Most of us look into the mirror every day and carry on with our lives as normal.

Some people, however, battle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). This is a disabling preoccupation with perceived defects or flaws in appearance and makes sufferers excessively self-conscious. They tend to check their appearance repeatedly and try to camouflage or alter the defects they see.

Watching on most people are perplexed because they can see nothing out of the ordinary with the BDD sufferer, but BDD causes devastating distress and interferes substantially with the ability to function socially.

Personally knowing someone who has faced an uphill battle to get the help they need to face this illness and having seen the impact it has had on their life, as well as those close to them, means I'll be running the Basingstoke Half Marathon on 1st October 2017.

My main goal is to raise some awareness but if you do have a few spare pennies then this would be a great cause to give towards. If not, then please do take a few minutes out to visit the BDD Foundation website: www.bddfoundation.org