More research into mental illness is desperately needed and my 60th birthday is approaching. So as the first leg of my celebrations I have decided to attempt a challenge and raise some money for MHRUK: Mental Health Research UK. MHRUK is a relatively small charity so all donations make a big difference. It is one of the few charities in the UK which gives at least 95% of all donations to its aim. If you support it, nearly every penny you give is helping to make a difference in the long-term.   

Someone I know very well has had a serious mental illness for the last 10 years. During this time, against considerable odds, he has managed to complete first and master’s degrees and is close to completing a PhD at Cambridge University – so he has the potential to make a big contribution. He has also built a family with two small children. Over the 10 years he has been prescribed 5 different types of medication of a particular type which he must have to enable him to function. One caused a build-up of chemicals which became dangerous so had to be discontinued and didn’t really make him fully well anyway, another caused an immediate life threatening decrease in blood pressure so was quickly abandoned, another had such major side effects that he couldn’t write his name and the fourth which he took for about 8 years caused major weight gain, which he has fought and substantially overcome, and debilitating drowsiness in the mornings. He is currently trying the only other suitable medication that is available but, whilst the medics are trying to find out if this works, he has ended up in a psychiatric hospital and they still don’t know whether it will work – it is just trial and error. He is one of the lucky ones, many people with his condition fail to find any medication which works at all. If we could only understand these illnesses better, in the same way that we now understand most physical illnesses, much more and better medication could be produced. This is why we urgently need more research. 

At least 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives and some estimates are as high as 1 in 2. In the under 65s almost as many life years are lost as a result of mental illness as from all physical illnesses put together. But, despite the huge impact of mental ill health on individuals and the economy, mental health research receives only a fraction of the funding that supports research into other long-term chronic diseases.

Over the weekend of 12/13 July, with a few friends and family, I will be attempting to ride my bike from Wedmore in Somerset to the North Wales Coast along a hilly route following the line of Offas Dyke. We are aiming to cycle the just over 220 miles with a total climb of almost 17,000 ft and several gradients of over 13% in 3 days. Many of the group aren’t experienced cyclists and I only bought my road bike last year - so this will be quite a challenge for most of us and I am already training hard.

MHRUK is a relatively small charity so all donations make a big difference. It is one of the few charities in the UK which gives at least 95% of all donations to its aim.  If you support it, nearly every penny you give is helping to make a difference in the long-term. Please dig as deep as you are able - nobody ever knows what is around the corner for them or for their families.