It's time to change

Time to Change is a growing social movement working to change the way we all think and act about mental health problems. We've already reached millions of people and begun to improve attitudes and behaviour.

Despite the progress we’ve made, we know that many people still don’t consider mental health relevant to them. They don’t believe mental health problems are likely to affect them or people they know.

But the reality is that mental health can affect anyone. Statistically, 1 in 4 of us will fight a mental health problem in any given year. That’s why our work is so important. No one should have to fear being treated differently because of a mental health problem.

The overwhelming majority of people with mental health problems report being misunderstood by family members, shunned and ignored by friends, work colleagues and health professionals, called names and much worse by neighbours.

Stigma and discrimination prevent people from seeking help: this can delay treatment and impair recovery. It isolates people, excluding them from day-to-day activities and making it hard to build new relationships or sustain current ones. It can stop people getting or keeping jobs.

Experiencing a mental health problem is hard enough, without having to deal with the shame and isolation that often comes with it.

Since Time to Change started in 2007, we’ve reached millions of people across England and begun to improve attitudes and behaviour towards those of us with mental health problems. Our national surveys show the overall attitude trend between 2008 and 2016 was positive with a 9.6 percent change—that's an estimated 4.1m people with improved attitudes.

Over the same time period we've seen fewer people experiencing discrimination, and when they do, it’s affecting fewer areas of their lives.

A Time to Change commissioned survey of people accessing specialist mental health services showed that between 2008 and 2014 there was a 5.6 percent increase in those reporting no discrimination in any life area, such as relationships or work. Average levels of reported discrimination fell from 41.6 percent to 28.4 percent.

This fall in discrimination is a great start, but there’s still a long way to go. That’s why it’s time to change. ■