Thank you for taking a look at my fundraising page. I really appreciate any amount you can contribute, but also for simply reading the following and raising awareness.

A few years ago, one of my cousins ended their own life. Sadly I never had the chance to know them well, but they were young and vibrant and alive, with a wonderful and supportive family. In the UK, and many other parts of the world, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people under the age of 35. My cousin never got to live their 30's. I nearly didn't either.

In my early twenties, I made an attempt at ending my own life.

For almost as long as I can remember, I have struggled with clinical depression. This is when you feel persistently sad for weeks, months, years. It is when your "low mood" affects other parts of your life, impacting relationships, education, career, or simply finding the will to get out of bed each morning. Over the past decade, I have gone through periods of sustained and debilitating depression, throughout which the thought of having to keep going felt too much. On three subsequent occasions, I have seriously brooded on suicide. I once travelled somewhere specifically to end my life in that location. I can understand why my cousin took the route they did, and I know just how desperate and alone they would have felt.

Depression is a real illness and tragically it is a real killer. In the UK, around 14 people end their own lives every day. Despite progress in recent years, mental health illnesses still have a real stigma attached to them. For instance, a broken limb or diagnosis of cancer in a family will be discussed and shared and sympathised with. But not depression. It is rare for physical illnesses to be kept under wraps in the way mental health issues are. It is also incredibly hard to know whether someone is suffering from depression. It can be an "invisible" illness, with sufferers adapting to the negative stigma and learning to hide what they are going through from those around them.

I know all these pressures first hand. Imagine if you broke a leg but had to "be brave enough" to tell anyone about it. Imagine if sustaining such an injury wasn't enough to prompt you into seeking medical aid or requesting support from your friends and family. Then imagine finally doing so, only to be told that your leg isn't really broken, or that it will get better by itself with some "positive thinking". That can be what it's like to live with depression. And that is why open dialogue about mental health is so important.

Mental health issues of all types are currently on the rise amongst children and young people, and this is where PAPYRUS comes in. PAPYRUS is the UK national Charity for the Prevention of Young Suicide. In 2018 over 1800 young people took their own lives in the UK. PAPYRUS provides confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and anyone worried about a young person through their helpline, HOPELINEUK. Every £5 raised can help pay for a life-saving contact to HOPELINEUK. Any donation is really lifesaving.

This May I will be running the Endurance Classic Quarter (http://www.endurancelife.com/classic-quarter), a 70km race from Lizard Point to Land's End – England's most southerly point to the most westerly. I have been an on-and-off runner for many years, but I am trying to take it more seriously this year. Running is partly a coping mechanism for me. I have never run for charity before, so wanted to really challenge myself. The CQ follows the Cornish coastline and involves 1,685 meters of ascent. It will be gruelling. It will be beautiful. It will be the longest run I've ever done, and I am currently training for it with help from Hayle Runners Club in Cornwall.

Altogether, I hope to raise £700 for Papyrus. I like to think that I'll be running a kilometre for every year of life my cousin might have experienced had things been different. Life is precious, even when it doesn't feel that way.

To all those who felt unable to keep going: Rest in Peace.

And to everyone still here, still struggling: you’re not alone. Please reach out for help. I promise that you deserve it. Breathe deep.

Thank you so much for reading this.