This weekend, Heather is taking on the challenge of walking the Yorkshire 3 peaks in the hope of raising awareness and money for Oxfordshire Mind.
Heather is taking on this brilliant challenge in support of her 17 year old daughter who has struggled with anxiety this past year.
Heather told us their story:
‘I have 3 grown up kids and my middle daughter who is 17 has struggled this past year with Anxiety, she was always the loud, confident one of the family, so it was a shock to us all, including her.
We have used [Oxfordshire Minds] website for information on how to help both her and us as a family and through the information it has helped, she no longer feels scared or weird due to her feelings and has learned to help herself (like getting decent sleep, avoiding caffeine, eating healthier) and most of all talking! She has seen a councillor at college and she helped too. While I’m sure this isn’t the end of her getting anxiety and it will probably re surface at times of stress or worries, I believe due to all the information and help available it will help her more in the future.
It was a very scary and lonely place for my daughter and it was heart breaking to watch her and at times, we felt so helpless as to how to help.
The response to my story has been really overwhelming, I’ve had friends privately messaging me, to tell me their story of their struggles or their children’s struggles, it’s heartbreaking to hear how many suffer (in silence) from Anxiety.
Needless to say each story has inspired me to try and raise more awareness and will give me that push to get over the 3 peaks!’
On behalf of everyone at Oxfordshire Mind, we’d like to say a big thank you to Heather for choosing to take on this challenge in aid of us, and wish her the very best of luck!