12 May 2025
We are using the words and voices of people with lived experience in a new region-wide mental health campaign giving the message that even if you don’t feel it yourself, you matter.
Today (12 May), we have launched the You Matter campaign, which highlights the importance of getting help early if you are struggling with your mental health.
It signposts to a range of easily accessible help and support that can improve mental health and wellbeing. This includes self-help guides, Recovery College Online, community wellbeing hubs and support centres, mental health support in GP surgeries and Talking Therapies.
You Matter was created alongside people who have lived experience of mental illness, either personally or as a carer, and uses their own words throughout the campaign.
Ruth Lord, from Durham, has turned her life around following years of treatment for depression and bi-polar and is a part of the group that has developed the campaign.
She said: I’ve chosen to use my experience as fuel to drive me forward, rather than a weight to shackle me down. I want to help others by sharing my experiences.
I want to make people stop and think and seek that bit of support if they need it. You matter, you really do – even if you don’t feel you do. Everyone matters.
I think the You Matter campaign is important because people are suffering in silence.
You need to embrace your own worth – and then make sure other people know they matter too. You need to keep telling people they matter until they believe it.
Bridget Marlow*, from North Yorkshire, has spent more than 30 years as a carer for family and friends, helping to support them through times of physical and mental health crisis.
She has struggled with her own mental health and used the Recovery College Online as part of her journey to recovery.
She has also been involved in developing the campaign, and said: Speaking from my own recent experience, I want people to reach out for support without stigma, in order for them to develop skills, aided by professionals, to improve their self worth and confidence.
I want them to not only feel visible and heard but to realise that they really do matter.
Maisie Shaw*, also from North Yorkshire, is making it her life’s mission to help people – after suffering years of heartache, trauma and abuse.
She said: It’s a fact, it’s not a feeling. It’s not an idea, it’s a fact – they really matter. If we can help one person by helping them understand that they matter, then that’s amazing.
We all have a story to tell, and every story matters. This campaign is so important, as we need to help other people realise that they matter too.
To find out more about the campaign and the support on offer, visit the You Matter webpage.
