Coming out as being gay is easier than admitting to a mental health condition, study shows

People are more reluctant to reveal they have a mental illness than to come out as gay, according to a new study that reaffirms warnings from campaigners that mental illness still faces a persistent social taboo.

In a survey of 2,000 people across Britain, almost 30% said they would find it difficult to admit publicly to having a mental illness, compared with 20% who said they would have difficulty coming out as gay.

Commissioned by the Time to Change campaign, an umbrella group of charities and the Institute of Psychiatry with a remit to challenge stigma, the survey also found that admitting to a