Mental Health Awareness Week

In our new survey of over 500 people severely affected by mental illness, an overwhelming majority of 88% said that discrimination towards people severely affected by mental illness is widespread in England.

Levels of awareness about common mental health problems have improved over the last few years, which is good news. But some people are living with severe mental illness, and this Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to talk about that.

Let’s get serious. It’s time to talk about mental illness.  

That’s right. All through Mental Health Awareness week, we’ll be hearing about what it’s like to live with the different conditions and diagnoses that severely affect many of us. From getting the right diagnosis, to access to support, to standing up against stigma and negative stereotypes.

Antonio is 23 and lives with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder tells us:

“I’ve experienced stigma and discrimination many times in my life, and I’m only 23. People are so quick to judge me based on a diagnosis, who I am as a person, and what I can achieve. It’s been exhausting, confusing and distressing trying to deal with people’s perceptions of me and it makes life harder.”

Read more about our stigma and severe mental illness survey.

It’s time to take the mental health discussion to the next level. It’s time to talk about mental illness. #MHAW21 #LetsGetSerious