Story
<p>On May 14, I will walk from Chepstow to Prestatyn up the Offa's Dyke route in aid of MIND mental health charity.</p>
<p>I want to raise £400, which will go straight to the charity. That about matches how much I'm paying to do the walk.</p>
<p>I'll be walking on my Birthday, so it'd be nice if you gave £3 rather than buying me a pint.</p>
<p>Chances are, you already know someone who has suffered with a mental illness. Mental health provision in the UK is one of the most underfunded sections of the NHS, and many sufferers have to battle not only the illness and its symptoms, but also the stigma that goes along with it.</p>
<p>No one is afraid of someone who has a broken leg because it is a problem that is visible and easily understood. But survivors of schizophrenia, depression, social anxiety disorder, manic depression and many other invisible illnesses sometimes have to deal with profound distrust and a lack of understanding.</p>
<p>MIND offers practical, listening help, including confidential phonelines, grants and advice, and also campaigns to raise the profile of mental health issues and represent sufferers legally and in the public eye.</p>
<p>While medication and theraputic methods have evolved a long way in the past few decades, mental health facilities are often still woefully underfunded and waiting lists in parts of the country for sufferers urgently seeking "talking" therapies and counselling can exceed half a year.</p>
<p>As a former sufferer of depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, this is a charity close to my heart and mind.</p>
<p>I chose to walk the length of the old Welsh border for personal reasons. My great grandfather walked from North Wales to South Wales to find work in the pit valleys - and if he hadn't done so and met my great grandmother, I wouldn't be here.</p>
<p>Please support me and MIND. I'll keep this page updated as I go.</p>
<p> --</p>
<p>Done: Booked accommodation and train.</p>
<p> Secured a map.</p>
<p> Got my walking boots.</p>
<p>Things to do: Learn to read a map.</p>
<p> Raise money!</p>