I'm raising money for Mind Charity by running/climbing/crawling/limping through the Tough Mudder 5K on Saturday 17th July with a gorgeous team of friends and family who all understand how important protecting mental health is, and who believe in the work Mind does to support people who are suffering. 

I'd be beyond grateful if you'd consider donating the cost of a pint in London (one thousand pounds) to help Mind continue with their work, and more importantly, make my physical suffering worthwhile. Written below are some of my reasons why.

My story

In April last year, my dad's mental health began to rapidly decline. I was heartbroken to lose him to suicide in June, after an agonising period of 5 weeks in which friends, family, members of the community, and total strangers rallied round to help search for him. I will never stop being grateful to those people.

Unfortunately, the mental health care provided by the state in this country simply can't cope with the number and severity of cases it has to deal with. Waiting lists for therapy leave people with no support for weeks, months, and sometimes over a year, and resources are difficult to find and harder to interpret when you're suffering.

Having a mental health problem can feel overwhelming, cause feelings of guilt and shame, and it can be indescribably difficult to understand what's happening to you, or even the experience of a loved one who is going through it. Mind helps to make the complicated simple, and offers personal support where people may find they have none.

Why Mind

Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems and lobbies government and local authorities on their behalf. It also works to raise public awareness and understanding of issues relating to mental health.

When you're experiencing a mental health problem, supportive and reliable information can change your life. That's what we do. We empower people to understand their condition and the choices available to them through:

• Our Infoline which offers callers confidential help for the price of a local call
• Our Legal Line which provides information on mental health related law to the public, service users, family members/carers, mental health professionals and mental health advocates
• Our award-winning publications and website, now certified by the Information Standard.