Firstly, thanks for taking the time to check out my JustGiving page. My name is James and this is my story;

I’ve suffered and do suffer from General Anxiety Disorder, as well as depression for a large proportion of my life, however, in 2015 I suffered from a very severe episode of depression. A way of coping for me was by growing my hair and I discovered early on that donating my hair was something I wanted to do.

Since this episode my mental health has greatly improved and still continues to get better, I luckily have support from colleagues, friends, and family for when I have bad or difficult moments of my mental health, whereas there are those who don't have that support...

I work as a call handler for the West Midlands Ambulance Service. I deal with a lot of mental health calls, which can be distressing, not only for the patient making the call but for their friends, family and even myself. These calls range from someone crying out for help, to some people actively attempting to end their lives. I've listened to the patients and families heartbreak. We've even lost some patients due to their mental health... I don't believe it needs to be this way.

We lose so many people to their mental health, you may see it will celebrities but I see it daily. 

I have learned not to hide my mental health, although it's hard to open up it ultimately helps and I encourage others to talk openly about theirs. Too many people are silent about their mental health and it's the silence that kills.

Through this event I want people to open up, to share stories or experiences, to talk. It's to prove that no matter who you are you're not alone and you shouldn't be afraid to open up.

Charities:

The reason we're here. I’m doing different events in order to try and raise money for MIND, a charity which, gives support for those suffering through ill mental health and to donate my hair to the Little Princess Trust which is a charity which provides real hair wigs to children and young adults who have lost their hair to cancer or other illnesses.

Events:

I'm going to be challenging myself to do a rock Climb with my friend Andy (From OpenCrag) on the 30th of June and doing Snowdon with my friend Ellie on the 6th of July. Followed by my wonderful sister-in-law Hayley who will be cutting my hair at her salon Couture Lounge on the 15th August.

Please don’t worry if you can't or don’t want to donate but please if you can give this a share it would be greatly appreciated as we'd have a better chance to reaching or even exceeding our goal!
I'm grateful for any amount of support and I thank you for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it.

sincerely,

James

"Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.”