A BLAENAU Gwent man is climbing the equivalent of the world’s second tallest mountain in stairs, in support of NHS staff bravely fighting coronavirus.

Matthew Creel, 38 from Abertillery, is doing the challenge tomorrow as a way to support and thank staff, and to raise awareness and funds for mental health charity Mind, through his JustGiving page.

Mr Creel said: “My aim is to raise mental health awareness. There are a lot of people struggling, especially now with everything that’s going on and the extra support might help someone.

“The Kilimanjaro challenge is something I thought would grab attention and create a positive Reaction. The support and messages I’ve received are amazing and I want to thank everyone as it is much appreciated.”

His task will be live streamed every hour on Facebook as he climbs 20,208 steps - which is 1,684 ascents of a flight of stairs.

This is just one part of Mr Creel’s way of helping to raise awareness of mental health. He runs a website and podcast called Tidy Butt https://www.tidybutt.co.uk/kilimanjaro-challenge where he details his life and struggles with mental health, and has created Facebook groups for people to talk about their own struggles and positivity.

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He said: “With the increased cases of mental health in the valleys and surrounding areas, I’ve decided to try and raise awareness. I set up a Facebook support group that has almost 300 members in just two weeks and is growing on a daily basis.

“My aim is to provide support and to create a trusting, positive and comfortable environment where people can talk and interact with each other without judgement.”

On his own struggles, Mr Creel said: “I’ve been fighting my own feelings and thoughts for years, not knowing what they were or what I could do about them.

“It’s been four or five years since it started. I thought the feelings would pass but they just got worse.

“I would have a lack of energy and change in mood which progressed into not wanting to do anything. I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning and kept comparing myself to others, feeling as if I was a failure and felt like I had no purpose. I kept covering these feelings up, hoping no-one would notice.

“I kept telling myself to snap out of it and get over myself, but I knew it wasn’t going to go away.

“I hit a turning point as things were getting worse. I decided to make myself accountable for the way I was feeling and took control of my thoughts and feelings through a number of different ways.

“I started doing regular exercise, taking care of my diet, writing daily diaries and journals and educating myself as much as possible through reading and listening to audio books.

“Eventually my mindset started to change, and I started to take back control.

“I also opened up to my wife which helped massively and spoke to my GP for a professional opinion.

“I’m fully aware that this is a long process and like anything will take time, patience and consistency.”

In a positive call to anyone suffering, Mr Creel added: “If I can make progress, so can you. I know it’s a daunting thing for people to talk about but there are people you can speak to, you’re not alone. Please talk to a friend or family member and tell them how you feel.”

To watch Mr Creel’s challenge on Thursday April 16, head to https://www.facebook.com/matthew.creel.3