Mental Health Matters

Hello! My name is Georgia McDade, and I am in Priory House and in the 4th Form. In March, I decided to join a running challenge to support the mental health charity called Mind. The challenge was to run 27 miles in 27 days. I did the challenge alongside Liv Hooker (Priory 5th Form), Bella Turton (Priory L6th Form) and Isca Bird (Priory U6th Form).

Together we ran 141.1 miles, and we raised the absolutely incredible amount of £1,153.50!

I wanted to use this article to thank everyone for their amazing support and extremely generous donations. I hope through seeing us participate in this and understanding the important message that Mind promotes, it will have encouraged you to speak up if you feel as though you need help, or to sympathise for those around you who may have had a tough time throughout lockdown.

I have learnt that checking up on your friends, family or loved ones is vital during times where one can feel so isolated and alone, and a call or a message can really change someone’s mindset as to how they view their life in that present moment.

This year has been a challenging year in many ways - especially for people’s mental health. According to BBC News, the number of girls aged 11-16 with a probable mental health issue has increased from 13.9% in 2017, to 20.1% in 2020. This means that now currently, 1 in 5 girls aged 11-16 have a mental health issue. Numbers have increased by 4% in boys too. Furthermore, excluding dementia, 75% of mental health issues are developed before the age of 18. Mental health does not solely affect children. 1 in 6 working-age adults have symptoms associated with mental ill health. However awful these statistics may sound; they were some of the reasons that inspired me to do the challenge and are unfortunately, the reality around us that we have to accept and work together to change.

There also came a point during the challenge where I had completed the target of 27 miles, on around day 14. My legs were tired, due to me doing a lot of running before the challenge, the weather was horrible, and all I wished for was a rest day. On that day, my dad said something to me that has stuck with me throughout the challenge.

He said, ‘People with mental health issues don’t get rest days.’ So, from then on, when I was struggling up that hill, or wanting to lie in bed instead of running, I would think of that line and remember how lucky I am to have the support of friends and family, and how a lot of people are not as lucky as me and could really use the help of charities like Mind, to make their lives better.

And after all, you can’t run away from depression, or anxiety, or other mental health issues - but you can run towards a better future and you can run towards help. I wanted to run the miles, and I wanted to raise awareness for mental health. But most importantly, I wanted people to know that mental health matters.