“ LET YOUR FRIENDS IN AND DON’ T BE ASHAMED. IT’ S OKAY TO BE WONKY, BUT IT’ S NOT OKAY NOT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT”
JEP MATTEO SEGATO
Endurance racer Charlie Martin loves the thrill of driving but really misses the paddock community
“ In my racing career there were pitfalls every week, so I thought I was pretty resilient,” he says.“ I completely underestimated the effect that retirement – a choice I had made – would have. I was in a spiral dive, and I didn’ t want to speak to anybody because I felt ashamed that on my watch, everything had gone bang.”
Jason’ s situation deteriorated to the point that he attempted to end his life before eventually seeking professional help and reconnecting with those around him. Through motorsport friends including Penny Mallory, Deborah Tee and Ross Brawn, he became a keynote speaker and found the process of talking about his mental health journey removed the stigma.“ I wasn’ t ashamed of any of it anymore. I viewed it as part of my story,” he says.
“ What I’ ve realised is that you have to let people in. I’ ve had the most amazing response. It’ s okay to be wonky, but it’ s not okay not to do anything about it.”
For racing driver Charlie Martin, visibility and openness are vital. She has spoken publicly about her ambition to become the first transgender competitor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and believes hearing other people’ s experiences can make a huge difference.
Charlie has often used social media to connect but agrees that there is no substitute for human interaction.“ One of the toughest things with mental health is that we can spend so much time on our own,” she says.“ The best thing we can do is be with people and be able to open up.”
“ LET YOUR FRIENDS IN AND DON’ T BE ASHAMED. IT’ S OKAY TO BE WONKY, BUT IT’ S NOT OKAY NOT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT”
Like many competitors, Charlie says one of the hardest parts of time away from racing is missing the community that comes with it.“ As much as I love driving and adrenaline, it’ s also about the people you share those experiences with.”
That sense of shared experience can be incredibly powerful, and it isn’ t limited to those that compete in the sport. Corryn Banham built her own community as she addressed the challenges of ADHD diagnosis and negotiating the myriad combinations of medication.
“ Girls Across The Grid gave me a support network,” Corryn says.“ Four years on I’ ve got my best friends through it. A couple of the girls I’ ve known while I’ ve been through the whole diagnosis route and they’ re just
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