Last Tuesday, Time To Change held a Lived Experience networking event at London’s RichMix venue; it was an opportunity for Time To Change supporters with lived experiences of mental health issues to come together to share ideas, make contacts and talk about future plans. I sit here, having just arrived home from the event, and the only word I believe truly describes how I feel about the event is…awesome.

It’s funny that, because I was unbelievably nervous about going, and since I’ve never been nervous before it was a new experience (and not one that I like I might add!); I knew that I wanted to attend the event because erasing the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health is something I’m very passionate about, but I wouldn’t know anyone. At the last minute, I told myself to get a grip and got in the car…and I am so very glad I did. And within minutes of taking a seat, I was chatting away to people with a cup of coffee like we’d known each other for ages!

For me, there isn’t any one thing that was best about this event because everything was awesome – simply being in a room filled with people who have experience of mental illness, who have been through the challenges, faced the stigma and survived the discrimination is amazing and uplifting beyond words.  Having the opportunity to attend such an event, to be able to talk openly about our issues, problems and dreams makes me feel so privileged…because I know that it hasn’t always been this way. When I had my own experiences (which I will go into in an upcoming blog), mental health issues were so buried in discrimination, secrecy and misguided stereotypes that I had no one to go to at all, so I can truly appreciate what this event has accomplished for all who attended – providing a ‘safe’ environment where we can talk without feeling weird, crazy or judged.

The event was brilliantly executed; it started with a welcome, then music from Emily Maguire (which I can only describe as soothingly beautiful), a presentation on the Time To Change Roadshows over the summer period, and a Q&A session. Brigid Morris (Project Manager) and Chandra Shah (Co-ordinator) gave a presentation on the Time to Change Champions work, which is currently awarding small groups and organisations with up to £500 to help their project.  Lastly, we were all divided into four workshop groups to discuss the aspects of leading small projects.

Attending this event has given me hope for the future because I’ve found people who are as passionate about ending the stigma and discrimination as I am…thanks to this event, I know I’ll never be alone again.