Time to Talk Day - student takeover

NHS West Essex CCG and St John’s School in Epping are supporting Time to Talk Day this Thursday 6 February and encouraging as many people as possible to choose to talk about mental health.

Students on the health and social care course are talking to all students and teachers in assemblies through the week to raise awareness of the benefits of talking about their mental health.  They have also taken over their local health commissioners social media to help spread the word.

Time to Talk Day is organised by Time to Change, the campaign to change how we all think and act about mental health problems, led by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Time to Talk Day aims to get as many people as possible talking about mental health.

Destiny Ayliffe, one of the health and care students said; “We were conscious that many young people experience mental health issues and wanted to raise awareness of the support available to them.  It’s been great working with the NHS and the team to have access to their social media to help us share our messages.”

Jo Loughran, Director of Time to Change, said: “Conversations have the power to change lives – helping to end the isolation, shame and worthlessness that too many of us feel when experiencing a mental health problem. Time to Talk Day is the one day of the year when we want the whole nation to have a mental health conversation.”

1 in 4 adults and 1 in 8 young people will experience a mental health problem in any given year, but many of us are too afraid to talk about it. Starting a conversation about mental health might seem daunting but simply sending a text, checking in on a friend or sharing something on social media can break the ice.

 For information about Time to Talk Day and how you can get involved please visit www.time-to-change.org.uk/timetotalkday