MHAW2025 Interview with Richard from Avalon on physical wellbeing
Continuing our coverage for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 we spoke to Richard who uses our Avalon Accommodation Service in Ashtead. Richard has been supported to attend a local gym to work on his physical wellbeing and explains how he was supported to do that by Service Manager Danny and how attending that has made him feel. He also considers barriers that exist to engaging with physical wellbeing for people living with mental distress.
Richard came to Avalon in January 2022, having previously lived at our residential service, Green Lane for several years. Before this time, Richard had been in Springfield Hospital, following a relapse in his mental condition that led to an incident of arson that he refers to in the interview.
Unfortunately, during this time Richard stopped taking his medication and as a cry for help set fire to his sofa. He did call the fire service when he realised what he had done, but was sentenced to 2 months in Highdown Prison and then transferred on to Springfield Hospital. He was then discharged into the community at Together’s Green Lane service in Addlestone. He has since been given an absolute discharge from his Home Office section.
Richard is very close to his family and they all live in the south west London area. His parents are very supportive of him and he gets on with them very well. He has three siblings: an older sister and two younger brothers, who he sees quite regularly. Richard’s initial diagnosis was paranoid schizophrenia, but after his hospital admission, it was discovered that he is also on the autistic spectrum. When this diagnosis was received, it helped Richard to understand a lot more about why he behaved in certain ways in the past and why he found some social situations difficult and stressful.
When Richard was living at Green Lane his then keyworker arranged for him to visit the local gym. He had an initial meeting with the gym instructor, but then Covid happened and Richard did not attend again. As Danny, the Service Manager at Avalon, had been working as the Acting Service Manager at the time of the initial gym appointment, he was keen for Richard to join the gym in Leatherhead after he had moved into Avalon. Richard went to see his GP, who referred him to the Leatherhead Leisure Centre on a reduced rate.
Once he had joined, Richard met with a specialist gym instructor, who showed him how the machinery worked and suggested other physical activities he could undertake that would benefit his health. Those included things like vacuuming, which in itself can be quite a strenuous task.
Click below to watch the video interview with Richard on the theme of physical wellbeing and continue reading below to hear more about Richard’s story and reflections from Avalon Service Manager Danny, who attends the gym along with him:
As Richard’s blood sugar level was quite high and he was considered borderline diabetic. With this in mind, the aim was to try to encourage him to undertake exercises that would strengthen his heart and lungs, as well as reduce his blood glucose levels. Richard was able to get a couple of referrals from his GP, but a couple of years ago, he finally became a concessionary gym member at the Leatherhead Leisure Centre.
A year after joining the gym, Richard had a blood test and it was discovered that owing to the aerobic exercise, his blood sugar levels had returned to near normal. This was very encouraging and Richard’s subscription is now paid partly by Together and partly by his father. The membership has helped Richard to stop gaining more weight, although he feels he still needs to try to lose some more. He is currently on a waiting list to start having injection of Mounjaro, as this helps individuals to stop having obsessive thoughts about eating, as well as supressing the appetitive. It is hoped that once Richard starts on this, he will be able to lose a lot of weight, so that his BMI falls. He will, of course, continue with the gym visits twice a week, as well as take long walks locally.
Reflecting on Richard’s story and his progress Avalon Accommodation Service Manager Danny Osborne said:
I am delighted that Richard has taken an interest in regular aerobic exercise, which has had a beneficial impact upon his physical and mental wellbeing. His heart and lungs are now stronger and he is definitely sleeping better, as he has taken vigorous exercise. As Richard is a polite and friendly man, he has also made some friends at the gym and this has helped to increase his social skills. As physical and mental health are inextricably linked, Richard has improved both of them by undertaking regulars exercise. He should be commended for his dogged determination to attend the gym and hopefully, he will soon reap the rewards of his continued efforts.
Thank you to Richard for taking the time to share his lived experiences for this interview.
