2020 will always be remembered as the year our lives changed dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic. We want to find out how this is affecting people’s emotional and mental health. To do this, we’re gathering first-hand experiences of people living through the pandemic.

Whether you have had a mental health difficulty before or not, whatever age you are, wherever you are from, let us know how coronavirus and the sudden changes to our lives have affected your mental health, using this question as a starting point:

How has your emotional and mental health been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?

Simply submit a written piece (poetry or prose) of up to 2,000 words through this online form. You may want to create your piece on another platform first, e.g. Microsoft Word, and then copy and paste the text into the form. You can share an account of one specific day or experience, or you might want to reflect on the impact the pandemic has had on you over the year. Please only share one account as part of this project.

This is your opportunity to share an insight into your world and your life. We want to hear your own experiences in your own words, whatever the impact on you has been. There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ responses, and nothing is off-limits.

Our team will review each piece to ensure it is not defamatory or libellous and doesn't involve hate speech. We will then publish accounts on our website in tranches between June 2020 and January 2021.

Our research team will look at the different themes coming from the stories and find out how people have coped and what has helped. We will publish what they find (anonymously) on our website.

You can find more information here: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/yearinourlives

If you have any questions about the project, including issues of accessibility, please get in touch with us at ourlives@centreformentalhealth.org.uk

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