Your Voice No. 75

This edition features news of the new Mental Health Taskforce put together to develop a five year strategy for mental health in England. The taskforce seems keen to involve people who are passionate about improving mental health services and would welcome the contributions of service users, carers and professionals. We highlight a number of other opportunities for people who want to use their experience of mental health issues to help others. There are details of a world-wide video campaign that challenges the silence that can exist around mental health by asking people to share messages of reassurance with others that it can and does get better; the opportunity to write a Recovery Letter about your own experience of depression to show others that they are not alone; and an invitation from Self Injury Support to people with a mobile phone and experience of having used self-harm to get involved in developing an app for people who self-harm.

We include details of the new NHS Mental Health Apps Library which has been developed to make it easier for people to find safe and trusted apps to help manage their health. If you have used a mental health app, why not write and tell us what it was like and how it did - or didn’t - help. Our regular profile item features Caroline Elwood-Stokes, founder of Football’s Awareness of Depression Football Community (FAD FC), who talks about recovery after a long-term period of depression triggered by the loss of her football career.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this edition. If you are interested in sharing your experience of mental health and recovery with Your Voice readers, we’d really like to hear from you.

- Justine Morrison