Nina Shivji

Bringing her experiences of mental health discrimination to the public as a Time to Change media volunteer has allowed Nina Shivji to continue her lifelong fight against stigma and make new connections with others who are also bravely speaking out.  

“I’ve been aware of mental health discrimination all my life and it’s something I feel very strongly about. I thought becoming a Time to Change media volunteer would be a great way to help change people’s attitudes towards mental illness. Mental health discrimination remains one of the few prejudices that seem to be ‘acceptable’ in the media and in society, and for this reason I thought Time to Change was too important not to help!

My experience as a media volunteer has been a very positive one. I took part in the social experiment in 2010 which I found very interesting, and as part of the campaign launch I agreed to be interviewed by a few local radio stations.  The media training I received in preparation for the campaign launch was also very useful.  

The Time to Change team were brilliant. They kept me informed at every stage so I knew exactly what would happen. I felt completely in control knowing nothing would be used without my approval and that I would never be asked to do anything I wasn’t 100% happy with.  The team were all friendly and supportive throughout.

It actually felt good to talk openly about my mental health issues, to stand up and represent Time to Change.  I think it also helped my friends to understand mental health better as, once they found out I had been part of the campaign, it created an excellent opportunity to talk about mental health and to ask questions that might not usually come into our conversations.   

I wasn’t worried about what people might think as I know that having a mental health problem is nothing to be ashamed of.  I received nothing but support and positive reactions from everyone I knew and everyone I met as a result of the campaign. It felt really good to be able to apply my negative experiences to such a positive cause, to help end discrimination for others and to meet like-minded people, share our experiences and learn more about mental health and the media.”