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‘Citizen Therapy’ website, Big White Wall (bigwhitewall.com), is the first emotional health network where people can express themselves anonymously without fear of being judged or stigmatised. Big White Wall empowers individuals from all over the world to reach out and share support with their online neighbours.

Big White Wall users express their secrets, fears or deeper concerns on a brick on The Wall by uploading images, drawing or writing. The brick is then posted alongside thousands of others on The Wall, each of which represents one unit of human emotion. The range of topics posted so far is vast, from self harm and depression, to family issues and relationship problems; all of which can lead to mental health problems if not addressed.

Big White Wall offers peer support, or ‘citizen therapy’, as users interact with each other by commenting on bricks, offering views and encouragement in the Talkabout forum or through using one-to-one private messaging.

At a time when emotional health is fast being recognized as a global issue with anxiety and depression are set to become the second largest health problem by 2020, with economic recession beckoning, and with increasing doubt about the value of medication as an adequate response to poor mental health, Big White Wall offers a life-enhancing space for those who need a place to express what is really on their mind. As one of the users recently commented:

‘I am very new in here, finding my way to the wall is my last attempt to keep fighting. I find everything so difficult to bear at the moment, but this community is somehow enabling me to continue the struggle. I thank you for your kind welcome and for all the people who have not turned their back on me in my moment of crisis. My only hope is that when my strength returns, I can be as empathetic as you all.’ JayT

The Big White Wall audience is hugely varied and more recently has included US and UK military veterans struggling to come to terms with rehabilitation into civilian life as well as those who are feeling the bite of economic downturn. Also on Big White Wall are concerned parents, distressed and lonely college students, individuals struggling with their sexuality, and many others.

The one thing all these users share is a struggle to express how they are really feeling to their friends and family. On Big White Wall people share issues in a safe online space to gain the confidence to have emotionally healthy lives offline.

Founder Jenny Hyatt, Chairman Vanda Scott OBE, and CEO Charlotte Vere of Big White Wall, are all available for interview

Contact:

Clare Spurrell, Communications Director

email: clare at bigwhitewall.com

The recent multiple suicides in Bridgend in the UK has highlighted concerns about the potential for certain websites to facilitate or encourage suicide. But one site is dedicated to the prevention of self harm and emotional desperation and has reinvented traditional support systems for the online generation: Big White Wall.

Whilst attempts by government and regulatory bodies to improve the safety of youngsters and others online are laudable, it is also important to appreciate how websites like bigwhitewall.com help thousands of people each day deal with anxiety, depression, social isolation and related issues. Its founder Jenny Hyatt commented: ’People have lost their traditional support networks due to increasing mobility, work pressures and the greater likelihood of them living alone. This has resulted in a greater emphasis on the individual having to cope alone in contemporary society. While the internet can be a dangerous place for people who are vulnerable, it can also be a lifeline if such people know where to go.’

Big White Wall was launched in October 2007 as the online specialist in emotional health. Its founder, Jenny Hyatt, is a survivor of an emotional health crisis. She believes it is vital to provide an anonymous space on the web where people can express everyday worries and deeper concerns, openly and honestly.

In 2006 there were 31 million prescriptions for anti-depressants written in the UK. Furthermore, around one in three GP visits are related to emotional or mental health issues and one in four adults will experience a major depressive episode in their lives.

‘You don’t have to be alone or lonely to suffer from emotional health issues – emotional isolation can occur in the most sociable of people. Regardless of how many friends you have, there are still many things that you cannot talk about freely with them, you fear they may see you differently, that what you are worrying about appears ‘out of character’ to them or that they will not understand’, says Hyatt. ‘Put this all together and we have a meteoric growth in people turning to medicine to seek help or internalising their issues when what they really need is emotional support. At the current rate of increase, anxiety and depression will be the second most disabling condition in the world after heart disease by 2020’.

Big White Wall takes the best of social networking practices – encouraging free expression and engagement with peers – whilst encouraging a clear culture of support. In its first four months it has seen thousands of issues raised from people struggling with grief or relationship breakdown to depression, bulimia and sexual abuse. Big White Wall provides a space for people to resolve everyday anxieties whilst providing a first step to encourage the more troubled to seek professional help offline.

‘We are not naïve about the potential dangers of a site that is explicitly dealing with difficult problems and challenging issues in people’s lives’, comments Hyatt. ‘We want to provide a space that is not only highly accessible, engaging and informative, but one that also encourages peer to peer support. We have found many people struggle to use services or charities that carry a ‘mental health’ label. We provide a vital stepping stone to expert help but one that has the attractions of many other social networks.’

As government and regulatory bodies review social networking, it is hoped that they also embrace the potential of websites such as Big White Wall for early intervention and prevention of the slide into more serious emotional and mental health conditions.

Jenny Hyatt, Founder of Big White Wall, is available for interview