Story
We're all aware of somebody that's suffering with a mental health problem. Watching my best friend lose her dad, and losing a wonderful adult that's been in my life for as long as I can remember, has been a cruel reminder that a lot more needs to be done to support those who are struggling.
I'd be extremely grateful for any donations towards Mind.
I'm not sure I can even run 5k, let alone covered in mud and clambering over obstacles. So there's another reason to delve deep into your pockets.
Why are we running?
In April 2019, my friend Ruby's dad's mental health began to rapidly
decline. Ruby and her family were 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. We'll 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?
Having worked with mental health services at university, I've witnessed the positive impact a charity such as Mind can have on someone's life. The services that Mind provide save lives and offer support to those who need it. Until the mental health care in our country is improved and increased, it's so important that we support charities that fill in the gaps for those in vulnerable situations.
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 Mind does. They empower people to understand their condition and the choices available to them through:
- Their Infoline which offers callers confidential help for the price of a local call
- Their 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