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IT’S GOOD TO TALK – SAYS WIRRAL
MENTAL HEALTH FUNDRAISER
“In simple terms - I want to encourage men not to make
the same mistake I did, by suffering in silence. Be a man
of more words, as talking saves lives.”
Those are the words of Fergus Crawley from Hoylake who
works for Love Lane Brewery in Liverpool. He is also a
community ambassador for Movember, the leading global
charity for men’s health.
This Movember, Fergus completed 3 gruelling physical
challenges, with the aim of raising funds and awareness
around the statistics surrounding men’s mental health.
Across the month he did 6,890m of lunges to reflect the
6,890 suicides in the UK and Ireland in 2018; a 13-hour
workout - to reflect the 13 male suicides per day in the
UK and finally, a 94-mile run from Loch Lomond to BT
Murrayfield in Edinburgh, to reflect the 94 male suicides
that take place per week in the UK.
Fergus said: “Unable to sleep, unable to eat, sluggish, lonely,
uninspired, isolated, and defeated; in May 2016, after 2
years of sustained depression, the pain became too much for
me, and I attempted to take my own life. I got to this stage
because I remained silent and chose to hide my struggle. I
feared that by revealing how I felt, I would expose myself as
vulnerable, weak, and less of a man. It is through words that
I have been able to claim back the best version of myself,
and by saying no to stigma and to shame, I am the happiest
I have ever been.
12 wirrallife.com
"I wouldn’t wish my experience upon my worst enemy, so
use my mistakes as an example of what not to do and be a
man of more words - talking saves lives. And that, is why I
do what I do.”
This year’s campaign has raised £30,487 and added to the
£22,381 he raised last year, Fergus’s total fundraising efforts
so far have already reached £52,668 but its principle aim was
to help encourage men to find the confidence and courage
to speak out if they are ever struggling, and not to suffer in
silence.
Fergus said: “By drawing attention to these shocking
statistics and encouraging a fight against the stigma, I hope
to have changed some perspectives and triggered some
conversations – as after all, as men, we are only human.
"The pain that I experience throughout these Movember
challenges is extreme, and at points is almost unbearable;
however, it is ultimately incomparable to the internal
pain that thousands of men experience on a daily basis by
suffering in silence. It’s not the be all and end all solution,
but it’s certainly a start...”
You can watch the video of how Fergus battled through and
successfully completed his 94-mile run at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyroqWK4wew.