Take 5 To Blog – Support from Family

As part of Time to Talk Day 2015 we asked Time to Change Facebook fans, Twitter followers, Champions and Bloggers to #Take5ToBlog. 24 of those blogs will be released over 24 hours on 5 February, in addition to ‘collective quotation blogs’ – Support from Friends and Support from Other Places and People, using a new Take 5 To Blog category. 

This ‘collective quotation’ blog features quotations from people who stated that family were one of the groups included in their support network. 

My name is …. and I have experienced….

Woody – I have depression, and I also have the condition Tourette’s syndrome.

Jo – My name is Jo and I suffer from anxiousness, depression & panic attacks.

Pauline – My name is Pauline and I have experienced generalized anxiety, social anxiety and depression most of my life.

Karen – My name is Karen and I have experienced depression.

Bethany – My name is Beth, and I have suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder from a young age.

Alison  – My name is Alison and I have experienced mental health problems since I was a teenager, so about 34 years. 

Vickee –  My name is Vickee and I have experienced Borderline Personality Disorder with PTSD symptoms.

Lisa  – My name is Lisa and I suffer with depression and anxiety. 

Emma  – My name is Emma and I suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, anorexia nervosa, anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic attack syndrome, suicidal ideation and self harm.

Ces – I have lived with my old friend depression and anxiety for 30 years – wow, I didn’t know we’d been together this long.

My mental illness has affected my ……

Sarah  – My mental illness has affected every single aspect of my life: I’m not the person I should be because of Borderline Personality Disorder, but I can’t be that person because my Borderline Personality Disorder won’t let me know myself.

Natasha  – My mental illness has affected my self confidence my relationships, sometimes I don’t want to leave the house.

Kaitlin – My mental illness has limited my ability to maintain friendships, jobs and social activities.

My greatest source of support has been…

Georgia-Louise –  My greatest sources of support are my loved ones, and the really supportive crisis team when I’m really struggling. 

Ruan – My greatest source of support has been my husband, who in some ways has become my carer – he gently encourages me to leave the house and supports me in feeling confident enough to meet friends, even those that I have known for years. 

​Melle – My greatest source of support has been my children whom I love to pieces – if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t even get out of bed or go to work.

​Bekki  – My greatest support has been my family.

Rebecca  – My greatest sources of support are my nan, boyfriend, best friend (who also experiences depression) and my beautiful cat Bella.

​Dorrie – My greatest source of support has been my partner Barrie, along with my friends and family and more importantly, my cats!

My hope for the future is that…

Lisa  –  My hope for the future is that mental illness is talked about openly and honestly and no one feels scared to seek help or feels less of a human being because of mental illness and it becomes less of invisible illness and everyone gets the help and support they need. 

Katie  – My hope for the future is that people will come to understand that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is not ‘cool’ or ‘quirky’ – it’s not a joke which it is often portrayed to be.  

I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day because….

Hayley  – I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day because I want to help people, I want to share my story, I want to rid the world of this stigma…

Carol –  I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day, because I believe there are many more parents like me, and many more children like mine who are faced with shame and stigma because of mental illness, and I want to show them that there is a ‘light at the end of the tunnel.’

Sarah  – I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day because we all need help at some point in our lives, some physically and some mentally, so take 5 and stop, listen and learn.

Emma – I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day to attempt to help the stigma of mental illness come to an end.

Alex  – I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day because others need to know that they shouldn’t be ashamed of having a mental illness. 

Jasmine – I’m taking 5 on Time to Talk Day to raise awareness and reduce the stigma that is wrongly attached to mental health.

This blog is part of the Time to Talk Day 2015 #Take5ToBlog initiative. 

What do you think about the issues raised in this blog?

Comment below or sign our pledge wall to show your support and find out how talking tackles mental health discrimination.