Digital Champion sponsored by Konica Minolta
Awarded to a blogger, vlogger, Tweeter, Instagrammer, YouTuber, Tumblrite and any individual online creator originating in the UK, who embrace digital media to raise awareness about mental health or to support the mental health community.
Winner: Charlotte Mullin, Chuck Draws Things
Through an ongoing, non sequential comic, Charlotte details her experiences of living with anxiety and depression as told through pigeons. Charlotte believes pigeons have an undeserved negative reputation, and as somebody who is constantly subjected to her anxiety grinding her own self-worth down, she can relate.
Through Chuck Draws Things Charlotte aims to challenge the one-dimensional view of anxiety and depression and to help people feel less isolated and more understood.
Shortlisted entries
Anneli Roberts
Pigletish
Anneli is a survivor of domestic abuse, with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. She documents her recovery and draws raises awareness of her mental illness through her blog Pigletish, podcast Pigletish Talks, and Twitter and YouTube profiles.
Anneli believes that, as a response to the lack of treatment available in the UK, there needs to be more emphasis on peer-to-peer support so people with a mental illness don't feel ashamed or alone.
Claire Eastham
We're All Mad Here
In response to a BBC report that revealed 300,000 people in the UK leave their jobs every year as a direct result of a mental health condition, Claire wrote a piece on how to Be Mental Health Savvy at Work for her blog We're All Mad Here. In it she discusses mental health in the workplace, how important it is to take care of our minds and shares her top tips.
Kate Baguley
Wot I Learnt
On her blog Wot I Learnt, Kate shares her experiences of living with anorexia, clinical depression and anxiety. Her posts take a realistic and non-food related approach in discussing topics related to anorexia. Since, she's been a guest on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live.
Katie Conibear
Stumbling Mind
Katie writes about her own experiences of bipolar disorder, psychosis and bulimia, hoping to be a voice for one of the most vulnerable groups in society.
Sharing her story began as a therapeutic outlet, but Stumbling Mind has evolved to become a safe place for discussion and the offering of advice. The posts range from journal entries that describe psychotic episodes, to advice on how to approach a GP if you feel you may have bipolar disorder.
