Time to Change Champions are people with lived experience of mental health problems who campaign to end mental health discrimination in their communities.

Lots of Champions choose to write about their experiences or personal stories through a blog. Blogs are a fantastic way to help tackle discrimination and challenge attitudes. Take a look a below at some of our Champions blogs.

Interested in blogging for Time to Change?

Take at look at our guidelines for blogging. If you are interested in blogging in your role as a Champion, we are particularly interested in:

  • Blogs about your role as a Champion
  • Blogs about why you became a Champion
  • How becoming a Champion has enabled you to speak out about mental health problems/speak out against stigma and discrimination

Ask twice and let them know you're there to listen

Bernice, October 21, 2019

Someone who has shown me they were in my corner was my friend Sandra who I first met at work; we became friends after recognising our similar tastes in books, and penchant for morning coffee.

We'd eventually come to realise we had more in common than initially thought.

I don't know how to explain it fully but when I talked to her, about anything and everything I felt that sense of "this is a safe space, this person gets me".

I am not my mental health condition - I'm a person living with it

Chloe, September 10, 2019

I always knew I was different. From as young as I can possibly remember I knew I wasn’t like other children. I felt things way more intensely and came across as dramatic when I tried to express myself.

My mother, like many people her age, saw mental illness as something to be embarrassed about.  When I started to have emotional outbursts at school or I’d cry and beg her not to fall asleep during the day because the anxiety I felt was unbearable I was just labelled a child with behavioural problems. I was always made to feel like I chose to be this way. 

Dealing with mental health is everyone’s business

Ian, June 10, 2019

Everyone has mental health. We all know some days are good and some days are bad. Negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, our minds confused and not coping day-to-day. 

Stress, anxiety, and depression lead to other mental health problems if they are not recognised, diagnosed or treated in time. Speaking up and seeking help, and receiving it from people who care, is key to a better future.

I Felt Isolated

Natasha, September 13, 2018

If you'd asked me about my mental health a year ago, I would have told you I was fine when really, I was struggling. I had a mental illness and I was hiding it. I didn't want to tell anyone because I didn't want people to think I was weird, dangerous or "crazy". The stigma has resulted in me feeling excluded and unable to fit in. It has made me feel isolated and like there is something wrong with me.

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