Thanks for visiting my JustGiving Page.

Beginning to write this, I already feel as though I have a tough job convincing people to sponsor me on behalf of this particular charity. I know there is still an awful lot of stigma surrounding mental health issues and I know that there are people who struggle to understand or sympathise with people suffering from mental health problems.

I remember as a teenager thinking that it was only crazy, wierd people who saw therapists or who had counselling. But just over five years ago, under tragic circumstances, I decided to seek counselling for myself. I think it was only then that I really began to understand that it isn’t something to be ashamed of. I found counselling an enormous help and not just for the reasons I initially started going. I wouldn’t say that I suffered particularly from any mental health illness as such but I had certainly been through what was a very distressing time and I realise now that it was important and necessary for my emotional wellbeing to have the counselling. We all go to the doctors when we don’t feel physically well so why shouldn’t we go to see a counsellor when we are emotionally unwell?

Over the last two years, for various reasons, my awareness and understanding of mental health problems has increased. First of all, I moved into a flat with Stacey, a child and adolescent psychotherapist. She deals with young people and their mental health on a daily basis. At the same time as moving in with Stacey, I began working as a teacher in a large secondary school, where I am learning more and more of how prominent mental health issues are among young people. 1 in 10 young people aged 5-16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder – that’s three people in every class.

Then, about a year ago, I learned that someone very close to me had been suffering with their own mental health problems. My younger brother, Joe, now 18, had sought counselling through his school initially, but unfortunately he felt that this hadn’t helped with his problems. With the encouragement of his school, he opened up to my parents about how he was feeling and about the counselling he'd had. My parents were very understanding and supportive and helped him to seek further professional help. Joe has been seeing a psychotherapist for nearly a year now and has overcome many of his problems, including his own stigma towards mental health issues. As part of this journey, he has also undertaken a course of antidepressants but it is with the on-going support of his psychotherapist that he continues to make great progress.

It was Joe who first introduced me to Mind, the mental health charity. He has found a lot of advice and comfort from their website, including blogs written by other young people suffering from mental health problems. It has helped him to understand that these issues are common and not something to be ashamed of.

At the end of the last school year, I was given the position of Health Coordinator in my school. My main aim in this role was to raise awareness of mental health issues within my school. By doing this I have learnt so much more, not only about mental health issues but also about the charity itself. Mind provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. Their infoline answers around 700 calls a week from people who need information and support.

100,000 people in England and Wales will spend time in hospital for a mental health problem this year. But in today's economic climate, as with many things, funding for mental health care has been reduced and yet the number of people seeking professional help is increasing. Without chartities like Mind, these people would have noone to turn to for advice and support. And without the help they need, they might become one of over 100 people in the UK who take their own lives every week.

Please show your support and sponsor me, however small, in aid of Mind so that more people, like my brother, get the help they need in time.