Sally Kurzke

My Activity Tracking

185
kms

My target 500 kms

My Bipolar Story

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Bipolar in November 2020, now in the middle of a pandemic with years of confusion around my mental health and understanding it, I felt I was slapped in the face with a sentence that terrified me.

My initial thought was "Oh I have multiple personalities" which is a common misconception. My next thought was "Oh it just means I am moody" which is another misconception.

I spent what felt like days but was only probably hours in my room with train upon train of thought filled with fear, rage and emotions I cannot even explain.

I remember asking myself on repeat, how did I get this, why am I only finding out now, how do I tell my family, my friends, do I tell my employer, will this ruin my career and so on.

Once I got those out of mind all I could think about was how this was never going to go away and how I would be stuck with it for the rest of my life.

For clarity, Bipolar is not just plain mood swings, particularly for me I get these massive waves of high moods and low but this is a small part, I struggle with feeling emotions I do not know how to explain, control and express which was my hardest challenge as it is when I would behave in a way that is not who I am or who I want to be.

The last 12 months have been a rollercoaster but with a huge and I mean MASSIVE thank you to my family, my friends, my mental health support team and every single person who has played a role in my life I am now ready to help others. I look back on the person I was then and the person I am now and I feel like they do not even know each other. 

I thought Bipolar was going to control my life, now my life controls Bipolar. I no longer view it as a weakness, it is a part of me but it is no longer negative in my life, its managed well and majority of the time I forget its even there. ;)

Now I do not want to make it sound easy because I know how hard it has been for me but also how hard it has been on my support network, I honestly do not think I would ever be able to say how grateful I am for every single person who has showed there support to me with this and I am so appreciative of how incredible my family and friends are with this and with me. 

Now I want to be able to help others. I want to be able to open the door for people who are struggling but do not know how to bring it light, how to have the difficult conversations or who are embarrassed. I want those people to know it is okay, it does not define you and it is not anything you need to be ashamed of. If sharing my can help just one person feel more confident with their battle then I know I made a difference.
(If it doesn't I still raised money for a good cause and got clocked a lot of KMS on my bike)

Wish me luck and thank you for your support!

- SK.

Thank you to my Sponsors

$52

Justin Kalus

Well done Sally K!!

$50

Anonymous

loved hearing your story and just had to get behind you - get after it girl!

$50

Nigel Jacotine

Go get ‘em Sal

$52

Ron Bleumink

Good luck Sally

$20.80

Darren Barrett

Well done Tour De Sally you are an inspiration to all.

$20

Adam Thomson

Great Work Sally :)

$31.20

Jason Bartolomei

Well done Sally!

$30

Craig

Keep on pedalling, you're going to smash the challenge.

$52

Michael Gerolemou

Great work Sal, best of luck with this.

$20.80

Joseph Owens

All the best with the cycling challenge and good on you for putting yourself out there to help those who share your stuggles!!!

$52

Anthony Gosling

Heaps of respect to you Sally. Good Luck.

$52

Anthea Burrowes

So proud of you Sally!!! Good luck with the 500kms, you've got this xxx

$124.80

Leigh Squarci

go sally!!

$52

Dean Macnamara

Great work for an even greater cause

$20.80

Anonymous

$104

Bianca Brunetti

You Are A Champion!

$50

Philip Lam

You're a champion Sally!

$31.20

Olivia Youkhana

$52

Nat Nott

Brave and inspiring. Pedal on :)

$50

Tanisha S

Proud of you hun! Great cause and love your vulnerability, there is strength in your vulnerability - don’t ever forget that xx

$208

Jo Briere

A challenge that will be physical for a bipedal bipolar on a bicycle; but with open heart we take a pause to reflect and support your brilliant cause.

$52

Anonymous

$52

Chelsea Wootten

You got this girl 👊🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️

$52

Charlotte

$104

Tom Wilson

Thanks for sharing Sally. You’ll smash this challenge! X

$104

Positive Life Group

Great cause, and you have a heart of gold. ❤️

$20.80

Azam Haidrr

You re amazing, keep it up ❤️