I am attempting to run the London Marathon on 26th April 2015 to raise money for the mental health charity MIND. I say attempting, because the furthest I have ever run is 13.1 miles and that was enough! It is going to be tough physically, as I have never attempted something like this before, and it will have its own mental challenges with the long hours of training ahead of me.

So why am I doing this?

I want to support the charity MIND to raise awareness about the great support that they offer, as well as help bring an end to the stigma that is attached to those who suffer from mental health problems.

I went through a period of depression that nearly lost me my job, friends and family. Luckily I had a family, who even when I chose to isolate myself from the world, stuck by me and helped me get through the other end of this depression. I also had a very kind GP and friends who refused to give up on me. It was a tough road to recovery, but with their help I have realised what led me to become depressed.

Becoming depressed changed my outlook on life and what my priorities are. I had a good support network of friends and family to get me through this difficult time. It was after this that I did some research into depression and came across MIND. I wish I had known about this charity when I was going through my depression, as it would have made the world of difference to know I was not alone in battling with this issue.

That is why I am raising money for MIND. I was lucky enough to have friends and family to support me. There are those who are not so fortunate to have the same level of support and understanding. They suffer in silence and are alone. I am running the London Marathon for those people.

What does MIND do?

I could try explain what depression was like for me from a personal perspective, how I experienced the stigma attached to depression and the difficulties I faced in getting help. Though I think MIND do the best job of that themselves. Please do take a look at the link; not only to see what sort of cause you are supporting, but also to understand what people with depression go through: http://www.mind.org.uk/

Why should you donate?

Essentially MIND helps people overcome their particular mental health illness and offering support to family and friends of someone suffering with depression.

Depression may not be as obvious as a physical injury or illness, but it can still have just a dramatic effect upon the person suffering from depression as well as their friends/ family. King’s College London put the cost of mental health illness in the UK at £105.6 billion in 2010- through indirect and direct effects (http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/campaigns/MHF-Business-case-for-MH-research-Nov2010.pdf).

On an individual level it is harder to calculate for a whole variety of reasons; due to the many of causes of depression, how the person copes with experiencing depression, the support or lack of support networks etc. What is clear is that depression can have a whole host of direct and indirect costs for the person, their friends/ family as well as society.

What I am doing to fundraise?

Besides the long and hard training sessions for the London Marathon, I am also:-

-          Taking part in a Dryathlon between January to February, which involves not drinking any alcohol during these months. If I do, I will be paying a silly amount for each day that I have a drink. I will be paying £15 to drink on the night of the TV awards in January but that is the only time I am drinking.

-          I will be hosting a quiz at work. It won’t be as funny as The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, but it will still be a good laugh.

-     Have had a cake sale.

You can never know what life is going to throw at you and we all need help from somebody from time to time. I hope you can donate for those people, who are not fortunate enough to have friends or family to pick them up when they are down.

Thank you for taking the time to read my JustGiving page.