Erik Baurdoux

The face of our autumn 2010 campaign and a keen mental health activist, Erik Baurdoux says his work as a Time to Change media volunteer has been a rewarding experience and also opened his eyes to how many people are affected by mental illness.

“I found out about Time to Change when I was suffering from a bout of severe depression and came across the short film ‘Schizo: The Movie’ online. It was one of the few things that gave me hope; to hear other people talk openly about similar issues and that it was nothing to be ashamed of.

When I started to feel a little better I was eager to get involved and I was happy to be given the opportunity to do so, first through a newspaper interview with the Mirror and later through the social experiment and film ‘Don't get me wrong’ which Time to Change made to document my experiences.

I was assigned a mentor who is a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP). His support was very useful as he had been filmed in the past as well so I could really relate to him and call anytime I wanted to discuss my worries - and he is a wonderful person in general.

One of the highlights from the last campaign was sharing the studio with Time to Change director Sue Baker for a morning of radio interviews, which I enjoyed a lot. The media training Time to Change provided helped me feel relaxed and it was also nice to hear positive feedback from most of the interviewers who would often disclose some case of mental illness amongst their friends and family when we were off-air.

I'd recommend becoming a media volunteer as you meet some wonderful and like-minded people and contribute to reducing stigma, which can only be a good thing. It has helped me realise just how common mental health problems are, as quite a few people have come up to me to talk about their own stories.

One of the most memorable events for me was the World Mental Health Day event in London involving a Time to Change stand; quite a few people from all walks of life shared their mental health stories with us. That really helped open my eyes that everybody knows someone affected by mental health problems and that it is good to talk about it.

Being a Time to Change media volunteer has made me feel part of a bigger campaign, which is good medicine against the feelings of isolation that mental health problems sometimes lead to. Overall, it's been a very positive experience for me and something I'm very proud of.”