AN English teacher is climbing Kilimanjaro to raise money for a charity which helped her cope with depression.

Hannah Suggitt, 28, has taught at Princes Risborough School for five years and lives in Bledlow.

She is currently training hard to climb Kilimanjaro in August for the charity, Mind in Oxfordshire, which helped her cope with her depression.

She was given support through the form of cognitive behavioural therapy, which is a type of talking therapy that can help manage problems by changing the way people think and behave.

Ms Suggitt said: " I know I am empowered with strategies to cope with some of the things I am suffering."

It also helped her to understand how she was feeling.

Ms Suggitt first started struggling with depression in her early 20s, but it was not until she was 26, when it began to get worse that she went to see a doctor.

They referred her to Talking Spaces, which is sponsored by Mind.

Ms Suggitt said: "It had got more significant than just feeling low. There were pretty worrying behaviours."

She said the help the charity gave her saved her life.

She said: "All the stigmas I associated in my head with mental illness were not true. I realised this is ok, I wasn't judged.

"It turned out that as dark as the journey was, it was also a loving and supportive journey."

A year on she is now preparing for the climb. Next year she hopes to trek to the base camp of Everest.

To sponsor Ms Suggitt go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=HannahSuggittÂ