—as Jenni says in the film, challenging her own perception of what is ‘possible’ has physically broadened her horizons. Adventures that would not have seemed thinkable a few years ago are now a reality.
TW: This film contains open discussion of mental health concerns and suicide.
“Life is not perfect, but it is possible.” —Jenni Myers
Adventure films often focus on the sublime – the adrenaline, the landscape, the community and the energy that people gain from adventuring outdoors. But, sometimes, the most powerful stories come from a single person out there alone; adventuring solo and not having the best of times. Possible was an opportunity to tell one of these stories and dig a little deeper into the thoughts and feelings that affect so many of us at some point in our lives.
In the UK, one in five people will experience suicidal thoughts in their lifetime, and one in four will experience a mental health concern in any given year. To many people, these statistics are surprising, which is perhaps an indicator that they are still little-talked-about issues. Adventures by bike are often undertaken to experience life, joy, and the beauty of our planet, but, even without us knowing, they can also be used as a form of escape or distraction. Possible presents these conversations without filter and openly straddles the line between the joy of adventure and the attempt to escape the cloud of mental health struggles.
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