Welcome to episode 189 with Alex Staniforth, who is an adventurer, speaker and the founder of Mind Over Mountains, a charity that brings together walking in nature, mindfulness & professional coaching and counselling in support of good mental health & wellbeing. Alex was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of nine and this would be the catalyst for several years of bullying, anxiety, panic attacks and a lifelong stammer. He found that time in nature, and more specifically time on hills and mountains, helped his mental health and he was just 14 when he set his sights on climbing Mount Everest. His first attempt, aged 18, ended when an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall killed 16 climbing Sherpas. During his second attempt, base camp was hit by the Nepal earthquake which killed 3 Sherpas in Alex's team. This led Alex to a long period of survivor’s guilt, depression and Alex also fell in to bulimia, which he was still dealing with when he set out to climb all of the highest peaks in the UK, in 72 days, with only a bicycle for transport. We talk about all of that in this episode. We also talk about dealing with failure, why it’s important to take on challenges and what we can learn from both these things and we chat about identity and what it was like for Alex when he was forced to step away from endurance challenges by long Covid and how he had to learn to do things differently. Follow Alex on social media @alexstaniforth_ and @mindomountains Learn more at www.alexstaniforth.com and https://mindovermountains.org.uk If you would like to watch this episode or any of the others, you can do so by joining the Patreon community at www.patreon.com/propermentalpodcast.  For £3 a month you’ll get early access to any and all episodes that aren’t available to watch anywhere else and you can submit questions for upcoming guests!  You’ll also be helping to support the show and keep it fully independent and ad free. You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!