My close friend Olly Douglas took his own life on 5th March. He was someone who loved with all of his heart and was such a light to all who were around him. His talents had no end and his ambitions were forever building. Yet, at the age of 27 Olly lost his struggle with depression and became a victim of suicide.

Suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged 20-45 in the UK. This statistic shocked me and I'm sure it will for many others and that's because it is the biggest silent killer too. We don't tend to talk about depression or mental health conditions alike. But the harsh reality is that mental health services are chronically underfunded. While mental illness contributes to a quarter of health problems in the UK, it only receives 13% of the the NHS budget. This sends out a disturbing and deeply disappointing message - mental illness isn't taken seriously enough.

Young men are three times more likely to take their own lives than young women. Why? The Campaign Against Living Miserably, which exists to prevent male suicides, believes that there is a cultural barrier preventing men from seeking help. They're expected to remain strong and dismiss showing signs of weakness or loss of masculinity. CALM believes that a better understanding of mental disorders and honest discussions can lead to the prevention of male suicides.

This cause is very close to my heart as I am forever wishing Olly could have been saved. I am struggling to compare the two Ollys. The one who was extremely talented and creative, who had an opinion about everything, someone who everyone knew at University because he was so sociable and such a big personality, to the Olly who couldn't cope with his daily battle against dark and lonely thoughts and saw suicide as his only sense of freedom.  If we have learnt anything from this it is that anyone can become a victim of suicide and this is why I am asking you to join me in creating awareness of mental illness and to raise money for CALM to help prevent this from happening to someone else's loved one. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.