Liz’s Charity Hike for Mind Mental Health
by Liz | 17 Feb 
3 min
On the 9th of May this year, I’m going to get up in the middle of the night, put on my hiking boots and trek up Wales’ highest mountain (Mount Snowdon) in the pitch dark…why would someone do such an extreme thing you might ask?
I’m doing it because I want to help raise vital funds for one of the biggest mental health charities in England and Wales – Mind. This isn’t the first time that I’ve done something a bit extreme to raise funds for Mind. In September 2017, a friend and I completed a 24-hour hike in the Lake District and raised almost £2,000.
In the UK, in any given year, approx. 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health issue.
Mind
The sad reality is that a lot of people don’t know how to reach out for help, or if they do, it can take them years to find solutions that work for them. Some people never do.
Let me paint a picture of what this might be like…
What was the first thing you did this morning? Did you hop out of bed, jump in the shower and were you ready to have breakfast 10 minutes later? Imagine waking up in the morning and not having the ability to get out of your bed because the thoughts in your mind don’t allow you to move your limbs toward the side of the bed to get out? It’s nothing to do with not wanting to get out of bed. It’s just that your brain is so saturated with anxious and depressive thoughts that it won’t let any bodily movement happen.
After you finished your breakfast this morning, did you pick up your phone to scroll though messages, read the news or call a family member? Imagine looking at your phone and being aware that it is a tool that you frequently use, but you can’t remember how it works or what you use it for? So all you can do is stare at it in bewilderment because you don’t know what to do next.
For someone who hasn’t experienced mental health issues, the above scenarios may seem difficult to understand or maybe not even possible, but they are real and can be really disabling.
This is where Mind steps in…
Mind provides a mammoth amount of support services and information to people affected by mental health issues and their families, including information telephone lines, Elefriends – an online peer support group, a legal information line, local support groups, and campaigns to help reduce stigma and highlight important issues. There is not really much they don’t do – find out more on the Mind website here
They (and plenty of other mental health charities) do so much amazing work. They change – and save – people’s lives every day. It’s really inspiring.
So if I can help them, even a little bit, by getting up in the middle of the night to hike up Mount Snowdon, then that’s what I’m going to do!
Support Liz and Mind via JustGiving here
