I am not going to go into detail on my own story, only that it is rooted in a trauma my wife and I experienced in late 2018. On reflection I realise now, at the time, I took a big gulp and swallowed this, suppressing the images, thoughts and any emotion I had about it. I went into survival mode, putting my own mental well-being firmly in the backseat, and doing everything I could to try and get us through this difficult period. I distanced myself from my closest friends, and did all I could to keep up the facade that everything was OK. 

It took me almost a year to begin to appreciate what this did to my own mental health and while I am taking steps to understand more, I want to make a difference by raising awareness and try to help remove the stigma, particularly for men, attached to speaking up about their own mental health. For me, I feel the first step has been to be honest when someone asks: "How are you?" - and realising that it is OK to not be OK. 

Having read up on the statistics associated with the issues around mental health and the lack of provision out there for people to get the help they need; it struck me that I needed to do something. One particular statistic that has really saddened me recently, is that suicide is the leading cause of death in men between the ages 20-40 in the UK. For a so called Western, advanced society, that statistic is truly shocking.

So, I am running the Bath Half Marathon. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a runner. I have extensive experience in spectating various running events, where my far fitter and more naturally gifted wife has previously thrown the down the gauntlet. My experience thus far in running has previously been within a team sports setting, preferably with a rugby ball and more recently the odd 5K Park Run - primarily for the promise of a social brunch immediately afterwards. However, I am a very competitive person, and I will be doing everything in my power to beat her previous times!

Please donate what you can - or at the very least share this post to help raise awareness and the work of this fantastic charity. 

Thanks for reading ....

We're Bath Mind. With your support, we can continue to promote and nurture everyone's mental health through the provision of information, activities, advice and support. Although we are affiliated to the national Mind charity, we are local and independent, and receive no direct funding.It's predicted that 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem. But we at Bath Mind believe in the 1 in 1, that every person has mental health, and deserves to have access to support and services without the fear of discrimination.