12 years ago my little brother committed suicide after several years of suffering from bi-polar disorder. He'd made two previous attempts on his life before succeeding. The impact on family & friends was devastating, both during his illness and after his death. Nobody will understand the heartache unless they have lived with someone suffering from a depressive illness like his and its fatal consequences.

Did you know:

• 1 million people die by suicide each year (that is one suicide every 40 seconds)

• More people die by suicide each year than by murder and war combined

• One in 4 of us will be affected by mental health problems at some point each year

Yet get this, mental research is not a funding priority. Only 0.3p is given by the public to mental health research for every pound spent by government, compared with £2.75 for cancer.

My thanks to Helen Black for goading me into racing her for charity. We are work colleagues and both very competitive and this has been talked about for some time. Helen is a Swimfit fanatic, completing up to 400 lengths a week. I have not swum much since school, though I did swim for the school. I am 49 and Helen is significantly younger so the odds of me beating her are stacked against me! I am now in serious training (4 times a week) and hope to be able to at least run her close when we race on 24 February 2015. I have always been a keen sportsman so who knows what I can achieve over the next few weeks! In addition to the race, which will be over 4 lengths, I will swim on and complete, for every £25 donated, a length of the pool up to a maximum of 34 lengths (the age my brother was when de died). 

Phil's Story - a personal tribute.

On the day he died I was inspired to write a song. It's not a professional recording but has brought comfort to my family and friends. It will not be everyone's cup of tea but I am happy to share if it helps raise awareness and encourages people to give. It is a song of hope and love and charts his journey from his darkness into the day.

http://youtu.be/AY42e7ktoeU

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