For a while now I’ve been feeling increasingly frustrated about the affects the last 18 months has had, and will have on mental health. 

Scarily, but perhaps unsurprisingly, mental health has seen a rapid decline and is now being referred to as the silent pandemic. 

And while I wish much more was done higher up to stop building generations living in fear* I want to do something small to raise money for charity that will help. 

It’s a very small way of feeling like I’m doing something. There will be MH epidemics for years/decades to come from what is happening right now. Which is why charities like Mind will need all the support and awareness they can get now and going forward. 

I, like many other have suffered a dip in my metal health during the past 18 months. I was lucky enough to be able to help myself through it with physiological therapy (and meds) but some people cannot afford therapy and there can be long waiting lists through the NHS. That’s another reason why charities like Mind are so important. To be accessible for all. 

To build an awareness of mental health charities is so important to break the stigma (that still exists) in seeking help. This is especially important for males as they count for around 3/4 of all suicides . We need to continually build awareness, that it’s ok to not be ok, and it’s ok to seek help. 

My heart feel particularly heavy for the children living through this mess. It’s my personal opinion that some of the measures taken against children have been completely disproportionate and will cause irreversible problems. Even the affects of parents wearing masks in front of their young children will cause delays in cognitive development. We might not know some of the full affects for some time.

A lot more IS being spoken about now and I think it’s great that Dr Alex George has been appointed as a mental health ambassador as I think his reach will be really beneficial to a certain generation. 

SO much more needs to be done however. We are going through one of the biggest events in history and there has not been a specific person assigned to Covid-19 mental health. Hannah Milk asked the PM to provide a Covid 19 Spokesperson and is still waiting for this to be actioned. She has written a blog about this - please read here. 

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/i-asked-the-pm-to-provide-a-covid-19-mental-health-spokesperson/

The Challenge! 

So to raise some money I will be climbing Mount Snowdon. I’m aware this might seem like a relitively small challenge for some and a lot of people do it for fun. I started hiking at the beginning of lockdown and has found it helps my mental health so much. But I’ve not done a hike longer than 8 miles! I also struggle with ascents, I’m always at the back of the group on an uphill climb. I still struggle with anxiety, panic and ocd myself so this will be a personal challenge for me in many ways. 

Bearing all this in mind I would be so appreciative of any donations made on my behalf to Mind. 

Thank you for reading and let’s keeping building awareness for this invisible illness and to make support for mental health accessible to all. 

*(Impact of fear based living  - https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/impact-fear-and-anxiety) 

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