Photography competition to capture our range of emotions and improve understanding of mental health

The competition is open to all age groups and runs until April 29. The winning entries will receive a prize and be part of a pop-up exhibition which will tour around a range of Trust sites in London and Bedfordshire during the summer.

The competition is open to people living and working in the areas where the East London NHS Foundation Trust provides services, which includes Bedfordshire.

The theme is ‘That feeling when…’ a photograph which captures a moment, an emotion or a mood.

Simply take your photo and email it to the trust with a brief description of the background to the photo and what feeling it sums up to you.

Stephen Sandford, arts therapies lead at the trust said: “We would love to receive images which capture the whole range of emotions - a great punch the air ‘eureka’ moment or a moment of exasperation, irony, amusement, glee, anger or frustration. A gallery of the emotions we all experience.

“Today, everyone is a photographer either on their phones, tablet or camera, so we hope the competition will capture your imagination and help us think about mental health wellbeing.”

Mental illness is more common than many people think yet it is still often met with ignorance and discrimination, says the trust, which hopes that by showing life with all its ups and downs will be a way of stimulating discussion, promoting understanding and changing attitudes.

Deputy chief executive, Dr Navina Evans, said: “We hope to gather a collection of photographs that will promote a better understanding of mental health issues, celebrate the good times and acknowledge the difficult times we all face. With support and understanding, we can help one another and challenge stigma.”

There are three separate categories:

1) Children up the age of 18 years

2)Working age adults

3) Older age adults (65+)

Visit the trust’s website: www.elft.nhs.uk for more information about the competition rules, criteria and how to submit your entry.