Hill walker, award winning writer and veteran
G L Y N
D O D W E L L
Hi Glyn, can you introduce yourself to everyone?
My name is Glyn, and I am 64 years old. For 30 years I was an aviator in the RAF retiring in 2006. Since then, I have been involved in the retail and hospitality industry. I am an avid hill walker and have been involved in outdoor pursuits since I was 9 years old. My outdoor interests have included mountaineering, climbing, caving, sailing, kayaking, long distance hiking and camping. Though these days I restrict myself to walking due to arthritis and severe back pain. In In 2014 I had a minor Stroke but have made a full recovery.
I have been married 3 times (divorced once and widowed once) and have lived all over the UK including 23 years in Scotland. I have now settled in the South Downs National Park.
I work with the Ordnance Survey promoting getting others outdoors and am an Ambassador for the South Downs and Snowdonia National Park
Do you consider yourself to have any mental health issues?
In 2005 I was diagnosed with PTSD and I have also suffered anxiety attacks. The effects of the PTSD are under control and the anxiety is in frequent.
How do you think getting outside improves mental health?
Getting outside did not just improve my mental health – it was instrumental in getting my back on my feet and helping with the ‘nightmares’ of PTSD. Whenever I get that agitated feeling I put my coat on and go for a walk or jump into the car and head for the hills.
I have been involved in the outdoors since I was 9 and have always know of the rejuvenating benefits of the outdoors. My biggest fear I had to overcome about getting outdoors after the PTSD diagnosis was a constant urge to jump from high places. However, friends walked with me until I was ‘deemed’ safe enough to walk along.
I am a solo walker, I find the solitude and freedom, without constraints, helps my to over come any issues that I have. It allows me to clear the detritus of daily life.
Has someone ever initiated a conversation about their mental health with you and if so, can you tell me a little bit about this?
Apart from my Doctors, specialists, and a very few members of the family. I had not spoken about my mental health issues to anyone until 2017 when I met a good friend at an outdoor event who was very caring, thoughtful, and understanding. She was the first person outside of the medical profession or family who I spoke to. In fact, she was only the second person I ever fully opened up to, after my consultant. Her name was Eli Bishop.
Speaking to Eli made me realise that I was not the only one who had issues and knowing that I could talk to other likeminded people, helped release a lot of worry and stigma.
My Uncle had been sectioned and committed to a Mental Institution when he was 16 because of ‘wild behaviour’.He became institutionalised and subjected to all of the barbaric experimental treatments and where in place in the 50’s and 60’s.I did not want to end up like that! What he actually suffered from was ADHD!
Do you have a favourite place to go when you need some downtime, if so where?
My ‘go to place’ has always been the outdoors, though since moving to the Southdowns I seem to have adopted Butser Hill (the highest point on the South Downs Way) as my ‘spiritual’ home. It is wild and expansive and it is where my Father in Laws ashes are scattered and where I wish to end up.
Finally – What two items would you take with you if you were shipwrecked on a deserted island where all your food and water needs were taken care of?
An MP3 player with the entire works of Mozart
A copy of Chris Bonington’s Everest, The Hard Way.
Glyn is the Award Winning writer of On The Hills, Hillwalking for the Over 60’s. Read more here…
You can read Glyn’s Ordnance Survey Get Outside Profile here