An advocate from Cheshire has spoken on Time to Talk Day about the importance of speaking about your mental health and how her own experiences of mental illness have shaped her life and career.

Lisa says she first struggled with her mental health at a "really young age", and remembers "going backwards and forwards to the GP" when she was a teenager.

"It was always put down as stress, anxiety or depression," said the 34-year-old, who works for voice and rights charity VoiceAbility as an advocate in Cheshire, supporting people to be heard in decisions about their health, care and wellbeing.

"I've been under different services like CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services) since I was a teenager, and I've always kind of just got through it in one way or another.

"I've had time off work, I've unfortunately had times where I have attempted to take my own life and I've had really, really dark periods in my life.

"I was just really struggling. I'd gone through loads of different types of antidepressants, and they weren't really doing anything for me."

Eventually Lisa ended up getting further assessments and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) in 2022.

VoiceAbility advocate Lisa with her dogs Guacamole and Peanut (Credit: Lisa).

"I've been through a significant amount of trauma, which is where my BPD stems from.

"And, since diagnosis, I've been under the complex needs service and the community mental health team, and had something called cognitive analytical therapy.

"That's changed my life. I've always had a good level of self-awareness, but it's just something entirely different now.

"And I don't feel like I struggle anymore. I feel like it's 'just life' now.

"I always try to sit there and think if it wasn't for my life experiences, if it wasn't for this or that, I wouldn't be who I am and I wouldn't be where I am. So I try to find the positives in it wherever possible."

Lisa recalls how her granddad was detained under the Mental Health Act for a period of time, and how mental health has been weaved throughout her life.

"Because of that, all the jobs I've had have had a connection with it," said Lisa, whose role as an advocate includes statutory advocacy under the Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act.

"I've done social work, I've done commissioning including for people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), I've done residential work for children and adults, management, and been a support worker for adults with disabilities."

Lisa has been working as an advocate in Cheshire for VoiceAbility since July 2024, after spending 14 years in the public sector (Credit: Lisa).

After 14 years working for local authorities in England and a short stint in the private sector, Lisa became a VoiceAbility advocate in Cheshire in July 2024.

"I have always wanted to be the person that I didn't have when I needed it and to be the person that others should have when they need it," she said.

"It doesn't matter who you are and where you're from. You should have that unwavering support that an advocate can provide.

"And at a time where, across the world and systems, voices aren't really heard or listened to, it's one of the most important things you can do."

Asked why she wanted to share her experiences for Time to Talk Day, Lisa added: "I see things in my life like a pie chart that change and evolve over time.

"So my mental health slice of my pie chart may be small one day, larger the next day ­– and that can change from hour to hour, day to day, month to month, year to year.

"I think it's really important for people to talk about that because we all have mental health, and sometimes when people talk about mental health they just think about the negative side.

"So I think it's really important to talk about it when it's going well, as well as when you start to struggle.

Away from work, Lisa enjoys hiking in areas like Moel Famau, just across the Welsh border (Credit: Lisa).

"I think you then realise how many other people are in the same situation and how many other people go up and down as well, and that's perfectly normal.

"It's all about how you respond and navigate those situations – and talking about it is the only way that you're going to be able to do that.

"I am a massive advocate of talking to the people around you, but I'm also a huge advocate for therapy. There's a stigma around it that you have to be unwell to go to therapy, but I just feel like it just should be a standard thing for everybody.

"I'm quite happy in talking about it because I'm not ashamed of the fact that I have these needs or a diagnosis.

"There's nothing for me to be ashamed of. I just need a little extra help sometimes, and that's fine."

VoiceAbility provides free advocacy services across the UK, including in Cheshire, nearby Manchester, Oldham and Tameside.

For more information about this or if you're interested in becoming an advocate, with roles in Greater Manchester currently available, visit www.voiceability.org.  

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