Mental health is something that we take for granted and don’t sometimes understand when people are struggling.

In March 2022, I lost my father. A month later I was made redundant for the first time in my life, with limited savings. Two months after that I found out that my marriage was over and my world turned upside down. So much of what I had known and relied on was taken away from me in the space of 3 months.

I mentally collapsed and had to get psychiatric help. After diagnosis it was determined I’d had mental health issues for a few years (I was a high functioning depressive) and so those three events in close succession - particularly the last one - caused a mental trauma.

From there I spent the next 10 months attending a psychologist and with her help and the support of some good friends I was able to recover and rebuild my mental and emotional self.

Having now so much more self awareness and awareness of the struggles of others, I decided to take part in a Bodybuilding competition to raise money for Mind to support their work.

Please support if you can. We all struggle at times and most of us don’t realize the extent of our own problems or their effect on us and our relationships.

I will be posting updates on social media of my last week before the competition, having spent the past 6 months in the gym, 3hrs a day, 6 days a week and now having to get a full body wax before going on stage!