Walk a Mile in Peebles to Tackle Mental Health Stigma
Posted by See Me, 2 October 2019
People in Peebles are being urged to come together for an annual event to help change the way people think about mental health.
Walk a Mile Peebles is being arranged by See Me community champion Bridget Dickson, who wants to get the town talking about mental health.
The aim of the event, on the 12th October, is to show that mental health can be a topic of everyday conversations, by getting people together for a one mile walk around the town. This is the third year the walk in Peebles has taken place.
Alongside the walk Freda Douglas’ Depressed Cake Café will be at the MacFarlane Hall from 11am, giving participants the chance to chat about mental health over tea and cake. There will also be information stalls and speakers.
The Walk a Mile campaign was created by See Me with activist Chris McCullough Young, based on his walk around the edge of Scotland, where he spoke to everyone he met about mental health, to change attitudes one conversation at a time.
So far thousands of people have taken part in Walks across Scotland, bringing together health professionals, carers, people with lived experience of mental health problems, students, or anyone who cares about tackling mental health discrimination, to break down barriers as they walk a mile in each other’s shoes.
Bridget, from Peebles, decided to put the event on, after seeing the benefit talking about mental health has had on her life.
She said: "Talking about my own mental health has without a doubt made my life easier.
“It’s amazing how, once you start being open about your own mental health challenges, so many other people will admit to similar experiences.
"Open and honest conversations are an awful lot easier when you are doing another activity, such as walking in beautiful surroundings."
Wendy Halliday, See Me’s interim director, said: “Mental health affects all of us, but there is still a stigma around it. To tackle this properly people need to understand that it is okay not to be okay.
“One of the best ways to change how people think and behave is to make mental health a topic in day to day conversation, rather than a taboo subject people don’t want to talk about.”
The walk will begin at 12.30 on 12th October. It will start at and end at the MacFarlane Hall, at the top of the High Street in Peebles. To find out more contact bridget.dickson@seemechampion.org.