Hi folks, my name is Kiera and I might be slightly crazy by taking part in SAMH's Stomp this year, and it's the extreme one by the way! 

I decided as I am going to start getting my fitness and weight loss back in action, I thought I'd challenge and motivate myself while raising money for a charity that I strongly support, and a Scottish one at that too! 

SAMH have helped many people I know and I've spoken to someone from SAMH on an occasion. Those at SAMH work hard to help the most vulnerable, but brave people with mental health illnesses. And although Mental Health Awareness week has recently passed, we shouldn't just leave it to one week to raise awareness, WE need to raise awareness ALL YEAR ROUND!

There is just not enough support given to those with mental health illness/issues and with the stigma towards men and young boys especially , it hard for them to speak up about their feelings as it is. It hard for anyone, no matter what age, gender, background etc. And when it comes to talking about mental health, I find that schools - more so high schools,where young children are going through a massive change in learning, puberty, friends etc - they do not do enough. When I was in school PSE (physical and social education), it was terrible the amount of small time mental health was spoken about.... 

And of course, recent studies have been done and those at work, stress levels are up more than ever. I struggle a lot to keep my stress under control but I'm lucky I have family that I feel I can go to, and many people aren't in the same position as myself. We need to also support our work colleagues and make the work place aware that there is a mental health crisis.

Raising money for SAMH is something small for me to do, but it just can't be me that just makes a change. Every single person need to do their part. I will be posting updates on my Instagram @kiera__grant on how the fundraising journey is going, and also my weight and fitness too! My mental health hasn't always been great, but doing exercise has always improved my mental health and stress levels, so the SAMH Stomp is an event that will help many other people, but also myself.

I need to raise an minimum of £150 but ideally I would love to raise at least £500. Even if you can donate £1, I would been so grateful! If you can't donate, please share! 

Here is a blogpost on my very non-existent blog, that I have not updated in about 2 years? The post is about depressing, self-harming and suicide and gives many facts and figures. It was from two years ago so the facts and sources will not be up to date, but it still gives an idea of how serious the matter is:-  https://mindoneverything.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/menntal-health-awareness-week/

If anyone needs someone to talk to here are some useful numbers:-

Childlike 24/7 free phone number:- 0800 1111

Samaritans 24/7 free phone number:-  116 123

SAMH website for help :- https://www.samh.org.uk/find-help

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Once again, thank you, Kiera x