This piece was originally written in February 2009 for GK News, Staffordshire University’s student radio station at the time.
Sixty per cent of bosses wouldn’t employ somebody with mental health problems.
That’s according to Alastair Campbell. Tony Blair’s former press secretary is one of the authors of a new report which lists five historical figures who suffered with their mental health and imagines the world without their impact.
It’s all part of Time to Change, a new initiative supported by mental health charities Mind and Rethink. The project’s funded by Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund.
Students can be prone to depression, with the pressures of living away from home – possibly for the first time – and meeting new people, working independently and completing essays to deadlines. The report shows that even some of the greatest people who ever lived had mental health issues, and they’re more common than many of us think.
I spoke to Sue Baker, the director of Time to Change, who told me what the campaign hopes to do. Listen to her below:
Interview with Sue Baker