Mental health was a key talking point for Lanarkshire last week as people across the region got involved in Time to Talk Day.
Hosted in Scotland by See Me, the national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination, Time to Talk Day is a national day of conversations about mental health that seeks to tackle the stigma so many people continue to face.
This year’s campaign shone a spotlight on the awkwardness that still surrounds mental health conversations.
A poll of 1000 Scots conducted by Censuswide for Time to Talk Day found that more than a quarter of people (28 per cent) say that they have pushed friends and family away at times when they haven’t wanted to talk about their mental health, while a similar proportion (27 per cent) say that the desire to avoid a conversation has stopped them from socialising.
Almost three in 10 (29 per cent) also say that not talking about their mental health is better than having an ‘awkward’ conversation about it – evidence that stigma continues to be a major barrier to many when it comes to speaking about their feelings.
This year, people across Lanarkshire embraced the spirit of Time to Talk Day on Thursday, February 6, with hundreds of mental health conversations taking place on the day.
From coffee mornings to walk and talk sessions, workplace wellbeing fairs to chats between friends, mental health was a hot topic in workplaces, schools, colleges, health and social care settings and communities.
See Me volunteer Lisa Gourley says that campaigns like Time to Talk Day are vital to help open up supportive conversations for people who struggle with their mental health, like her.
The 31-year-old scientist said: “There have been times where I have been open, and people have taken theatrical steps back from me, thinking they’re funny, ‘Oh God, stay away from you.’ And these are people, who are friends, people that I love – and they’ve not meant harm in it, but that’s the norm.
“The best thing someone can do is actually listen to what the person’s saying and think about what they’re telling you, and how they’re saying it. What words are they using, the emotion behind it. And listen before you respond.
“There is so much trust in that conversation, and I think your role is very much first and foremost to listen.”
Time to Talk Day is run in Scotland by See Me, the national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination, in partnership with Co-op. It is led by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness in England, Inspire and Change Your Mind in Northern Ireland, and Time to Change Wales.
Wendy Halliday, See Me director, said: “I would like to say a huge thanks to people across Lanarkshire for their support and enthusiasm for this year’s Time to Talk Day, and I really encourage everyone to join us in keeping the conversation going.
“Talking about mental health and sharing how we’re feeling is one of the first important steps to breaking down stigma, and helping people who are struggling to see it’s okay to talk and to be more comfortable in asking for help when they need it.”
You can find tools and resources to help you talk about mental health and combat mental health stigma on the See Me website.
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