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"I’m alone", "It would be better if I was dead then I won’t be a burden”, “People won’t believe me if I say I’m depressed, that my smile is fake”. To a depression sufferer like Frankie Sanford these comments are on a constant torturous loop.

Viewers of the BBC’s School drama Waterloo Road will this week see one of the characters diagnosed with schizophrenia – a storyline that Time to Change helped to develop.

To those who know me, this might  be news: I suffered from multiple eating disorders. As this Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) is based around "Breaking the silence" I've just broken the silence in that.

Those words by the poet Philip Larkin have resonated with me for many years. They are so simple and yet so powerful.

I was recently given the privilege of speaking at the Time to Change Launch Event in London’s Whitehall, and I know I am not the only person who left that event feeling uplifted, positive, and frankly, all warm and fuzzy inside. It was attended by so many people, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Paul Burstow, representatives from the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief, and celebrities including Trisha Goddard, Alastair Campbell, Fiona Phillips.

Acknowledging you have a mental illness can be difficult, even more so when you have spent your life working as a qualified mental health nurse dedicated to helping others. Herein lies the irony I suppose. In 2004 I experienced severe depression which had been insidiously creeping up on me for many months before.

I have a habit of volunteering myself for things, trying something new and taking on a challenge, so when Time to Change asked for people to speak about their experiences in the press, I put myself forward without giving it much thought.

Facing his fear of the open ocean to raise awareness of the Time to Change campaign.

A wind of change has breezed into my life – or should I say a hurricane. I've decided to take a short career break to take on a rather epic challenge.

I have been meaning to write a blog about the Time To Change roadshow in Exeter for a while. Now I’ve come to do it I actually feel that the times has given me better reflections than if I’d done it earlier on.

People sometimes question why we need to focus on the 'stigma of mental illness' when we already have ideas like discrimination and prejudice. People ask; 'Aren't you just inventing a new kind of prejudice that only applies to people with mental health difficulties? Surely it's more important to change laws than change attitudes?'

My husband and I recently volunteered to help with the Time to Change campaign. It was a bit of a last minute decision. I had heard about Time to Change through the mental health charity Rethink Mental Illness and so I had realised that there was a roadshow coming up near us in Bournemouth. I also knew that they were looking for volunteers to talk to members of the public on the subject of mental health.

This summer, I volunteered to help the ‘Time to Change’ roadshow in Norwich outside the Chapelfield Shopping Centre.

Hi everyone, my name is Jules and I was a volunteer at the Leeds Roadshow on Saturday 4th June and oh wow, what a fantastic day it was!

I was apprehensive at first, as I was unable to attend the training session due to other commitments and so didn't know anyone else there but I needn't have worried - everyone was so welcoming, both the Time to Change team and other volunteers made me feel completely at home and straight away I felt like part of a team and not an outsider.

I’ve been left with an overwhelming feeling, actually a glow, of admiration and inspiration having been in Harrow last week at the launch of our joint pilot campaign to reach the South Asian community.

After more than a year and a half of hard work from so many local people, the event was buzzing with an overwhelming amount of offers of support and encouragement.

Welcome to the Time to Change Roadshow blog! I'm Lizzie, I'm working on the roadshows and this is where I (and the rest of the Time to Change team) will be filling you in on all the latest news and updates about the roadshows. You can also keep up to date with everything going on by following us on Twitter (@TimetoChange) and Facebook.

Macdog73 is a supporter of Time to Change who has recently been part of the #befrank movement on Twitter, which, prompted by the Time to Change campaign, has seen hundreds of people open up about their mental health problems.  She talks about how Twitter can be a helpful place to share experiences and find support.

"Facing up to Australia's fast bowlers was nothing compared to facing up to my depression."

When Marcus Trescothick flew home early during two overseas England cricket tours his reasons were somewhat of a mystery. 

Erik tells us about his experiences with mental health stigma and why he chose to work with Time to Change on a social experiment.

Erik, 30, was born in the Netherlands. He moved to London three years ago to start work as a lecturer.He is currently recovering from his second bout of severe depression, which started about a year and a half ago.

While Time to Change works within England, stigma and discrimination affect people with mental health problems worldwide - and we think of ourselves as being part of an international family of anti-stigma programmes. Over the last few years we have been proud to support campaigns in other countries as they get off the ground by sharing our learning - and in the last few weeks, we have welcomed two new additions to the family!

This week, we continued on the campaign trail to encourage people to sign up to our pledge.

First stop on Wednesday was the Briggate, one of the main shopping streets in Leeds, where we were lucky enough to work with some real anti-discrimination heroes.

That's how Frank Bruno talked about how some people's reactions to his mental health problems hurt, in the TV and radio studios today.

I'm delighted to report that the Government has made a commitment to address the discriminatory provisions in existing legislation which means that an MP automatically loses his or her seat if detained under the Mental Health Act.

The current legislation requires MPs who have been detained under the Mental Health Act to stand down and abolishing this would be a positive step towards tackling stigma and discrimination.

Mental health has been under the spotlight for many reasons in recent weeks and months.

The tragic death of Robert Enke in November woke people up to the harsh reality of stigma and the ultimate consequences it can have. I hope that the outpouring of grief and support will now translate into a greater understanding of mental health issues. Something that the Governor of Lower Saxony said at the memorial event in the Hanover stadium caught my eye in particular, as it echoes my beliefs:

“We don't need flawless robots. We need human beings with rough edges."

Ivan Jarunek has been an Involvement Worker with Time to Change's Education Not Discrimination project for around a year. He tells us about his work with the project, which provides anti-stigma training to medical students, trainee teachers, and senior teaching staff.

Stuart Baker-Brown was diagnosed with schizophrenia thirteen years ago. His condition was triggered a few years before this when he found himself falling into a world of anxiety and fear.

As well as coping with his mental health problem Stuart has had to deal with the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness which has had devastating effects on all aspects of his life.

Over the last few weeks, some of the experiences of the participants have been incorporated into a play by the facilitators. This is now being developed by the director.

On Saturday April 26th, over thirty people gathered at a venue in Kings Cross to participate in a new theatre project designed to highlight, question and hopefully, challenge our approach to mental distress at an individual and societal level. The idea is that through an ensemble approach to writing, devising and performing a piece of drama, based on real life stories, will be presented to the public.

Just to let you know that there's a current consultation (ending March 1st 2009) on the Crown Prosecution Service's website, that wants your views.

Its about their Policy on prosecuting criminal cases involving people with mental health problems and/or learning disabilities as victims and witnesses

It was an amazing opportunity to be involved in the Time To Change stunt which took place on a working Sheffield tram on 25th and 26th of January. It felt controversial, we were presenting the people of Sheffield with a tram compartment redesigned as 'padded cell', a symbol which is associated with the more negative aspects of mental health, we were thrusting it upon them and almost forcing comment, and that was challenging and exciting.

Apologies for not updating the blog for a while. December's never a good month for me.

Anyway New Year New Start. So hopefully we'll get back on track.

At the recent Social Inclusion Network meeting, Constable Jim Scotson, the Hate Crime Officer for Merseyside Police based St. Helens, described the work of the Hate Crimes Unit, which is locally known as the ‘Sigma' unit. <--break->The title of Sigma was carefully chosen. Sigma is a letter from the Greek alphabet and symbolises the work of the unit in recognizing and protecting all vulnerable members of our society whilst seeking to continuously improve the service the police provide to victims.

My first campaign was to do with a rehabilitation training centre called Wiseworks in Harrow near where I live. I myself spent one and a half years there when I was recovering. I had become unwell and there was not a single penny coming in. I was used to being in a business world and being very successful, then all of a sudden I had no income, it was devastating. The first week I went to rehabilitation training, I was offered three pounds at the end of the week for my work. Those three pounds for me meant three thousand pounds - it was just that feeling that I was taking something home.

My name's Mark, I'm 44, I'm a retired policeman/civil servant. I'm currently co-ordinator of an independent registered mental health charity, the Canterbury and district mental health forum. We are service user led and we represent service users' views.