Don't mind me: Adults with mental health problems

Iona Joy & Iona Miller

March 2006, 76 pages

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New Philanthropy Capital_image_Mental Health Media Even if you do not have a mental health problem yourself, with 700,000 adults in the UK experiencing a severe mental illness in the course of a year, chances are you will have a friend, relative or colleague who does.

NPC's report, Don't mind me, highlights that people's social circumstances – such as difficulty finding work or feeling socially cut off – can significantly affect how they cope with mental health problems and their chances of recovery.

Did you know?

There are nearly one million people out of work because of mental health problems.
Over the past 12 years, the number of prescriptions for antidepressant drugs in England has almost tripled

The report highlights the following priorities for donors:

preventing mental ill health
tackling stigma and discrimination
helping with employment and work-related activity, and
improving health services for people with mental health problems.

‘What really struck we was the number of people I met who were on cracking form, leading busy, constructive lives, who, if you’d met them a few years earlier were probably being written off by mental health services. I learnt that people can live a good life with, and recover from mental health problems.’
Iona Joy, Senior research analyst

Charity insight

"Only a quarter of people with long-term mental health problems are in work.''

FIRST STEP TRUST provides real work experience and employment to people in mental distress.