Move for Movember

I wanted to write today about mental health and in particular, mental health and suicide prevention for men. Across the globe, men die on average six years earlier than women. One of the saddest statistics here is that sixty men, often young men, take their own lives every sixty minutes. Movember is working to help men stay mentally healthy, but they can’t do it alone. Please donate to my #Movember efforts and support men's health. I'm taking part in Move to raise funds for #Movember, and I need your help. Before we get into this, I wanted to explain why this is a cause that I am so passionate about.

Over thirty years ago, I struggled with depression, my mental health at an all time low. It was a battle which, but for a twist of fate and the bravery of three of my friends, would have ended with me being one of the sixty.

There are still many people out there who do not see conditions like depression as an illness. Just like a physical illness, if mental illness is not treated, there is a huge risk that it will get worse. Like a physical illness, therapy and medicine can and will help and just like a physical illness, recognizing that there is a problem as early as possible makes a successful outcome more likely. In my case, although I was away from home, I had a loving family, good friends and physically, was in the best shape of my life. I was young and had everything to live for, the problem was, I didn't see it that way.

I saw the world through a different lens, I felt like a burden to those that loved me, I just couldn't see a way forward. Some describe that state as being like carrying a heavy physical weight, others talk of darkness surrounding them, Churchill called it black dog. For me, it was the loss of hope, the future looked bleak and the present just hurt too much. I felt helpless and lost and was sure (incorrectly) that no-one could help. In these situations it is critical that you get help and get it early. I got help, my friends helped me and I am eternally grateful for what they did for me and for every moment I have enjoyed since. I probably haven't told them that enough.

Movember works to develop successful, scalable models to improve the mental health and wellbeing of men. It looks to challenge myths and raise awareness and through all of this work, hopefully increase the frequency of successful and early interventions that prevent men taking their own lives.

As we came into November, sorry Movember, I was recovering from COVID-19 and so decided to challenge myself with a move goal. The standard distance is 60km to represent the 60 men per hour who tragically look to take a permanent way out of a temporary problem. I decided to double that and go for 120km. I think I'm going to smash that, I'm already at 80km, and so half way through the month, I am asking for a little bit more help from my friends and am prepared to now try to walk a further 120km before month's end and take the total target to 200km.

If you want to help me, please follow the link below, but more importantly, always stay connected with those that you love, never give up on them and always be aware that even if they say they are ok, they may not be. Thank-you.

Donating is easy. Just follow the link to my Mo Space below. Once you’re there, you’ll also be able to track my progress to my distance goal. 

https://movember.com/m/14432011?mc=1

Thanks for reading

Andy