Episode 2.4 - Ally Sinyard: Boxing, Booze and Borderline Personality Disorder

SPEAK UP!

Ally Sinyard is a 29-year-old freelance writer and savate boxer, from Rochester, Kent, currently living in South London. Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2011, Ally completed 18 months of medication and group Dialectical Behaviour Therapy before moving to London to pursue a career in journalism – which has since seen her write for publications including FHM, The Guardian, Gentleman's Journal, Empire and Refinery29. As her writing career flourished and she enjoyed the London media party lifestyle, the BPD diagnosis she thought she'd left behind in Kent returned when she least expected it.In 2016, Ally decided to give up alcohol to help manage her Borderline Personality Disorder. At the same time, she started training in the sport of Savate, otherwise known as French boxing. Since swapping booze for boxing, Ally has enjoyed better mental health, lost three stone in weight and credits martial arts and teetotalism with changing her life for the better.She has represented Great Britain at both the 2017 European Savate Championships in Belgium and the 2018 World Savate Championships in Bulgaria. In 2019, she became British Champion in the women's 56kg category. She's now looking forward to the next European Championships in Italy later this year, then celebrating four years of sobriety.

Follow her on social media:https://www.instagram.com/allysinyard/https://twitter.com/allysinyard

*TRIGGER WARNING* This episode will discuss sensitive topics such as suicide and eating disorders. If you feel like you need to speak to someone, please call the Papyrus helpline on 080003684141.This podcast was done in partnership with the Brent Centre for Young People.www.brentcentre.org.ukMusic by Static MoonA big thank you to:Kickstarter FundraisersDr Robin AndersonPeter WilsonProfessor Catalina BronsteinLouis TherouxGregoire BenardiStephanie StrongNick Pritchard Raad Al-GabrilAnd to all the young people who shared their experiences in order to make this project a reality. @speakupbrent