Readers blog: Start taking mental health seriously

For the last five years of my life, I have suffered with mental illness. These illnesses have ranged from brief flirtations with starvation and self-harm, to long-lasting relationships with generalised anxiety disorder and depression.

I have self-harmed and ended up in A&E for suicidal thoughts.

These are legitimate, potentially life-threatening conditions, but in my experience, they are rarely held in this regard.