Tara's 10k Sea Swim for Mental Health

At the end of September I will be swimming in the The Outdoor Swimming Society's  open water event called the Hurly Burly. This is a 10k estuary swim from Barmouth beach to Penmaenpool in North Wales.

I have chosen to raise money for two great charities:

Papyrus - for the prevention of young suicide


Cymdeithas Eryri/Snodonia Society -who work hard to protect the natural landscape and wildlife of the National Park I grew up in. The outdoors has helped me tackle my own issues of late, and this brilliant organisation is protecting that very thing.



Why I chose these charities?


Mental health issues effect 1 in 6 adults in the UK, with the stats for children and young people rising every year. Thankfully, awareness has grown too with more and more people being able to access services to help them overcome and manage their mental health.





But there is still a stigma in our society. Not just stigma, a parasite.

This years theme for 'Mental Health Awareness Week' was body image. One of the leading causes of depression, anxiety, anorexia and bulimia...is low self esteem and negative body image. We are still told we are not thin enough, toned enough, pretty enough, good enough.

I don't need to tell you how much media is to blame for this.

A generation which has grown up in the technological age, the age of social media and access to pretty much anything online, is also the generation where suicide is their biggest killer.

Like many others, I have seen what mental health illnesses can do to people. The 'I'm fine' shell can soon crumble, and without adequate support it can be impossible to piece yourself together again. This is even more upsetting when it is a child. Over 200 school children are lost to suicide every year. 200 young lives who should be dreaming of the adventures to be had-gone.

Too many people feel lost and alone in our communities. We need to speak out and speak up about mental health. Raise generations who can speak openly about how they feel, and aim to not have a suicide statistic for children.



Any donations will be massively appreciated.

I am training hard in the hope to not sink. If you would like to follow my swimming journey follow my Instagram  account (I'm too much of a technophobe to write a blog).


Let's just hope on the day we have beautiful, calm weather like the sea photo below.