Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley has today backed the mental health awareness day ‘Time to Talk’.

The awareness day is aimed at getting the nation talking about mental health in a bid to end the misconceptions around the illness.

Time to Change, the charity behind that campaign started in 2007, and since then more than two million people have improved attitudes, and more people than ever are able to be open about their mental health problems.

Commenting, Angela said:

“Talking about mental health problems should be as easy as talking about physical health problems. Being open about mental health goes a long way to breaking down the stigma.

“Mental health problems affect 1 in 4 people every year, yet too often people are afraid to talk about their experiences because they fear it will affect their jobs or relationships.

“We can break the silence that often surrounds mental health, and show that talking about this once-taboo issue doesn’t need to be difficult.

“I want to speak out, to fight the public stigma and to give a clearer picture of mental illness that most people know little about.

“It’s time to talk as a nation and it’s time to change.”