Charity praised for helping woman's mental health

Ruth Trinder said she suffered with poor mental health from childhood

A woman says after she reached a "breaking point" in her life, an outdoor course run by a charity changed her life .

Ruth Trinder, 37, from Hereford, said she turned to the group in Shropshire after experiencing grief, the breakdown of her marriage and going through surgical menopause.

She attended a five-day course with Climbing Out, founded by Kelda Wood, a former paracanoeist from Shrewsbury.

"I am very different to where I was a year ago. I'm very, very happy, I'm in a really good place," said Ms Trinder.

Climbing Out said it aimed to help people who have been through life-changing mental or physical trauma or illness by combining outdoor activities with personal development coaching.

Ms Trinder decided to take action with her mental health in 2023.

"It was just horrific. I didn't feel like I could sustain it for very long after that," she told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

She self-referred to the charity and attended one of their courses in the Lake District.

On the first night, her group went caving and were told to turn their torches off and work together to get out.

"It's trying to just anchor you in the moment and not worry about what's ahead of you so much," said Ms Trinder.

Other activities the charity organised included kayaking, abseiling and cold water swimming.

Ms Trinder said the course changed her outlook on life.

"It's always that worry of 'I don't want to have any more people in my life because I'm going to keep losing them' but actually it's surprising who you find," she said.

"The group I did it with, we talk pretty much every day."

Ms Trinder said she was now raising money to support other people to attend the courses.

Kelda Wood founded the charity in 2010

Ms Wood founded the charity in 2010, eight years after she suffered a severe leg injury in a farming accident.

She said the outdoors played a huge role in her recovery.

"I've been in that dark place myself," she said.

"We really strip it back to the basics. We're very straight talking, very practical, very realistic and a lot of the time that's what people need to hear."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.