Peter Mirow invites people to a photo exhibition celebrating people’s mental health I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, which disturbs my daily […]By Waltham Forest Echo

Peter Mirow is a Time to Change ‘champion’

Peter Mirow invites people to a photo exhibition celebrating people’s mental health

I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, which disturbs my daily life. I take medication to alleviate some of the symptoms, such as hearing voices and paranoia.

I’ve been affected by stigma and discrimination myself as a result of revealing my diagnosis to those I thought would be able to deal with an issue such as mental health. I faced people who stopped talking to my frustration the classic “have you been taking your medication?” phrase would appear. I do not believe anyone living with a mental health problem should be made to feel isolated in any way.

Time to Change is a growing movement formed by mental health charities Mind and Rethink, together with funding from other organisations. It is their aim to stop this stigma and discrimination towards people with a mental health problem.

I’ve become a part of this movement myself by becoming a Time to Change champion and have created a photographic exhibition called Who are 1 in 4? As you might not know, at least one in four of us will experience a mental health problem in our lifetime.

This thought-provoking photographic exhibition features Time To Change champions who have been photographed in a way that celebrates and shows off their skills and inner qualities. It’s an event to show both the negative and positive sides of mental health and to move the public to see that someone who has experienced a mental health problem is much more than a diagnosis.

We know the stigma and discrimination around mental health can be worse than the mental health problem itself. My aim is to capture perceptions and show the obstacles we need to overcome but also beautifully demonstrate that a mental health problem does not stop us from having skills, qualities and personalities that shine through our personal life.

The official big launch day for Who are 1 in 4? will be Saturday 9th February, 2.30pm–5pm, but the exhibition will be open for viewing from now until Sunday 10th February at One Hoe Street, Walthamstow. Don’t miss out, please come and visit us this month!

To book tickets for the launch Who are 1 in 4? event: Visit eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-are-1-in-4-photographic-exhibition-tickets-55040993092

Time to Change is a movement of people changing how we think about mental health. Waltham Forest Time to Change Hub is the first in London. To learn more about becoming a champion: Email [email protected]

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