About a year ago I realised I wasn't happy. I had been unhappy for a while and decided that things needed to change. I made some drastic changes to my life but also realised that I needed to start exercising, so I began swimming.

Last year I took part in the Aspire swim challenge and swam 22 miles in 12 weeks.  This time I want to step it up a notch, I plan on swimming 30 miles between the 10th of September and the 10th of December.

 I wouldn't describe myself as a strong or fast swimmer but I do plan on putting the effort in to complete this personal challenge. 

30 miles is 1,860 lengths of a 25 meter pool. That works out roughly at about 143 lengths a week.

The reason I'm starting on September the 10th is because it's Suicide Prevention day 2016. In 2014, male suicide accounts for 76% of all suicides and is the single biggest cause of death in men under 45 in the UK.  The Campaign Against Living Miserably or CALM, is a registered charity that exists to prevent male suicide in the UK. 

They seek to prevent male suicide by:

• Offering support to men in the UK, of any age, who are down or in crisis via our helpline and website.
• Challenging a culture that prevents men seeking help when they need it, see www.yearofthemale.com
• Pushing for changes in policy and practice so that suicide is better prevented via partnerships such as The Alliance of Suicide Prevention Charities (TASC), the National Suicide Prevention Alliance(NSPA) .  CALM also hosts the Suicide Bereavement Support Partnership (SBSP), which includes Cruse, If U Care Share, Papyrus, SoBS and the Samaritans amongst others. This partnership aims to ensure that everyone bereaved or affected by suicide is offered and receives timely and appropriate support. Its members are working collaboratively to ensure this vision becomes a reality.