Rethink Mental Illness' 50th Anniversary Campaign Puts Severe Mental Illness on People's Agenda

Rethink Mental Illness looks to put severe mental illness on people's agenda in 50th anniversary campaign by ACNE London.

ACNE London has launched its first campaign for Rethink Mental Illness, since winning the account at the end of last year. The advertising campaign aims to raise awareness of psychosis in young people and marks the 50th anniversary of the charity. 

Despite a welcome shift in perceptions of common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, there is still a great deal of stigma around severe mental illness and a wall of silence which can prevent people from seeking help early on. 

A first episode of psychosis usually occurs between the ages of 18-22 and symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions and detachment, and is a potential symptom of long term severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, BPD and bipolar disorder. What is not commonly known is that if a first episode of psychosis is treated early many people will go on to recover and live a happy and fulfilled life. 

The campaign ‘From psychosis to…’ features real young people with lived experience of psychosis sharing their stories of hope in a bid to bring psychosis to national attention, reduce stigma and encourage people to reach out for treatment.

Louise Lomax, client director at ACNE London, says "it's been a privilege to work with the team at Rethink Mental Illness and create work which will hopefully make a genuine, positive impact on people's lives".

James Harris, associate director of communications for Rethink Mental Illness said: ''Over the last decade the nation has been on a journey in evolving its understanding of mental health. But significant barriers remain in terms of our perceptions and understanding of mental illness. We knew that we had to take a creative approach, which at its core instilled the value of hope. It has been amazing to work with ACNE on this campaign, they fully embraced the brief and have created, in conjunction with people with lived experience of psychosis, a campaign that we hope begins to turn the tide in the way we begin to talk about and see mental illness.”