You might have seen ads out and about about the
Time to Change campaign. Time to Change what? My baby's nappy? (If you're a new dad at home with baby, we know you may be thinking about this all the time so, yes, quite possibly. Maybe you should check) No, time to change our collective attitudes to what could be the Anglosphere's last taboo, its final frontier: you might find headlines saying something like: “OUR GLAMOUR GIRL REVEALS HER FAVOURITE SEX POSITION: IT'S NAUGHTY” but never “OUR GLAMOUR GIRL REVEALS SHE HAS BODY DYSMORPHIA AND SPENDS THREE HOURS EVERY MORNING IN FRONT OF HER BATHROOM MIRROR FIXATED ON HER LEFT BREAST AND CRYING SILENTLY SO HER MOTHER DOESN'T WORRY ABOUT HER.”
Okay, you might, but is there really any genuine sympathy in articles about celebs having breakdowns, bust-ups, and admitting themselves to the Priory? Not really. Celebs are people, and about one in four people in this country suffer from mental illness. And many folk are so frightened about the stigma and misconceptions surrounding mental health issues that that, while they may be suffering from clinical depression, to their friends and family they “Have a headache,” or “Are just feeling a bit under the weather.”
If you, your partner, or one of your children suffer from mental illness, you might feel so afraid of you or yours being labelled a “nutter” that you might be compelled to avoid seeking help from your GP. Well, here are the facts: the stigma surrounding mental illness, like all prejudice, is based on ignorance. Most people with even the most serious mental illnesses are less prone to violence than that other three-quarters of the population—and most “nutters” lead perfectly normal lives, in terraced houses perhaps, maybe even owning a Jack Russell terrier and a Volkswagen Golf. Know that anyone who dislikes you or someone close to you for being “bonkers” might as well be hating on you for having cancer, or diabetes. Which is more that a little mean, don't you think?