Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.

I am supporting Shaveril and the mental health charity MIND, not just to raise money for the charity's amazing work providing mental health care, lobbying, educating and decreasing stigma, but also to raise awareness of men's mental health in general. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and we need not to be silent about this. Yet, talking about mental health and mental illness is not always easy. 

As a mental health nurse, lecturer, and Head of Department of Mental Health Nursing at King's College London, there have been times when I have found it hard to talk about my own mental health and unnecessarily delayed seeing my GP or asking for help. I have lost friends who have no longer been able to tolerate the psychache of feeling like the only solution to their problems is to end their life. It is an intense and overwhelming feeling - but there is help, and even being able to tolerate the feeling for a short while can be enough for it to pass. 

Talk to someone - a friend; your GP; the Samaritans call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or in an emergency, visit your local A&E department and ask to see someone from the liaison psychiatry team. 

Thank you for your donation, however LARGE or small! And if your are currently sporting a fine hipster beard, might you consider joining in too?

Ianx