‘This is for you, for mental health is universal.’

02/02/2015
Molly Perryman

Credit: Becky Dudley

Becky Dudley, a 17 year old sixth form student in Bristol, has set herself a target this year for a good cause.

‘One in four people will experience mental health issues over the course of a year.’ It’s not uncommon and Becky understands what it is like to suffer from mental health from her past experiences and has shown there is a way to get things better by overcoming some of the struggles she faced.

Becky is setting herself a goal of raising £2015 this year to go towards mental health research to help other people who may be going through a rough time as she feels mental health services need more support and awareness so people can understand that mental health is a big part of people’s lives.

Credit: Becky Dudley

Previously, Becky shaved her hair to raise £608.13 to raise money for mental health charity Mind.org.uk and was surprised how supportive people were in helping her raise the funds to make a difference to others – Mind.org offer advice and support to sufferers of mental health. This year she has is aiming to raise nearly three and a half times more than she has before. The charity Becky is fundraising for this year is Mental Health Research UK as she feels the current five percent of research going into mental health is not enough, therefore is hoping to generally raise awareness of these things through the £2015 in 2015 challenge.

Becky says, ‘mental health problems are not a sign of weakness. They’re just a sign that something’s going wrong. I truly believe that one day we will see a world where mental health is treated in an open and positive manner. However, I also believe that one day, we will see a world where mental health is more truly understood and where problems are much, much easier to cure’. Becky also says she is not fundraising for herself but for everyone else in the world who needs that help and/or awareness. For the people she loves, who deserve better to the next generation so that they may grow up in a world where there is less chance of them falling prey to their own minds.

‘This is for you, for mental health is universal.’

Becky is fund-raising in many ways from dressing up as a unicorn the first day of each month to hosting quizzes (she has already raised over £70 from one quiz!), holding assemblies about mental health to schools to raise awareness, planning to run marathons and organising bigger events for later in the year for World Mental Health day in October. She is also writing a blog alongside her challenge this year which you can check out here, as well as updating everyone on Facebook and Twitter which you should check out to see how you can help Becky with raising the money for a good cause.

Want to find out more about mental health services and awareness in Bristol? Off The Record offer help and support for young people in Bristol and even have their own youth led mental health awareness group ‘Mentality’ in which you can check out their Facebook page here.

If you are reading this and wish to donate to Becky’s £2015 in 2015 challenge, her fundraising page is here.

Raised money for charity? Feel strongly about mental health? Let us know @rifemag

‘Silver Linings: The Stigma Around Mental Health’ by Chloe Crowther