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A devoted nurse who ended her 28-year career after facing stigma over mental illness says sufferers should not be “feared or defined by their diagnosis”. Denise Martin, 56, first came into contact with psychiatric services aged 15 and was diagnosed with bipolar type II in her twenties. She later qualified as a mental health nurse and chose not to hide her diagnosis.

But several years ago, a job offer was withdrawn after her potential employer became aware of her condition. Denise, of Gloucester, said: “The whole episode made me feel less of a person. After that, I experienced depression and let my registration as a nurse lapse.



I haven’t been well or confident enough to enter employment since. “In a world without stigma, I wouldn’t have to hide who I am. I hope that one day we can live in a world where people with mental health problems aren’t feared or defined by their diagnosis.

” READ MORE: NHS lists signs you're not getting enough vitamins and what to do about it Denise shared her heartbreaking story as a report revealed that stigma around mental health problems in England is rising across several measures for the first time in over 10 years. Mind’s latest Attitudes to Mental Illness survey found people were less likely to think sufferers could recover and less willing to live with or near them in 2023, compared with 2019. The charity warned that progress made on tackling stigma in recent years is “fragile and not fixed”.

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