The Bristol Time to Change hub at UWE – Time to Talk Day 2019!
February 20, 2019 at 1:24 pm
[This blog was written by a BIMHN member, sharing their thoughts on a stall they ran on Time to Talk Day 2019]
I was delighted to be asked to represent the Time to Change Bristol hub at the University of the West of England’s (UWE) Frenchay Campus on Time to Talk Day this year.
Time to Talk Day is the big day in the calendar for Time to Change; a national organisation that leads the way on tackling stigma in mental health. Time to Talk Day takes place annually, and is a day centred around having a conversation with someone. The thinking is that if more people are open about mental health, and issues surrounding it, we can collectively change the way that we all think and act about mental health.
The Time to Change hub were invited to have a stand at UWE’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Fair, which took place in their Students’ Union building. The fair was busy and saw a lot of footfall; not just students, but university staff as well.
Our stand had all sorts of bits and pieces for visitors to take a look at and take away. The Time to Change conversation starter kits were especially popular!
Lots of people came by to have a conversation. Some knew about Time to Change already, and some had no idea. Some people had lived experience of mental health, whether it was their own, or someone else’s that they knew. Regardless of a person’s experience, it was heartening to hear from those who had received a positive response when they had opened up to others about their own mental health.
Some visitors to the stall wanted to know more. I was happy to share that we had completed some recent training on how to equip people on how to effectively tackle mental health stigma. I was also happy to share the successes of the Champions Fund, and how we can support anyone looking to put on their own mental health social contact event.
It’s clear there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure that the stigma around mental health, in all its variants, is being tackled in a positive way. It is however positive to hear so many people speaking so openly about their own experience, and that the response they have received is no longer as negative as it might have been in years gone by.
February 20, 2019 at 1:24 pm | Blog | No comment