Cover photo by Honor Elliott https://www.honorelliott.com/

I'm taking part in Ride London 2022 for Samaritans. 

People I love have called Samaritans, I've used their email service, and as primary and secondary mental services continue to be slashed, demand will continue to rise. In the UK and Ireland, roughly every 90 minutes someone dies by suicide. In an hour, Samaritans respond to roughly 400 calls from people who are at crisis point. 

2021 marked five years since I last tried to end my life. At that time, my life seemed hopeless and beyond repair. My life is very different now, and 24-year-old me could not have imagined how much better things could be. It gets better but I still live with chronic mental health conditions, and the last few months have been particularly difficult.

Cycling isn't a substitute for therapy and it isn't going to fix my or anyone else's chronic mental health conditions. At points I've used cycling to make myself feel even worse, but I want to remember why I started in the first place- because it's fun. For me, focusing on raising some money and talking about mental health is a much more important goal than completing it in the fastest time. Having a fundraising goal will help keep me on track with this. 

This is a political problem requiring political solutions, but in the mean time charities like Samaritans are doing (literal) life-saving work. If you can donate a few quid I would be very grateful, and it'll definitely help me drag myself onto my bike and get ready for May 29th.

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.