This is Me - sharing stories about our mental health

Colleague Wellbeing are passionate about reducing stigma and encouraging open conversations about mental health. Aligned with University Strategy 2030, we aim to encourage support for each other, be compassionate and prioritise the health and wellbeing of our University of Exeter community. We’ve been following a charity campaign called  'This is Me' which encourages storytelling as a great way to raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing and create a culture of compassion. By sharing our stories about mental health, we will encourage hope, reduce stigma and show that whatever you’re going through, you are not alone. 

Thank you to everyone who has been brave so far and shared their mental health journey. Your stories can be found here via a private UoE staff SharePoint site and can be filtered by topic below (alongside relevant internal/external support). If you'd like to see all of the stories in one list please click here. 

You can still share your story anytime here. This form will be checked weekly and new stories will be posted on the SharePoint.

The options to get involved are incredibly open. You can share anonymously or share your name. The story can be about anything to do with mental health, long or short, about your past, present or future. If you wish, you could also include what you found helpful in terms of help-seeking and support.

Please be aware we reserve the right to not post content we deem unsuitable for sharing, e.g. graphic content.

Sharing a story can be incredibly cathartic and rewarding, but it may of course bring up some emotions. If this is the case please do remember we all have access to free counselling with our EAP Spectrum Life and you can explore our A-Z of wellbeing support. If you have any questions about support or this initiative, please email us at ColleagueWellbeing@exeter.ac.uk.