Lancaster friends share candid experiences of mental health ahead of fundraising relay race

Michael Padfield, 20, and 14 of his former schoolfriends from Lancaster Royal Grammar School are aiming to 'normalise' conversations around mental health.

One of them will be running at every minute of the day, including through the night, from June 17 to 18.

The young men have published candid interviews on a dedicated Instagram page baring all about their own battles, which has already attracted hundreds of views and messages of support.

Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK, and any funds they raise will go to Lancashire founded charity Papyrus, which aims to prevent young suicides.

Between 2016 and 2018, 371 people in Lancashire took their own life and 278 were men.

Residents of Lancaster, Chorley and Preston accounted for more than a third of the deaths from suicide and injury of undetermined intent in the county, excluding Blackpool and Blackburn.

The county saw 775 hospital admissions of young people aged 10 to 19 in 2018 to 2019 as a result of self harm, according to Public Health England figures.

And between 2013 and 2017, 105 boys and men, from 10 to 34, took their own lives in the county.

Michael said: " As young men we are the worst for talking about our feelings.

"Whilst raising money is important - so far we have raised almost £2,500 - our aim is to break the stigma around mental health.

"On our page we have done a series of interviews with the lads talking very bravely and in depth about their own mental health. So far we have covered topics such as anxiety, depression, social media, and grief - and there is a lot more to come.

"One of us will be running at every minute of the day, including through the night, from June 17 to 18.

"We have been inundated with messages praising these lads for their courage in speaking so openly and we really feel that we are making a difference."

In one video, athlete Jacob Thomas spoke of his challenge with anxiety and said: "Mental health is a big part of our lives that we didn't really speak about.

"I was always a 'bad kid' in terms of when I got ill I used to think I would die, like from tonsillitis, but my anxiety got bad when I was 16, 17 and it was all based around death and fear.

"For normal people my thoughts would seem very irrational, but to me I was constantly thinking I was going to die, or something was going to kill me.

"And so I really struggled with that for a year or so. It was hard to speak to my friends about it.

"The difficult thing for me was that I wasn't feeling suicidal, so I just viewed it as, well if I'm not feeling suicidal I'm just going to have to live with it."

Participant Connor Parkinson, described how his dad passing away when he was six months old, affected his confidence and feelings of isolation as a teenager.

He said: " As a group of young lads it's important we acknowledge the impact mental health has on ourselves.

"At the time I had all these problems going in my head and I couldn't link it to anything and I didn't understand it. I just completely fell apart.

Morecambe football legend Kevin Ellison and MP Cat Smith have also lent their support to the movement.

You can donate at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/1dayrelay