19/04/2026
Here is a post from one of our facilitators that offers hope.
If you would like to share your journey with us, we meet at 7pm to 9pm every Monday, except Bank Holidays at Altrincham Football Club, Moss Lane.
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I've been thinking a lot recently about identity
Identity always feel like a constant to us. It's who we are, it's what we do. Our beliefs, our strengths, our values and our fears.
However, whilst it feels like it's set in stone, in reality it's sculpured and it changes. We learn, we grow, we age, we evolve.
Jobs change, friends come and go, our bodies age. We lose, we gain. In fact, the only constant in life is change.
Identity is so personal and so powerful. It can be very hard to adapt to that change in identity. Perhaps it's the child becoming an adult, the single person becoming part of a couple. Becoming a parent for the first time or the transition when children are old enough to make their own lives and that feeling of what do you do now.
It could be the transition from not knowing what you want to do in life, uncertainty and anxiety. The akward stage of learning new skills or the realisation you no longer enjoy what you do. Losing jobs and having to start again. Dealing with the transition into retirement.
There's no manual to tell you how to adapt to these challenged, we make it up as we go along and hope for the best, making our mistakes as we go.
I'm not the same person as I was 10 years ago. Heck, I'm not even the same person as I was 12 months ago. My brain hasn't yet caught up with my body. I still sometimes think I'm a bigger clothes size than I am. I still hesitate slightly when sitting in that booth seating that used to be a complete no go. I sometimes think I need a seatbelt adapter or that I can't do that 15 mile walk.
I see the difference when I compare photos but sometimes still lack the confidence, feeling like people are judging my body when in reality everyone is too busy dealing with their own vulnerabilities, their own insecurities. This is just part of what it means to be human.
All we can do is help each other. Find other people that understand, people that want to support each other. Lift each other up instead of tearing each other down.
I'm so grateful for everyone thats helped and supported me along the journey. Sometimes it's just that little word of encouragement. That passing remark by a dog walker in a park that lifted me the whole day. Thank you. It makes more of a difference than you realise.
Every message is a reason to keep going when you feel like the mountain is too steep to climb, whatever mountain it is a person is facing, the only way is one small step at a time!
For everyone out there struggling, I just want to tell you to keep going. The sun will rise again. The clouds will pass. I can't tell you when and I can't promise you that it's going to be easy, but I can tell you it's easier when you share that load. We walk together, let me take your hand when you're weary. The journey may be different for everyone but we don't have to walk it alone.
The photos below were taken on 28th January 2025 (left) and 29th March 2026 (right).
