Minds matter, so let’s talk about mental health

In Mental Health Awareness Week, talking about depression is a good place to start. A chap at work – I don’t know him personally – has been telling everyone on our intranet site that he has suffered from depression and anxiety for years. He kept it secret though from work colleagues and friends, and only decided to come out recently. He openly admits that it was not easy to start talking about it to work colleagues, but he has genuinely been overwhelmed by the support he has received from those around him. It was the fear of an adverse response that had held him back all those years. Now he wishes he had been more open far earlier.

This chap is our first Mental Health Partner and a board member at Allen & Overy. And it’s stories like these that help to #endthestigma of mental health. Now that he has started talking, others have too.