I have decided to walk 1 million steps in May and June to raise awareness for mental ill health and suicide prevention. I want to do this as at the start of 2021 I started to feel very low and did not recognise the person staring back at me in the mirror. I was experiencing severe mood swings, lashing out at people, isolating myself and I hated who I was turning in to.

I have done some Mental Health training through work and started to recognise Red Flag Behaviours in myself. One day I woke up and decided to start walking, this was the best decision I have made in a long time. Walking became my therapy and coping mechanism and I am now feeling more like the old Barrie. Anything I can do to raise money and awareness for this great cause can only be a positive.

The Lighthouse Club are the only charity that provides mental, physical and financial wellbeing support to the construction community and their families. They provide a 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline which provides free and confidential support services and this is complemented by their free Construction Industry Helpline App which offers expert guidance on a huge variety of wellbeing issues. They also offer free mental health and wellbeing training for the construction community.