Mind Matters announces new &Me ambassador

We are pleased to announce Dr Cathy Wield as the most recent ambassador for the &Me campaign, a joint anti-stigma mental health campaign with the Doctors’ Support Network. The year-long campaign showcases stories from senior people within the healthcare professions, be they veterinarians, GPs, dentists or psychiatrists, who have experienced mental ill health in the past. Through these stories the campaign hopes to reduce the stigma around mental health and show young professionals that it doesn’t stand in the way of a successful career.

Cathy returned to work in emergency medicine after experiencing two bouts of major depression which included hospital admissions and brain surgery. She has written extensively about her experience as a doctor with depression, including two books: Life after Darkness: A Doctor’s Journey Through Severe Depression, and A Thorn in My Mind: Mental Illness, Stigma and the Church.

In her &Me story, published on the Mind Matters website, Cathy writes: “We are whole people, the mind and body are not separate entities and we all deserve respect and care regardless of our past or present symptoms, or what brought them about.”