An autistic woman is bravely tackling mental health stigma by constantly oversharing at work, according to reports.
Emma Bernard, 29, from Wallasey, has inspired colleagues by bringing her complex history of mental illnesses to the weekly Zoom team meeting.
“It’s time to break the silence,” Bernard told us, after having been quiet for precisely two-and-a-half minutes.
“I made the mistake of asking if there was any other business,” colleague Ben Espenson, 41, explained. “She launched into a monologue about that time she mistook her father’s cycling helmet for Darth Vader during an episode of psychosis. She then proceeded to ask aloud whether that little bit of sadness you feel post-wank is also a serious mental health condition.”
“It’s important to start these conversations – so long as those conversations are about myself,” Bernard continued. “I don’t want to hear about Robert’s divorce-induced insomnia. There’s a time and a place, right?”
“She’s really embraced that Time To Talk campaign,” supervisor Liz McHodge, 39, told us. “Though I think in Emma’s case, it might be time to stop.”
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