article: To get people talking and help break the stigma, charities have launched Time to Talk Day on Thursday. Here, eight people share their experiences. Diagnosis: Depression, anxiety and distress intolerance I've suffered since I was a young girl and always prided myself on how well I could hide my illness. I would lie to my school friends telling them I was on holiday when I was actually an in-patient. If I was not bubbly and sociable, my friends would say I was in "death mode". It made me feel very isolated. They're no longer my friends - just acquaintances. It has caused lasting damage and meant I always try to pretend I'm OK now. People need to understand that there's a spectrum of emotions - it's OK to feel happy, and it's OK to feel sad. Diagnosis: Borderline personality disorder At my worst, I was very erratic and hurtful. For my parents, it was like having an imposter in their home. My dad almost disowned me - he told me to snap out of it. Every time I had a bad day, he assumed I was suicidal or I was going to hurt someone. I think he was scared of the implications of having a child that would be ill for the rest of their life. It made me feel very unsupported, as though he did not accept me, so I moved out. It took three years to heal our relationship, and took for me to get worse and then better again for him to see that I could get better. I wish he had sat down with me and talked to me, rather than treat me like a burden. Diagnosis: Depression and anxiety My partner - and first love - was working in France. I had been struggling with the distance and my mind had started whirring with negative thoughts. She knew my history but thought it was in my past. A week before I was due to fly out to see her, she broke up with me over Skype. I blamed myself entirely for the split, and started thinking maybe I could never have a relationship. My family and friends are very supportive so it was hard not to get the support from someone I loved. I've tried to explain my anxiety to her in a letter and emails, but she hasn't replied. I'm very lucky to have a new partner now. She finds it really hard to fully understand my problems but she's read up on anxiety. It's about being there to listen - not judge. Diagnosis: Bipolar disorder I had a temper, I was uncontrollable but, for a long time, I just thought it was me. All my relationships in the past have broken down. It's been a nightmare. You get looked at in a different way from a "normal" person. Every argument is: "Are you taking your medicine?", "You're a nutter." It's very hard to explain what goes on in your mind. Some days can feel like your mind is a prison - you're trapped. My fiancee
summary: The stigma around mental health problems can have a devastating impact on people's lives, a survey has found, often leaving behind a trail of break-ups, severed friendships and lost jobs.