What you don't see about depression | Jayne Hardy | TEDxBrum

Jayne is founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation, providing peer support for those with depression and their loved ones too. Her campaign #WhatYouDontSee swept social media earlier this year as part of Depression Awareness Week and is still fuelling on-going conversations, inviting people to share the realities of living with depression and challenge the stigma surrounding it. Hear Jayne’s courageous account of how she gave up on giving up with the help of those brave enough to share their stories of truth and hope, something her important work now extends to others.

Jayne Hardy is the founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation. Losing most of her twenties to depression, at the height of her illness she was unable to work, leave the house or undertake the most basic acts of self care. Jayne founded Blurt to prevent others from feeling isolated as she had done. Having experienced the powerful connections that could be fostered via social media she deliberately focused Blurt’s activities online, providing interim support for those struggling with depression and challenging the stigma around mental health. Her most recent campaign #WhatYouDontSee trended on twitter for 4 hours on Monday 18th April as part of Depression Awareness Week. The hashtag has been used over 100,000 times on facebook and a Buzzfeed article about the campaign has been read over 750,000 times. #WhatYouDontSee also gained support from the Mental Health Shadow Minister Luciana Berger, MP Johnny Mercer, and celebrities including rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx