Mental health stigma and discrimination charity, Stamp It Out County Durham, are busy preparing for the first national mental health campaign of 2022 – Time to Talk Day, ran by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness in England, in partnership with Co-op.
The campaign runs UK wide, with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) and See Me in Scotland, Inspire and Change Your Mind in Northern Ireland and Time to Change Wales.
One in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year. We want everyone to feel comfortable talking about mental health- whenever they like.
Taking about mental health reduces stigma, helping create supportive communities where we can talk openly about mental health and feel empowered to seek help.
The 2022 campaign theme is: ‘However you do it, have a conversation about mental health’, encouraging everyone to find a way that works for them. Call or text a friend, meet for a walk & talk, create a quiz, share online or find stories to relate to, discuss mental health over lunch or coffee… however you do it, start the conversation.
Time to Talk Day is all about creating supportive communities by having conversations with family, friends, or colleagues about mental health.
This year in County Durham, the Stamp It Out Partnership Hub are working to connect communities and encourage people to take time out to talk about mental health.
The Stamp It Out Partnership Hub works to promote and protect the health of the public, particularly those living with mental health conditions, in County Durham and the surrounding areas.
This is done by educating the public in all areas relating to mental health conditions to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people who experience mental health problems and to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of poor mental health.
Stamp It Out believes you don’t have to be a Superhero to start a conversation about mental health, however if you need the help of a Superhero then Anti-Stigma Kid is on hand.
Anti-Stigma Kid (ASK) is a character designed by Peter Swan, an Anti-Stigma Ambassador for the Stamp It Out Partnership Hub.
He said: “I created Anti-Stigma Kid so that a serious message could be conveyed in a visual medium accessible to people of all ages.
“I believe that the colourful graphics can help capture people’s attention and interest and show people that stigma associated with poor mental health can have very real consequences.
“These comics will be distributed at Stamp it Out events and will be left at various community locations including libraries, doctors surgeries and community centres.
“The comic gives the reader ideas about how they can themselves help to challenge stigma and discrimination.”
For more information or to get a copy of Anti-Stigma Kid contact: [email protected].