Soon I concluded that for me to get better, my friends and teachers needed to know what I was going through. Fortunately I was on good terms with my form tutor who appeared sensitive and understanding. Indeed, this proved to be the case when one day I stayed behind to discuss the problems that I had been having. (Matt)
Depression: "I am a stronger person... because I talked about it"
How can I help?
The aim of the Time to Change campaign is to encourage us all to be more open about our mental health, and to start conversations with those who might need our support.
Why not find out how you could start a conversation about mental health?
You could share a blog story to raise awareness. You could sign up to receive Time to Change emails. And, you might want to add your name to our pledge wall, joining the thousands of people who are taking small steps to be more open about mental health.
Personal blogs from young people with experience of mental health problems
The following blog posts are written by young people with personal experience of mental health problems. By talking openly, our bloggers hope to increase understanding around mental health, break down stereotypes and take the taboo out of something that – like physical health – affects us all.
Recovery is a big word. It’s personal for everyone and everyone has a different idea of what it means. For me recovery means not letting my illness hold me back from my potential, being happy without needing medication to do it for me, accepting myself for 
Having a mental health problem makes life complicated. For me, a teenage girl, going to boarding school, living with 7 other girls in a room, life seemed impossible, but it wasn’t just that: life always seemed impossible, at home, at school, wherever I was. There wasn’t exactly a lot of privacy with my mental health problem.
Depression... it just eats you up from the inside out. It’s like a monster inside your head that takes over. The worst thing was to know that my family and friends were doing all they could yet I still felt so lonely. Millions of bad thoughts telling me, ‘you are worthless and have nothing to live for... no one will miss you when you’re gone’.