News

Sixth form student Tessa has designed some striking posters all about dealing with mental illnesses.

My name is Tessa House, a year 13 student at Dane Court and a bipolar sufferer. I have suffered from mental illnesses from the age of 13 and last year I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and a generalised anxiety disorder. For the last year my project has been working hard to get back on my feet and today I am proud to say I am. Because of this I have started a new project, a campaign called "We Need to Talk" with the target of getting people to talk about mental illnesses and begin to break down the stigma surrounding mental health.
These posters are designed to inform as much as possible about individual mental illnesses and give advice on how to help yourself if you have that illness or to help someone else who may be suffering. I have also designed posters to change attitudes to mental illnesses and those suffering with them by highlighting how common they are, how they can happen to anyone and how they cannot be fixed simply with a bit of willpower.
I will say it as many times to as many people in as many different languages as I can think of: mental illness is a disease not a decision.
My goal is to create a school environment where mental illnesses are just as recognised as physical illnesses and are treated accordingly, given as much support and understanding as any other illness would get. I want people whose lives are unaffected by mental illness to understand them and feel comfortable talking about them. I want parents with children suffering with mental illnesses to know how to support and help their child with their illness. I want children with parents suffering with mental illnesses to do the same. I want everyone to understand that mental illnesses can happen to anyone and we should work together to make sure those who have them are treated the same as anyone else with an illness.
This is why my campaign is called "We Need to Talk". Because we do. We need to talk about mental health – at school, at work, in hospitals, at home. And I'm starting here.
I will say it again: mental illness can happen to anyone. It could be your parent, your spouse, your sibling, your friend or even your child. From someone dealing with mental illness, from a family dealing with mental illness, I would appreciate your support so together we can finally start talking about mental health.