I'm raising funds and awareness to support the prevention of suicide and to help people who are feeling miserable. Feeling miserable is not what life is about. We all feel miserable at one time or another but it should never get to the extent where we consider suicide to be the only way out.

Mental health is not a new thing. It wasn’t just invented in the 21st century but it is only recently that we have begun to give mental health the attention that it needs.

Like physical health, mental health can be measured in multiple different ways. Poor mental health can sometimes be as obvious as a broken leg, but many times it is completely invisible. If you’re sat on the bus next to someone who needs crutches to walk, you know that their physical health isn’t perfect right now. But sit next to that same person when they are experiencing poor mental health and you can be none the wiser.

I know first-hand the consequences of not preventing and treating poor mental health.

On the evening of Tuesday, 31 May 2022 I sat atop the edge of the cliffs of Avon Gorge in Bristol. It’s a beautiful setting with panoramic views across to Somerset and on that particular spring day, the air was full of the buzz of noisy insects and birds going about their business.

The cliffs are approximately 300 feet above the Portway and River Avon and those that have been there, know that it is a stunning location that can make you feel incredibly lucky to be alive.

Unfortunately, on that balmy spring evening, I did not feel lucky to be alive, and I thought that if I wasn’t alive, I might leave the world in a better place.

It’s very difficult to describe everything that had happened, and how my mind had perceived everything that had happened, that had led me to that point, on the edge of that 300 foot drop, comprehending whether it would definitely be high enough for me to die, rather than just severely injure me, should I jump off. It wasn’t one single thing but actually the accumulation of poor mental health over the majority of my lifetime stretching back to when I was a child.

Thankfully, I gave myself time to settle down from the floods of tears that I was in and to focus on my breathing. Once I calmed down, I was able to gain some perspective again. The first thing I noticed were the butterflies, the ants and other small bugs going about their daily lives. I realised that life is very simple if you let it be.

I then thought again of my two amazing sons Austin and Aidan and I considered what life might be like for them if I wasn’t there. And whilst part of me thought I might stop causing disruption to their life, if I wasn’t there, I also realised that they would need me and that it would be incredibly selfish of me to not be there for them.

I also thought of my beautiful wife, Keren, and how much support and love she has given me over the years. I knew that I wanted to be there for all of them but that I needed some serious help.

Over the following 18 months I sought out many different avenues of support and my mental health significantly improved.

Much like physical health and fitness, fixing or improving your mental health is not a one time job. Just as we need to exercise regularly to keep good physical health and fitness, we need to exercise and train our minds regularly to attain and maintain good mental health.

Personally I have been able to invest significant amounts of money into helping myself with my mental health.

Unfortunately, many people do not have access to funds for facilities and practitioners that can help them and rely upon charities and other free services. This is why I am raising money and awareness, so that anyone who needs it, can access support.

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is a suicide prevention charity. They’ve got loads of tools and resources to help people find the support they need, including a life-saving helpline for people who can’t see a way forward, have lost someone to suicide, or are worried about their friends or loved ones.

£12.20 is enough to fund one potentially life-saving call.

Focusing on my physical fitness has helped me with my mental health and training for a marathon will require planning, focus and discipline. This is my very first marathon and if my efforts can encourage you to donate and talk about preventing suicide, then the hours of training, muscle soreness, blisters and missed socials will all be worth it

Together, I truly believe that if we continue the conversation around mental health, and invest in further research and services, we can both prevent and treat poor mental health.

Life is incredibly valuable. It can be challenging at times but suicide is a permanent solution to what can be a short term problem with the right support.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your support.