Time To Change: Our Stories, Our Voices

This World Mental Health Day, join Time to Change for a one-off set of creative workshops exploring your mental health story. Whatever your lived experience with mental health issues may be, your story and your voice are welcome here.

Too often, mental health issues such as self-injury are under- or miss-represented in cultural narratives. By finding our voices and using them to share our experiences, we can change the ways our stories are told. At Time to Change, we believe that this is one of the best ways to start breaking down some of the stigma surrounding this.

To sign up for any of the follow workshops, head to Eventbrite >>

Creative Writing

A 60-minute writing workshop, exploring the ways the language, writing and perspectives involved in telling our mental health stories.

This workshop will focus on finding your voice and using this to tell the stories that you want to tell, starting with the chapter of your life that you are in right now.

We will also explore narratives portrayed in film, TV, books and other media, focusing in particular on stories which are important to you.

Art Space

A 60-minute open art space, using a variety of different mediums to explore our mental health stories.

This will be a more freeform space for you to explore different visual creative methods of conveying your story in whatever way that you want to express yourself. You will also be able to talk to some of our Young Champions about experiences of mental health and illness, and its depictions in public narratives.

Details

These workshops will take place at Exeter Phoenix – they are free and open to everyone over 18.

A key theme for our facilitators will be self-injury, so we hope to offer a safe space for people to with personal experience to share this, whilst also being open to people with experience of other mental health issues, or people who just want to come and learn more.

Please note that these are one-off sessions, focusing on creating stories and not intended as a form of ongoing therapy or support.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions: bathsheba.wells-dion@rethink.org

Who are Time to Change?

We are a growing movement of people changing how we all think and act about mental health problems. We’ve already reached millions of people and begun to improve attitudes and behaviour.

Despite the progress we’ve made, we know that many people still don’t consider mental health relevant to them. They don’t believe mental health problems are likely to affect them or people they know.

But the reality is that mental health can affect anyone. Statistically, 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 8 young people aged 5-19 will experience a mental health problem in any given year. That’s why our work is so important. No one should have to fear being treated differently because of a mental health problem.

Venue: Exeter Phoenix, Studio 2