Co-Editor Alfie here! Things have been really quiet on the pages of Read The Room in recent months. One of the things about having unreliable mental health is that it is, funnily enough, reliably unreliable. I’ve needed to focus on getting better so the magazine has taken a little bit of a back seat. Read The Room isn’t going anywhere, we’re just taking our time.
Part of my mental health recovery is setting myself goals so I have future plans to work towards. During a particularly optimistic moment earlier this month, I signed up for the 5K A Day In May challenge in aid of CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) - a charity that campaigns for suicide prevention and gives vital support to those in need of help with access to a suicide prevention helpline and resources. Yep, that’s me walking 3 miles everyday like the total boss that I am. Signing up for things when I’m manic is funny.
On a serious note, as a survivor of several attempts and having lost good friends to suicide, this challenge is really important to me. Particularly as I’m currently not having a great time with my existence at the moment. I’m still here thanks to charities like CALM.
The playlist: I wanted to put together a selection of tracks that I listen to when I’m walking to clear my head. It’s not always about deep meaningful lyrics or songs you can cry to. Sometimes I just need a good beat to get the heart pumping or a bass line I can get lost in. If I can feel something then it means I’m not as lost to the void as I think I am.
The playlist features some of my favourite new-ish indie dance and electronica tracks by artists like Kelly Lee Owens, Caribou, Jamie xx, Tiberious b, Self Esteem and Jadu Heart. There’s a sprinkle of hip hop, soul and a few dance/trip hop classics from The Chemical Brothers, Lemonjelly, Fatboy Slim and David Holmes that I used to enjoy when my portable music player of choice was still a walkman (you couldn’t walk easily with a portable CD player ok?).
Want to join me in supporting a good cause? Whether you donate £5 or £500. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support. DONATE HERE.
About CALM: We’re the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and we’re taking a stand against suicide. That means standing against feeling hopeless, standing up to stereotypes and standing together to show life is always worth living.
Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. CALM exists to change this - by offering life-saving services, provoking national conversation, and bringing people together to reject living miserably.
Words: Alfie Whitby (they/them)
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