Opinion: Liberal Democrats must let our values define our approach to mental health #timetotalk

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," Kevin Spacey tells us, and it's a bit like that with depression too. It's so insidious precisely because it tries to convince you it isn't really there, that these black thoughts and difficult days are all there is for you, and that this entirely your own fault.

This is why feeling about to talk about it at all, to be open, has such power: it lessens the isolation, fights your negative thoughts about yourself with positive ones from people who love you, and helps all of us live in a better, healthier society, because Mentally Interesting people have a hell of a lot to contribute. And while fighting stigma isn't the only problem we face, it can be as hard as dealing with the mental illness itself.

So what can we as Lib Dems do?

Well, think about it in terms of freedom.

Freedom From Poverty

A lot of people struggling with mental illness also struggle to get support if they can't work.

We've heard so many stories about people with obvious physical impairments who are denied benefits, which makes it even more intimidating to go to that Atos assessment looking like an able-bodied person. Having to talk about my worst days, my self-injuring behaviour, my inability to cope with things everyone else does all the time - like leaving the house, eating proper meals, and engaging with people - knowing how likely it is that I would still be told there's nothing wrong with me, was one of the most harmful and dispiriting experiences of my life. People in perfect mental health struggle with these assessments, and the resulting rejection and stressabout money can create periods of very poor mental health even if they weren't there already.

For this reason, it's vital that we look at changing the Work Capability Assessments. We need to be able to assure people whose mental health is so bad they cannot work that they will not become destitute because of it.

Freedom From Ignorance

There's a lot of ignorance about mental illness. There is evidence that people who disclose mental illness are more likely to be thought stupid, lazy, unemployable, and other unfair things. Yet so many people will experience a mental health problem that we interact with them, and our lives are affected by them, all the time - be they family, friends, co-workers, bus drivers, nurses, MPs, singers, actors, you name it.

There are plenty of people willing to talk about the reality of life with mental health issues. There are studies and reports. Educate yourself, correct others who make "jokes" or get the facts wrong.

Freedom From Conformity

This is possibly my favourite of the three, and one of the things that I think makes Lib Dems stand out. Championing freedom from conformity means not expecting everyone's life to follow the same path and thinking there is worth in a diversity of life experiences. Conformity breeds stigma for anyone who deviates from the expectation, and when it comes to mental illness, stigma is one of our worst enemies.

What can we do here? Support - both personally and in Lib Dem policies - people whose lives don't go good-school-good-job-marriage-mortgage-kids. Many of us have chosen such paths, and very rewarding they can be, but sometimes we've had them chosen for us by the nature of our illness, like when I had to drop out of

because of my depression. Things like restarting higher/further education or explaining gaps in your CV can be really difficult, but we can make them easier.

We have to be ambitious about tackling mental health stigma, but some of the most effective things we can do don't require a lot of time or money. My favourite part of today's "Time to Talk" campaign is not the events being organised or the celebrities endorsing it or the tweets, it's that they say "Sometimes it's the little things we do that make a big difference - like having a chat over a cuppa, sending a text or inviting someone out." Precisely those kinds of things work best for me, and are what I try to offer my friends. It's good for my fellow Mentally Interesting types, but of course it's good for everybody else, too. Someone knowing that you like their company, you care about them, and you're happy to listen might well be what helps them feel able to talk.

* Holly Matthes is a Liberal Democrat activist in Manchester who has both worked in and used mental health services.