On 1st February, Buckinghamshire Mind will be working in partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council to promote Time to Talk Day 2018. Time to Talk Day aims to bring the nation together to get talking and break the silence around mental health problems.

Buckinghamshire Mind will be hosting a stand at Aylesbury Library, Chesham Library and High Wycombe Library. This will be a fantastic opportunity to provide resources to the general public to help them to start a conversation about mental health. There will also be a Time to Talk Day stand at County Hall, Aylesbury, to help Council staff start talking about mental health.

Too often, people who experience a mental health problem are also expected to take the lead on talking about mental health in the wider sense. Time to Talk Day encourages everyone to talk about mental health.

“Mental health problems affect one in four of us, yet people still find it difficult to talk about it. For people with mental health problems, not being able to talk about it can be one of the worst parts of the illness,” explains Andrea McCubbin, Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Mind. “So, by getting people talking about mental health we can break down stereotypes, improve relationships, aid recovery and take the stigma out of something that affects us all.”

Sir Anthony Seldon, Patron of Buckinghamshire Mind and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Buckingham, says: “Time to Talk Day is a fantastic opportunity to start a conversation about mental health and to help break down the stigma that has too long been associated with mental health problems. I will be encouraging the students at the University of Buckingham to get talking about mental health and I urge other education practitioners to do the same.”

Noel Brown, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health, Buckinghamshire County Council says: “Mental Health affects so many people but because of the stigma associated with it, not enough people talk about it. Time to Talk Day will encourage people to have conversations, perhaps to seek help or to look out for signs in their friends and family, breaking down these barriers so that everyone is more comfortable talking about mental health.”

Buckinghamshire Mind has contacted schools in Buckinghamshire to encourage them to hold a mental health awareness assembly on Time to Talk Day. Buckinghamshire Mind also provides a Peer Support in Schools service, which encourages children and young people to talk to student mentors, trained by Buckinghamshire Mind, about their mental health.

“With the additional support from Buckinghamshire Mind in the training and guidance of our Student Ambassadors, this year, our pastoral care has been greatly improved, enabling us to initiate new strategies and generate further freedom to talk about matters concerning our young people.” Deputy Head Teacher, Aylesbury High School

“I now know what mental health is and I will talk about it.” Student Mentor at Iver Heath Junior School, following Peer Support in Schools training

Since Time to Talk Day first launched in 2014, it has sparked millions of conversations in schools, homes, workplaces, in the media and online. Find out more at: www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/time-talk-day-2018