Category Archives: Mental Health

Disability, Mental Health, Uncategorised

Get Involved – Young People’s Mental Health Advisory Panel

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Time To Change are looking for young people to join their Young People’s Advisory Panel

Are you aged 16-25, from London or the South East, and passionate about ending mental health stigma and discrimination? You could be a part of the Young People’s Advisory Panel.

The Time to Change Young People’s Advisory Panel will contribute to the various activities of Time to Change including the marketing campaign, leadership and education programmes and social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The panel will consist of a core group of up to 30 young people representing a cross section of youth socieites and communities.

You don’t have to have any kind of work experience, panel experience, or experience of mental health problems to join. You just need to be happy to share some of your time with us and able to work well in a group of people with different opinions and experiences.

If you’re interested in this opportunity, please download the full role description, and complete and return the application form. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Dave at dave.wong@rethink.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Read more here: http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/node/72884

Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month, LGBT, Mental Health

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – May 2013

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This month is Mental Health Awareness Month, being celebrated in England between 23 and 30 May. With this in mind we have chosen Stephen Fry as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Stephen is well known for his variety of talents including; being an actor, quiz show host, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director, activist, and board member of Norwich City Football Club. However, what is less known about Stephen is that he suffers from Bipolar Disorder.  He was finally diagnosed when he was 37 years old having experienced mental health problems for much of his life.

He has spoken publicly about his experience with bipolar disorder, which was also depicted in the documentary ‘Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive’. During the programme, he was dismayed to discover the extent of prejudice surrounding mental health problems;

“I want to speak out, to fight the public stigma and to give a clearer picture of mental illness that most people know little about.

“Once the understanding is there, we can all stand up and not be ashamed of ourselves, then it makes the rest of the population realise that we are just like them but with something extra.”

He is involved with the mental health charity Stand to Reason and is a celebrity supporter of the mental health charity ‘Time to Change’.

 

Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month, Mental Health

Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – April 2013

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April is Autism Awareness month and with this in mind we have chosen Luke Jackson as our Inspirational Diversity Champion.

Luke Christopher Jackson is a British author who rose to fame at the age of 13, when he wrote a book from first-hand experience about his life with Asperger syndrome. In the book, entitled ‘Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence’, Luke writes about his younger autistic and ADHD brothers, providing amusing insights into the antics of his younger years and advice for parents, carers and teachers of children with Asperger’s.

Luke’s main reason for writing was because “so many books are written about us, but none are written directly to adolescents with Asperger Syndrome. I thought I would write one in the hope that we could all learn together”.  The book created a sensation and greatly increased general awareness of the condition.

Luke left school at the age of 14 “after completely having had enough”. He has since been singing and playing in a band, has written two further books and has appeared in documentaries about Autism.

Mental Health, Uncategorised

Share your experiences of mental health difficulties

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ECU is currently running two surveys exploring how institutions can support staff and students experiencing mental health difficulties.

Respondents need to have experienced mental health issues personally, and be a member of staff or a student within higher education. The links to the two surveys can be found here:

http://www.ecu.ac.uk/news/survey-support-for-staff-and-students-experiencing-mental-health-difficulties