New campaign urges people in the North East to rethink mental illness stigma.

The poll, undertaken by YouGov, is part of a new campaign, Let’s Rethink, launched by national charity Rethink Mental Illness to raise awarenessof the everyday stigma and discrimination faced by those severely affected by mental illness. The poll also showed that sadly 42% wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a diagnosis with extended family and nearly a fifth (19%) wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing their mental illness with immediate family.

Chris is supporting this campaign as he has first-hand experience as a primary carer for his dad, Dave, who first started to experience symptoms of schizophrenia in his early 20s.

“I’ve found that people often have a genuine lack of understanding around mental illness. With schizophrenia, for example, there is the common misconception that people think it means you have a split personality. Even if people understand that there are common symptoms of paranoia and delusions, I don’t think they grasp how those things translate in day-to-day life, and how to support someone who is seeing and hearing things that aren’t really there.

“Understanding more about mental illness and what each person needs is so important. My Dad’s illness has shaped his life, from where he lives, to his relationships and how he spends his time. It is important that people see him for the individual that he is and enable him to get the support that is specific for his needs, however I believe that stigma around his condition can make that harder.

“My Dad is the most genuinely thoughtful and loving person, he has a real heart of gold, but when he is unwell he can behave in ways that do not show this and you have to be able to see past it. It’s all about understanding that these behaviours are ultimately down to his diagnosis of schizophrenia. We’ve still got a long way to go when it comes to awareness and understanding around severe mental illness, but we have to tackle stigma because it has a tangible impact on people’s lives. This is a topic close to my heart and I know it affects countless other families and carers, which is why I wanted to support this campaign.”

The poll also highlighted that the stigma is prevalent in the workplace and in personal relationships across the region with:

· A third stating they wouldn’t feel comfortable in the presence of someone they believe is experiencing severe mental illness

· 16% said that if they knew someone had a diagnosis of mental illness, they would reconsider using their professional services if they were a doctor, nurse, teacher, police officer etc.

· More than a third (37%) wouldn’t want to live next door to someone who is severely affected by severe mental illness

· 26% stating they would reconsider becoming someone’s friend if they had a diagnosis of severe mental illness.

· A fifth would reconsider working alongside them if they had a diagnosis of severe mental illness.

· More than half (52%) wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a diagnosis of severe mental illness with colleagues and a half of people wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with a manager.

Despite the ongoing drive to improve mental health awareness, the statistics also indicated UK wide uncertainty around whether this extended to include people severely affected by mental illness. Just under 1 in 4 (24%) UK adults felt there had been no difference in the stigma around severe mental illness in the last five years, while just under 1 in 5 (19%) felt that stigma had actually increased during that time.

Keith Thompson, 55, was born in Newcastle but now lives in Boroughbridge. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 34 years ago. He said:“I experienced my first manic episode in 1990 during a very intense period of my life, when I had a lot going on in my personal and professional life. Since then, I have spent time in hospital and on medication for my illness. I’ve also had bouts of severe depression, when I feel isolated and disconnected from reality, even believing I am the Angel of the North. When I am having a hypomanic episode, I often believe I’m an SAS soldier due to my family’s military history.

“This campaign is really important to me as I’ve experienced a lot of stigma in my relationships and lost people because of this. I’ve been married and divorced twice because my partners couldn’t understand my symptoms, and the parents of a previous partner even told her that she should leave me because I would never be able to hold down a job and that I’d be ‘unreliable’ and a ‘threat’. I might be a big, strong guy but such comments really hurt. Luckily, my current partner is very supportive and by taking my medication and staying active, such as my work raising awareness of bipolar, I manage to stay well.”

As part of the campaign a new downloadable free guide has been created which will help people understand the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with severe mental illness. It’s also full of advice on what to do if someone is worried about their own or someone else’s mental health.

Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive at Rethink Mental Illness added: “People in the North East severely affected by mental illness should be free to go about their lives without fear of stigma and discrimination, whether that’s at home, school, work, but our survey confirms that this sadly isn’t the case. This needs to change.

“There is a clear gap between where people think we should be as a society, and where we are in terms of perceptions and attitudes. The majority of people agree that we have not done enough when it comes to societal perceptions around severe mental illness, and there is overwhelming support for the principle that society needs to be kinder and show more understanding toward people severely affected by mental illness.

“Stigma and discrimination aren’t harmless – they hold people back from staying well and living their lives to the full. We are so grateful to Chris for sharing his and his dad’s own story and hope that this campaign will help people across the region gain a better understanding of what people who are living with a severe mental illness face and realise just how damaging stigma and discrimination can be.”

A new short film featuring actors has been created by the charity to highlight how we can assume that for someone living with a mental illness it is just their own thoughts that make life hard, when in reality the judgemental thoughts of others can make life even harder.

To find out more about the campaign, the charity’s work or to download the guide, please visit Rethink Mental Illness.