Shaun's Year of Challenges: Mental Health Matters

Hey Everyone,

My name is Shaun and during 2024 I will be on a journey to make an impact on mental health with a series of tough challenges throughout the year and I need YOUR support!

Why Am I Doing This?

As someone who as struggled massively with my own mental health issues it's very close to my heart. I’ve battled with panic attacks to the point I became obsessed with monitoring my own heart rate, I've battled with depression and isolating myself from the outside and becoming very reclusive.

I'm not 100% but I am a lot better now than I ever have been. More recently I attend Live Great Adventures Men’s Minds Matter group sessions along with their Walk & Talk events and I have felt a huge benefit since I have started to open up and talk about my issues rather than bottling them up.

It’s my goal to raise awareness and help get the message across that #itsoktonotbeok along with raise funds for Live Great Adventures to support them to continue their mission to provide support, awareness and services that will help people with their mental well-being.

What Am I Doing To Raise Awareness & Funds?

Every month I'm committed to completing what I would classify as a tough challenge, over the years I have completed the Edinburgh marathon, cycled from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea for a children’s charity. However, this was many years ago.

This January, I kicked off the year with a challenge - completing 2,024 press-ups to start off 2024, 66 press-ups a day for 31 days. I completed a marathon in hikes across a weekend and did a 28k running challenge in a week after not running regularly for years!

February brings a unique challenge - pulling a tire for 22 miles around the Edale Skyline over Win Hill, Kinder Scout and Mam Tor. I’m doing this to represent the daily struggles people with mental health have to drag around with them daily. I will also be doing 1000 sit ups, bring sally up marines challenge along with a self reflection mindset challenge.

March will bring another tough challenge where I will be carrying weights and a bar up Mt. Snowdon, doing a full gym workout at the top, totalling 1100 reps, mirroring the mountain's height in meters, Mt Snowdon alone can be a hard challenge but adding the extra weight and workout will make this very tough on both the body and the mind to complete.

Throughout 2024, I'm committed to more challenges, including a Tough Mudder event and various others. Ideas are always welcome. This is all aimed at raising funds for mental health initiatives.

Please help me in this mission by donating anything you can, all the funds will be going to Live Great Adventures to help them to keep providing a roof over us for our group meetings and keep pushing awareness out to everyone.

More About Live Great Adventures

Our names are Liam & Jo, Live Great Adventures was born through a desire to support people through their mental health struggles as have both suffered ourselves throughout our lives. At Live Great Adventures, our primary focus lies in suicide prevention and mental health support, both of which we address through a series of impactful events and services tailored to our community's needs.

Our unwavering ethos is to improve lives and we are passionately dedicated to breaking the silence surrounding mental health, creating a safe haven for vulnerable adults to forge connections, nurture their well-being, and cultivate a positive mindset.

You can find more information on the charity here:

http://www.livegreatadventures.co.uk/