‘Think of us as the knowing nod. You’ve seen it – a slight bob of the head, often accompanied by a smile. A little movement that says, “I understand”, “I’m listening” and “I’m here for you”. That’s us.’
Woman of the week for this week is founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation, Jayne Hardy. Having struggled with severe depression for most of her twenties, Hardy knows first-hand the isolation and loneliness one can feel when battling this disease, and it inspired her to do something to change that.
Hardy’s depression made it difficult for her to maintain social relationships, owing to the overwhelming feeling and concern about being a burden to her friends. She found it difficult to reach out to her loved ones because of the deep shame that she felt. Alongside this, the long waiting list for counselling sessions resulted in Hardy feeling like she had no one to turn to.
That was when she discovered twitter.
For the first time, Hardy was able to find people who seemed to experiencing similar things to her. She found people that faced similar difficulties, who she could relate to, and who could relate to her. She felt less alone.
This experience inspired Hardy to set up the Blurt Foundation, a charity with a goal to prevent others struggling with depression from feeling such isolation. Having directly experienced the power of social media in creating connections she focused Blurt’s activities online, creating an online peer support group, facilitated by trained volunteers to allow people to express themselves in a safe environment.
Blurt was designed to both provide interim support for those affected by depression, either those experiencing it or loved ones, as well as to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health. It offers several forms of support, including the peer support group, regular podcasts and the ‘Buddy-Box’, a self-care kit designed to relieve stress and help people to look after their mental health.
Hardy has been recognised for her outstanding work in several ways, including being awarded the TalkTalk Digital Hero Award in 2011, being included as one of Marketing Magazine’s list of Top 10 Digital Mavericks 2015, and finally being mentioned as one of 19 inspirational women leading the way in mental health by Rethink as part of their International Women’s Day celebrations.
In April 2016 Hardy was asked to speak at the TED conference in Birmingham. Watch the video to hear her speak about her own experiences with depression, her reasons for setting up Blurt, and the impact social media can have in bringing people together.