{"id":535063,"date":"2025-10-29T08:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/535063\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T08:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:40:17","slug":"i-had-been-struggling-quite-badly-award-winning-ni-fitness-influencer-says-social-media-boosted-her-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/535063\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I had been struggling quite badly\u2019: Award-winning NI fitness influencer says social media boosted her mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Molly McFall, from Craigavon, began sharing her journey as a runner on TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the health crisis taking a heavy toll on her mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been struggling quite badly,\u201d said the 22-year-old, who was named health and fitness influencer of the year at the recent VAVA Awards.<\/p>\n

She is eager to educate the public on how social media can be used to improve mental health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Molly said it was a \u201ccoping mechanism, rather than a \u2018Oh let\u2019s do this thing\u2019 [like] it has become now\u201d.<\/p>\n

Taking up running, she inspired others to follow suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really made the videos for me, to maybe see the process and hold myself accountable, but then other people started watching them and have been able to get something from them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The mental benefits of exercise are well known, but Molly said it was the combination of sport and publicising it on social media which helped her.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cSocial media is a brilliant tool for opening up and connecting with people going through similar things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly is proud of the community she has built on TikTok.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community I\u2019ve built is amazing. They have supported me through ups and downs, everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Molly<\/p>\n

Molly after winning the award<\/p>\n

\u201cI could cry when I think of all the people that support me and they don\u2019t even know who I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes we forget how lovely strangers are. We sometimes think people are out to get us when they really aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really, really grateful for the community I\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n

Molly is hopeful her journey can inspire others.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cSomething I feel quite strongly about is that fact that, as I said, I struggled quite badly, but I\u2019m still able to get out and do that run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can do that, then other people will look at it and think, \u2018If she can do it, I can do it too\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, all of a sudden, people start to feel stronger and more confident. Maybe you didn\u2019t feel okay doing that run, but you did it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly is aware that social media can have a downside and can negatively impact on mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s definitely a case of everything in moderation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only follow who benefits my mental health. I don\u2019t follow any celebrities or anyone that I\u2019m going to be negatively comparing myself to.<\/p>\n

\"Molly<\/p>\n

Molly McFall<\/p>\n

Watch: \u201cOne of the best kept secrets in Belfast\u201d – Cahoots NI theatre space in Cityside, Belfast <\/p>\n

\u201cYou follow people who make you feel good, motivated, inspired.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many people on social media that will motivate you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you just have to be so in control of your own social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be a very toxic place if you don\u2019t control it. People need to have the confidence to take ownership of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Molly McFall, from Craigavon, began sharing her journey as a runner on TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[2378,105,1611,218,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-535063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-belfast","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-jessica-rice","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115456562035972654","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}