It’s a good step forward that some people may talk more openly about living with depression and anxiety, but rare to hear of what it’s like to live with a condition like schizophrenia.

We don't want you to feel guilty, and we appreciate your offers of support, but please don't keep pushing to "fix" it for us. That just makes us feel guilty and we'll try to hide our struggles because we don't want to be a burden or appear ungrateful. Please just accept us as we are.

Recovery is the ongoing maintenance of ones self, not a singular destination to reach where everything is “perfect”.

Even when you are in a period of stable mental health, you can still be living with an undercurrent of fear about becoming unwell again.

Some medication makes you sedated and lethargic. The person isn't lazy the medication has that effect.

Needing workplace accommodations for my mental illness does not mean I should find a new job. I would need accommodations regardless of where I worked.

Fighting the triggers and symptoms, all day, every day, takes a kind of strength that most people will never know. That strength shouldn’t be feared, it should be celebrated.

It’s not a fun quirk or a cute part of my personality that makes me special. It’s not something to use as an adjective, to trivialise or to belittle. It’s an illness, treat it as such.

Sometimes a hug is enough to keep us fighting another day!

Stigma is still attached to mental illness and it stops many people from acknowledging how they are feeling, and from seeking help.

At times we could come across as ‘rude’, but actually we’re fighting a battle inside our own heads and find certain situations difficult and may not handle it great.

Just because someone experiences mental illness, doesn't mean they can't have ambitions and excel with the right support and understanding. Don't assume someone isn't capable because of their mental illness