Four years ago now I had a mental break down, like watching an hourglass I saw my life pour away until I was left fighting to stay alive another day. Since then I have been recovering, finding methods to survive periods of depression.

By doing this walk I'd like to question perceptions of mental illness and show the unrecognised strength and determination that many people
with mental illnesses have.

I have to admit, I am mainly doing this walk for selfish reasons. I'm carrying a pack with my tent/cooking supplies etc and I'm walking 192 miles because I want and need time to myself away from our modern worlds pressures to work through things. I want to prove to myself that I am strong so that on the inevitable days in the future when my mind turns against me somewhere deep down I will know my own strength.

So yes, this walk is mainly a way for me to work on my own mental health but I would also like to use this opportunity to raise money to support those who are still in the darkness, those who are unable to do anything more than survive at the moment.

We've all seen the statistics, the number of suicides is increasing. There were 6,188 suicides in 2015, these people were mothers, brothers, friends. Equally, we have all heard about the strains of the mental health service, the lack of beds, the waiting lists. If we were talking about cancer all of those 6,188 people would have received care automatically
but unfortunately, to this day those with fatal mental health conditions are not receiving the care that they need to keep them alive and to help them recover. This disparity between serious physical and mental illnesses is unacceptable. Mind is a charity which is fighting to change this and Mind won’t stop this fight until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.

Please give what you can.

For more information please follow the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc

https://www.mind.org.uk/