Hi 

Firstly thanks for checking out my JustGiving page. You've got this far, maybe you want to take that extra step. 

You may not know that I’ve suffered with anxiety and depression (it's easy to hide as I discovered) over the past few years, it probably goes beyond that too. It's something I'd never really recognised and addressed until 12 months ago. It's affected me both physically and mentally and is one hell of a rocky road, though these past few months I've certainly felt a lot better. I’ve turned to many things to help me cope, alcohol being a massive, albeit contradictory crutch, I've also shut myself away from those closest to me, blocking out certain parts of my life. At times it felt like I was merely a husk, masquerading as someone who identified as ‘Justin’.

I’ve had to learn to forgive some hard truths about my life, to accept 'me' for who I am and embrace what that means. Learning to be authentically myself, has been a real journey of self-discovery.

A lot of this wouldn’t have been possible without some of the professional help I’ve sought out to help me through. Both through the NHS and privately and even more importantly the love and support of my family and friends.

As this is has had such an impact on me, I want to give something back – to continue to raise the profile of mental health awareness and wellbeing, and to help challenge its associated stigma. Many of you will be aware of the statistics, approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.  In England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.  Talking to friends and family I realised just how common it is within my own social circle. Many of us suffer from some sort of mental health issue, whether in the past or right now, or even just recognising that people are having a tough time and being able to know what the signs of it are. 

So, I’ve signed up for the South Coast Action Challenge, which takes place on 25 August this year. It’s a 100km race over 24 hours. The mental and physical determination it requires, both in terms of training and on the actual race day will be tough no doubt. As someone who’s run half and full marathons in the past, I’m speaking from personal experience and this is a big step-up.

I’ve set up this JustGiving page for the charity, Mind, who in their own words “Provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.” If you’d like to donate, that would be awesome. It’s not all about the money though, just by reading through this blog you've already given me massive support. 

I’m going to continue to give updates on my training progress, physically and mentally. I may even stretch to some vlogging, so watch this space.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. My friends, colleagues and family are so important to me and I cherish your kindness, support and love more than anything.

Justin.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.