How Walk The Coast Rebuilt My Confidence

by Greg D

I was looking for every excuse under the sun not to attend Walk the Coast. I avoid so many social interactions because of my brain injury. My default defence mechanism is to stand on the outside of the circle and convince myself that I don’t belong.

This is exactly what I did at WTC, but I was pulled inside the circle so quickly that I almost forgot about my brain injury altogether.

Being surrounded by people who have been through their own horrific trauma, people left with similar injuries or a huge crossover in recovery, was something I had never really experienced before. Suddenly, I had stopped being “the victim” and I was just like everyone else.

I didn’t quite know how to process this and found it overwhelming at times. The same struggles, the same feelings, the same fears - and the same grief for the person we used to be.

In seven days, I met complete strangers who somehow felt like my oldest friends. I was caught off guard by people being kind to me for seemingly no reason.

I’ve cried many times since WTC finished, but they’ve been happy tears. I did more healing in those seven days than I have managed in my 23 years of recovery. Before this, I had lost my excitement for life and was just drifting, barely existing. I still struggle with my identity, because the brain injury can sometimes feel like the only thing that defines me.

But I’m feeling more positive about life now, and my confidence has grown. I still don’t know where I’m going, but I’m not as scared of the journey anymore.

There was something in the air - some kind of alchemy. Those who were there will understand what I mean. To everyone else, it was just a walk.

I discovered that turning up is the hardest part, but when I’m there it is never as hard or scary as I have convinced myself it will be.

If you can find the courage to just show up, even when it feels uncomfortable, the rest has a way of following, and falling into place. My advice is to always give yourself a chance - you might even remember how to enjoy yourself again.