Life is a journey, and as anyone suffering with poor mental health will agree, it can be very tough.

To reflect life's journey I will be walking around 12 miles from Kirkintilloch to Yoker along the Forth & Clyde Canal to raise some essential funds but more importantly to raise awareness as we go along. All of us, at one time or another and regardless of gender, can hit a crisis, so we all could do with support when things get tough.

As a man, being affected by mental illness isn't a sign of weakness, I myself have struggled with mental health issues and thanks to the amazing people around me I am still here today to tell the story. The 21st century throws more and more at us, that we as men are just not designed to cope with. There's too much going on, and we can't be expected to handle it all on our own. Sooner or later, you get ManDown.

In this modern world, everyone seems to be connected to everyone else through social media, yet somehow, all of these connections mean that we tend to talk 'at' each other, rather than 'to' each other. Asking for help doesn't make you any less of a man, in fact it's the exact opposite. The stereotype that 'women are emotional' and men should be the 'strong silent type' doesn't help either genders. We're all just people.

In 2014 there were 6,109 suicides in the UK, of which 76%, or 4,623, were male, and suicide currently stands as the biggest single killer of men aged under 45 in this country. The ratio of male to female suicide has shown a sustained rise over the last 30 years. In 1981 men accounted for 62% of suicides in this country, which rose to 70% in 1988, 75% in 1995 and hit 78% in 2013. (Source: ONS)

I believe that there are social and cultural barriers that prevent men from speaking out. From feedback we’ve received, and research conducted, men often say that they don’t feel comfortable expressing how they feel if they’re having a bad time, as they are expected to be strong at all times, to ManUp and not doing so equates to weakness or failure as a man, we become ManDown.