Mind – My Way To say Thank You

It is one month to go until the London Marathon. I always had the intention of raising money for a charity. I had even decided which charity it would be, but had not got around to doing anything about it.

I have now. The charity that I am running for is Mind:

We’re Mind, the mental health charity. We believe no one should have to face a mental health problem alone. We’re here for you. Today. Now. Whether you’re stressed, depressed or in crisis. We’ll listen, give support and advice, and fight your corner.

In today’s world more and more of us are affected by some type of mental illness, whether it is themselves, a family member or a friend. After the birth of my children I suffered from Post Natal Depression. It was a horrible time and I honestly didn’t believe that I would ever get any better. I was lucky. I did.

It took me a long time to actually come to terms with it and admit that it was a problem I had. When I was signed off sick I was worried about what my employer would think, that it would remain on my records and effect my working life for ever more. In the end I was persuaded  to stop working for a while to concentrate on me and my family.

My Name is …….. and I suffered from Post Natal Depression

I threw everything that I could at it and, slowly began to recover. As I did so I spoke to others, telling them that I had suffered from PND. Their response was amazing. Most said that they had no idea – I had hidden it well (as most people do) and suffered at home, with my family the only witnesses. The other was how often others said something along the lines of

yes I had that too!

Talking about it

It is my belief that the more we talk about it (any form of mental illness) then the less stigma there will be and the easier it will be for people to seek and get help. I was one of the lucky ones. I have made a full recovery and feel better now than I have for a long time. I learnt a lot through my journey.

Thank you

Raising money for Mind is my way of saying thank you to the people who helped me. It gives me a chance to share my experience, and hopefully be one tiny step to ‘normalising’ mental health a bit.

Should you wish to support me then you can sponsor me be following this link. I have no minimum amount of money to raise – anything I get will be a bonus to me and the charity. Every penny will help me to drag myself through the difficult times that I know I will go through on Sunday 13th April as I attempt to get around 26.2 miles.

Thank you. xxx