This time in four weeks I hope to be sat down in front of the telly box with a huge tub of chocolate fudge brownie flavoured Ben & Jerry's ice cream toasting a job well done rather than a commiserative 'I got knackered after one mountain and had to stop' prize. Time really does fly. It only seems like yesterday I finished my degree and now with the trek insight, starting my Masters course is only just round the corner.
I have been looking forward to doing the UK 24 Hour Three Peaks Challenge for a long time. I would have liked to have done it earlier in the summer, but with uni it was diffcult to commit the time needed to train/fundraise.
With the money I have recieved and what I have been promised by others, I'm really close to the £550 fundraising mark I need to reach for Mind. If I can get there before I head off to Scotland on September 6th it would just be amazing. Mind's a fantastic charity who do such great work in helping people struggling with mental health problems. It is a cause very close to my own heart for reasons I shared in a Mind blog post back in March. Mental health is something I have had to deal with first hand and something I am still dealing with now. Thankfully I am most certainly on the up, feeling better and a hell of a lot more like myself than I have done for a long, long time. Hopefully, after spending over nine months (of a third spell) so far on anti-depressants, I'll be able to come off them in the not so distant future. 
Unfortunately not everyone is in my situation. I am lucky not just that I am feeling a lot better, but I was able to get treatment; both in regards to medication and CBT for both OCD and depression. Not everyone is so fortunate and that is why charities like Mind are so important in not just raising awareness, but supporting people in dire need of help. Your money, if you are able to donate anything at all, will not go to waste. It really is vital what they (Mind) provide to so many people. On that note, I'd like to once again congratulate everyone behind the brilliant BBC Three two-part programme Extreme OCD Camp. It was great to see OCD portrayed in the 'right' way, rather than the misguided stereotypes other shows such as Channel 4's Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners reinforced. The six participants Imogen, Jack, Megan, Andrew, Olivia and Josh deserve so much credit for what they did. They deserve all the praise they've been getting! On a personal note, it was fantastic to recieve such positive feedback from some of the guys involved, as well as Pete the camp leader, about the reviews I wrote for Mind about the show. It was rather humbling, but it was extremely easy to write such positive reviews after they put together such a marvelous show.
If anyone's interested in reading my reviews:
Episode One: http://www.mind.org.uk/blog/9328_what_i_thought_of_extreme_ocd_camp
Episode Two: http://www.mind.org.uk/blog/9379_extreme_ocd_camp_episode_two
A few other shout outs:
From tomorrow I will be taking over the Making Mental Heath Positive Twitter account,
so please give them a follow. (Best to put my Twitter addiction to better use...)
(Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakingMentalHealthPositive)
Also I'd best not forget the OCD Action Youth Network saying as I'm a member of the panel (YAP)... So please give us a follow on Twitter as we look to increase awareness of the disorder amongst the younger generations.
So yeah, the next 26 days are now being classified as 'Three Peaks Extreme Training'. It's time to pull the old exercise bike from the shed I reckon.
If anyone would like to donate to my page you can find the link here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Milkwasabadchoice&isTeam=true.
Any sort of donation would just be extremely appreciated. Thank you all so much to those who have already donated!
Here's the time frame of the walk:
Friday 6th September:
Meet at Chester and travel to Scotland for overnight accomodation in the Ben Nevis area.
Saturday 7th September:
7:30am: Begin ascent of Ben Nevis
12:45pm: Return to the minibus and head back down South to England to head to Scafell Pike.
6:45pm: Begin ascent of Scafell Pike. (Night walking!)
Sunday 8th September:
12am: Return to the minibus and head to Wales to climb Snowdon.
4am: Begin ascent of Snowdon (headtorches required!)
8:20am: Hope to have finished Snowdon and be having a celebratory breakfast!
Cheers everyone.
Matt.
