Practical activities and tools

There is a great deal you can do to reduce stigma in your area of work, in whichever context that might be:

1. Ask young people to design a leaflet, give a speech or write an essay or poem about stigma, or a mental health problem.



2. Encourage them to use the Internet to access this site, and through it, others.



3. Print out some of the personal stories on this site. Ask young people to put themselves in the shoes of that person, and produce a piece of art, music or drama on the theme.



4. Explore mental health and stigma from other angles…
   
   
   
   • in the wider context of discrimination
   
   
   
   • in the wider context of mental health through the ages



5. Look at depictions of mental ill-health, or people who act “differently” in literature through the ages, from Chaucer to Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman or J.K Rowling. What images come across?



6. Take some popular media examples of where mental health has been discussed (soap storylines or teen magazines), and explore the messages conveyed.



7. Use media headlines, or those raised by Stigma Stop Watch to have a discussion about the role of the media in encouraging/reducing the stigma around mental health problems.



8. Invite the editor of your local paper to a ‘hot seat’ session, and use it to discuss the issue of stigma in the media.



9. Use ‘see me’ materials and the publications and resources available from other organisations to run a campaign.



10. Use ‘see me’ materials; factsheets and information from other organisations to run a simple quiz on mental health problems and stigma. Explore the subject and correct misunderstandings.



11. Run a debate inviting young people to use the site to prepare their speeches. Some ideas for motions might be:
    
    
    
    • This house believes that people who self-harm are looking for attention
    
    
    
    • This house believes that depression is a sign of a weak character
    
    
    
    • This house would tell a friend if they had a mental health problem
    
    
    
    • This house believes that a mental health problem labels you for life
    
    
    
    • This house believes that hospital is the best place for a person with a mental health problem

	As an individual professional
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