BBC Garden Rescue presenter, Chris Hull, is backing a new national initiative to encourage more people in the region to rethink their preconceptions and stigma towards people severely affected by mental illness, as a new poll reveals a third of all adults living in the West Midlands (33%) would not be comfortable sharing a diagnosis of severe mental illness with a friend.

The poll, undertaken by YouGov, is part of a new campaign, ‘Let’s Rethink’, launched by national charity Rethink Mental Illness to raise awareness of the everyday stigma and discrimination faced by those severely affected by mental illness. The poll also showed that sadly more than half (55%) wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a diagnosis with extended family and 18% 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:

  • More than a third (34%) stating they wouldn’t feel comfortable in the presence of someone they believe is experiencing severe mental illness 
  • Almost a quarter (24%) 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 (35%) wouldn’t want to live next door to someone who is severely affected by severe mental illness
  • 29% stating they would reconsider becoming someone’s friend if they had a diagnosis of severe mental illness.
  • More than a quarter (26%) would reconsider working alongside them if they had a diagnosis of severe mental illness.
  • 61% wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a diagnosis of severe mental illness with colleagues and 52% 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.

Julia Alsop, 28, lives in Leamington Spa and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2023. They are currently training to be a doctor and said: "I started struggling with my mood as a teenager but kept it to myself due to shame.

“It wasn’t until university, when I could no longer cope alone, that I reached out for help and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After experiencing psychosis and a difficult stint in hospital—when I believed Elon Musk was after me and that he’d sent people to kill me—my diagnosis was changed to schizophrenia. 

“The stigma has been hard to deal with. I’ve been told I’d have a life of persistent relapsing, and never amount to much or be able to have a demanding career. 

“Multiple people have told me that a medicine degree isn’t suitable for someone like me. Once, I was even dating another medic who told me I couldn’t and shouldn’t become a doctor. 

“Now, I’m stable on medication, but managing everything is still challenging—especially with ADHD. It can be difficult fitting in the regular blood tests to monitor the harmful effects of the medication into my working week.

“But what really keeps me going is my passion for medicine; I really want to become a doctor and help others. Music also gets me through difficult times.

“I have a degree in music from Oxford and playing instruments and singing help me manage stress. Severe mental illness can make certain things more difficult, but we need to tackle the assumption about what people with conditions like schizophrenia are capable of.”

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 West Midlands 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.

 

[1] By severe mental illness, we are referring to anyone who is severely affected by a mental health condition such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or depression that has an impact on their daily lives.