Hi, I’m Nigel, and I’ve had my own struggles with mental health over the past year or two. Mental health in men is often seen as a taboo subject. Mental health can be uncomfortable about opening up, often due to toxic masculinity.

Last year I was rushed into hospital due to suffering a medical episode brought on by deteriorating mental health. For this men’s mental health month I wanted to challenge myself to achieve something both to improve my own mental wellbeing and raise money for a mental health charity. For my charity I’ve chosen MindOut. My challenge is to walk and/or run at least 5k a day during the month of November. Quite a challenge given my exercises are often quite sporadic. I’ll be documenting my journey on social media and posting updates if workouts to document my daily achievement.

More information about MindOut: MindOut works to improve the wellbeing of lesbians, gay men, bisexual, trans and queer people who have lived experience of mental health issues. We run innovative community services. We promote the rights and interests of LGBTQ people. We work to end stigma towards LGBTQ mental health and stigma about mental health within LGBTQ communities. We encourage development of good mental health services for LGBTQ people and promote good mental health.