'Sometimes there is negative comment towards those who talk about their recovery from mental health conditions. But I know that we have no desire to negate the suffering of those who are still in the throes of illness. I don’t think we would say the same thing about those speaking about their recovery from cancer. 

It is true that many suffer for life with mental illness with cycles of relapse & remission, whilst others go from exacerbation to exacerbation. Yet the medical world has little to offer. I believe this is precisely why de-stigmatising of these conditions is so vital. We urgently need to recognise that at least 25% of us do understand this because we have suffered something similar, even if we are presently in remission or have recovered. Empathy, compassion and comfort for each other helps our health and therefore the health of our patients. 

But there is a proviso and I think we do well to understand that none of us must relinquish our right to confidentiality. We need to be wise about who we trust and who we open our lives to, as in any circumstance. Revealing personal information to the public arena can have far reaching consequences. 

It can be tempting to speak too soon. Timing is everything. I know that when my book came out, five years following my recovery and I subsequently suffered a relapse, I felt terrible. I felt as though I had ‘let the world down’. I had spoken on radio and television, been featured in articles and suddenly, there I was depressed once again. The downward spiral was driven by feelings of failure and I didn’t recognise it – nor did those who were caring for me! It was in fact short lived and not nearly as severe, but my confidence took a big hit. 

How much worse it could be, if an unwise tweet or a Facebook post gets into the wrong hands. It’s happened and the unintended consequences can be difficult to reverse. My advice is to check with a trusted friend or loved one when it comes to instant social media. 

But there is no such thing as never and it is clear is that we have solidarity and safety in numbers; those of us who can speak out, will speak out so that we can confidently tackle discrimination and help our patients to get the best care possible. '

Cathy  tweets about her experiences as doctor and patient, using the handle @cathywield1 and blogs here She has written two books about her experiences: Life After Darkness: a doctor’s journey through severe depression 2006  and A Thorn In My Mind: mental illness, stigma and the church 2012

&me is our joint campaign, with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Mind Matters Initiative, to encourage senior, currently well healthcare professionals including doctors, vets, dentists and pharmacists to informally self identify as having experienced a mental health condition in order to reduce the stigma of mental health in the healthcare professions.   Cathy is one of our amazing volunteers for this campaign.  Read her blog piece for the campaign here

Find out more about our campaign and how you might get involved here