THE Time to Talk Day will be held on Thursday, 6 February 2025, and aims to get Scots talking about their mental health.
Time to Talk Day is about helping to break down barriers and reduce the stigma which prevents so many from being open about their mental health and asking for help when they need it.
The day is run in Scotland by See Me, Scotland’s programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination, runs the day in Scotland.
People are urged to consider how to start a conversation about mental health, particularly in workplaces, schools, colleges, communities, and with friends and family.
Paul, a See Me volunteer who has a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, explained how the media’s negative reporting of certain severe or complex mental illnesses has a role in that.
He said: “It’s getting easier for me to talk about it as I do it more, sort of like practice makes perfect. But I still feel uncomfortable talking about it to this day.
“It’s more down to certain experiences or aspects of my mental health.
“I find it easier to talk about if I’m feeling low compared to, ‘I’m hearing voices, and they’re saying this, and this is quite scary for me,’ – even to my psychiatrists, who will hear this fairly regularly.
“I think that’s largely down to public stigma. If we’re talking about hearing voices, for example, or we’re feeling paranoid – it’s not well discussed in mainstream media. It’s quite stigmatised and affects the public’s views.”
Paul says that it’s essential that the person listening feels confident in helping someone reach out for support, regardless of their experiences or diagnosis.
He added: “As a society, we’ve probably made quite a good amount of progress in reducing some of the stigma surrounding more common mental health problems.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to more severe and enduring mental health conditions.
“While they’re now getting talked about more, they’re still heavily stigmatised, and it’d be nice to see us starting to move more in the direction as we’ve done with some other conditions.”
Paul says the key to starting a conversation about mental health is for people to listen without feeling pressured to provide advice or answers genuinely.
He added: “You wouldn’t judge someone you know if they are in hospital for a broken leg or an asthma attack, or if someone was taking medication for their heart condition.
“It’s the same thing when it comes to your mental health. We have to get more comfortable talking about these things to normalise them.”
See Me director Wendy Halliday said: “Time to Talk Day has given us the opportunity to break down some of the barriers which people who struggle with their mental health continue to face.
“Whether you’re planning a coffee morning in your place of work, a mental health fair in school, or you’re planning to check in with a friend, taking the time to check in and get talking about mental health can make a huge difference in taking away some of the awkwardness that many people still feel.
“Having a conversation can change and save lives.
“We need to see more acceptance and compassion when it comes to mental health – listening to, valuing and understanding people’s experiences, as well as supporting them to share what they’re going through and get help.
“That’s at the heart of Time to Talk Day and will help us to reduce mental health stigma across Scotland.”
The See Me website offers resources and activity packs now to help you start planning how to mark Time to Talk Day 2025.
