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Mental Health

Hundreds Stick Post-Its to Their Heads to Spread Important 3-Word Message

Elisabeth Brentano
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Laura Darrall launched the #ItAffectsMe social media campaign on Tuesday, a movement to help end the stigma associated with mental illness.

The idea behind the campaign is pretty simple. Write “#ItAffectsMe” on a Post-It note, stick it on your forehead and take a selfie.

“#itaffectsme is simply the statement that we have all known or will know mental illness in our lives, whether through ourselves, families, friends or a stranger in the street,” Darrall writes on her website.

The 28-year-old wrote on her personal blog that she “has suffered on and off from anxiety, depression, panic attacks and more OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) than you could sink a battle ship with.” In a YouTube video on the #ItAffectsMe website, Darrall explains that after getting help, she wanted to figure out a way to give back to Mind, the organization that helped her.

While Darrall encourages campaign participants to include a link to MIND and donate to the organization, she also wants to raise awareness.

“Help is out there and only by talking and sharing can we find it,” she told The Mighty. “If we share our mental illnesses with people, they can be strong for us when we can not. And people want to help, they want to hold your hand if you give them the chance. So do, talk to them and give them that chance.”

“We’re very grateful to Laura and everyone else taking part in her It Affects Me campaign for standing up and challenging the stigma that still exists around mental health,” Ruth Richards, Head of Marketing & Communications for Mind, told The Mighty. “The donations Mind receives as a result will help us to provide vital support for people with mental health problems when they need it the most.”

Laura Darrall poses with a Post-It on her forehead
Laura Darrall is encouraging others to follow her lead (Image courtesy of #ItAffectsMe / Laura Darrall)

“My main aim is to get mental health education into the curriculum, to end stigma and to get people talking,” Darrall added. “If I can get just one person who is suffering to speak out and ask for help then it is worth every single tear I ever shed last year.”

Darrall is “completely thrilled and overwhelmed” by the response to the movement. She posted the composite photo below on the #ItAffectsMe Facebook page, and hundreds more appear on Facebook and Twitter.

People pose with Post-Its on their faces
Image courtesy of #ItAffectsMe / Laura Darrall

h/t Cosmopolitan

Elisabeth Brentano
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elisabeth-brentano
Originally published: January 14, 2016
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