Chik Duncan noticed his mental health declining slowly before he was formally diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions.
He said: “At the very beginning when I started to become unwell, it was quite gradual.
“I certainly didn’t understand what was happening to me.
“It wasn’t so much that I was denying I was unwell or that I was telling anyone I was ‘fine’ – I just wasn’t telling anybody anything.
“I would be going out and about with friends, and quite often I would be late to things.
“But I wouldn’t give the real reason. I would say I got held up.”
It was not until his friends jumped in to help him and he went to see a psychologist that Chik could finally open up about his struggles.
The Rutherglen man says that realisation felt like “such a huge relief”.
He added: “I fairly quickly realised that being open about my mental health was so much easier than trying to hide it.
“Because hiding it, you’re putting yourself under more stress, more pressure, and OCD is an anxiety-related condition, so it only makes it worse.
“I’ve also found that since then, so many potentially awkward situations have been de-fused by me going: ‘Oh, sorry, I can’t do that. I have OCD.’
“It takes a lot of the pressure off of you.”
After finding relief in discussing his mental health struggles, Chik is now determined to help others do the same.
He said: “The more we talk about it, the more we normalise the fact that people have different conditions and that’s likely to reduce stigma.
“Don’t be afraid to talk about any issues you might have going on.”
Chik now volunteers with See Me, Scotland’s programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination.
Together they are urging people to take part in Time to Talk Day on Thursday, February 1.
Time to Talk Day is the UK’s biggest conversation on mental health stigma, helping to break down barriers and reduce the stigma which prevents so many from asking for help when they need it.
Wendy Halliday, See Me director, said: “Time to Talk Day provides an ideal chance to ask someone how they are and encourage them to really say how they feel.
“By talking about mental health, we can challenge attitudes and outdated views – reducing stigma and creating supportive communities where talking about mental health can feel empowering.”
Last year organisers held a mix of online and in-person events and activities across the country to increase conversations about mental health.
The charity hopes this year will be an even bigger success.
Resources and activity packs are available now from the See Me website to help you start planning how you’ll mark Time to Talk Day 2024. To find out more, click here.
