My names Ella, I’m a 17 year old girl who has struggled with complex mental health issues for a lot of her life and this July I’m running the London Saucony 10K for CALM

From just the age of 11 I began to struggle with suicidal ideation, I didn’t know what to do so kept quiet out of the fear of being judged. When I was 14 I had my first suicide attempt, due to the strain on mental health services and my age i was dismissed by doctors and it was assumed I just didn’t understand what i had done, this wasn’t true. I was discharged once medically stable with no support and simply a two page information leaflet given to my mum. Parents aren’t told to learn how to support children with complex mental health needs or suicidal behaviours. This led to a following attempt later that year that led to a referral for CAMHS, although the referral was quick the support wasn’t enough and I was stuck in a crisis, relapse, a&e, crisis team, discharge cycle for years. My mum had to learn how to keep me safe and sometimes watch me 24 hours a day, mental health services just expected her to know how to cope and deal with this.

Now I’m older and have started my journey to recovery I can confidently say things are looking up, Although I know this isn’t the case for some young people. Right now suicide is the biggest cause of death for those aged under 24. As a completely preventable cause of death this needs to change.

Campaign against living miserably (CALM) is a suicide prevention charity that offers support, tools and resources to those struggling with suicidal ideation but also those affected by suicide or worried about a friend or a loved one. £12.20 is enough to fund one potentially life-saving call, this could be someone at breaking point or a parent worried about their child needing advice as to what to do next.