On 10th October 2017, talkhealth and Janssen collaborated to run a tweet chat for World Mental Health Day focusing on Schizophrenia. Using the hashtag, #TalkSchizophrenia and #WMHD17. Talkhealth, Janssen, members of the talkhealth community and other interested parties including MIND Herefordshire took part in a stimulating discussion of the stigmas of schizophrenia and mental health.
It is clear that many do not know much about schizophrenia and this is one of the main reasons why people do not understand the illness. People who suffer with schizophrenia have to deal with misconceptions all the time. Our aim was to find out why and how such issues around schizophrenia and the challenges mental health sufferers may face could be better helped.
We were delighted with the amount of participation and interest generated from the Tweet Chat. Interestingly we trended in Belgium and reached over 45,000 people with our tweets during the chat and the build up to it. Over 60 tweets were exchanged during the course of the chat, including invaluable engagement from both bloggers, health care professionals and specialists in mental health. We hope to reach more for future Tweet Chats.
For those that took part in the chat, we would like to say a big thank you for your involvement. If you missed the #TalkSchizophrenia Tweet Chat, don’t worry – you can read the conversation by looking at our Storify of the chat – which contains highlights from the day including informative advice from twitter followers and Janssen. Why not follow us on Twitter for more Tweet Chats and join us in our forums to find support, and meet others to openly discuss your health concerns, issues and opinions!