George's Big Bad Ben Nevis Climb page
George Shaw is raising money for Mind
Story
This September, myself, and some of the lovely people I work with, are climbing Big Bad Ben Nevis to help raise money for the Mental Health Charity Mind.
A few years ago I went through a period of depression that felt so dark, so scary and so lonely that I felt there’d only be one way out. Thankfully, I was able to find the right tools and speak to the right people to fix it, before it was too late.
I’m so happy with the place I’m at now. I love my job, my friends and my life and those awful, horrible depressive and suicidal thoughts seem like such a long, long time ago - but I honestly don’t think I’d be who I am now if I didn’t fight through that.
I think one of the most important things I learned from that dark period is that matter how frightened or lonely you feel, no matter how empty, hurt or fearful you are there is always someone willing to listen and to share your pain.
Mental health issues are horribly common in the UK – 1 in 4 people here will experience a mental health problem each year. That can range from anxiety, to depression to panic attacks or OCD and more. It’s particularly common in young people. All of them are very real, 90 per cent of people who die through suicide in the UK are experiencing mental distress.
Charities like Mind are there to make sure there’s someone to talk to. Someone to listen. Because when you’re trapped inside your own negative thoughts, just having someone to listen can make all the difference. Someone who can offer advice and support. Someone who’ll fight your corner, especially when you can’t.
There’s a stigma attached to mental illness and it’s sufferers. As if it’s something to be ashamed of. It’s not and it’s never a sign of weakness to ask for help. It’s too common and dangerous a problem for that to be the case. Mind are helping end discrimination by educating on mental health issues and promoting good mental health, both in communities and nationally. It’s through organisations like Mind that I, like many others, was able to get the help I needed to help myself.