Q&A with Jonny Benjamin: #FindMike campaigner with schizophrenia

Jonny Benjamin is a mental health campaigner with schizoaffective disorder, an illness with similar symptoms to schizophrenia and depression. Photograph: David Baird/Rethink Mental Illness

On 14 January 2008, Jonny Benjamin went to Waterloo Bridge in London to take his own life. He was stopped by a stranger on his way to work who talked him down.

Benjamin has schizoaffective disorder, a mental illness which combines the symptoms of schizophrenia with mania and depression. It can be treated with therapy or medication. The causes of the condition are not clear.

After that 25 minute conversation, Benjamin did not see the stranger again for six years. He did not know his name, but nicknamed him “Mike”. In January 2014, together with the charity Rethink Mental Illness, Jonny launched #FindMike, a campaign to find the stranger. It spread quickly and within weeks, Neil Laybourn had been found and the pair reunited.

#FindMike was a campaign run by mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin and charity Rethink Mental Illness with Postcard Productions

Benjamin says: “Most people with schizophrenia aren’t violent or dangerous. I’m so tired of this misconception. It’s tough enough to live with schizophrenia, but the hardest thing of all about it is living with the stigma that’s attached to it.”

Both Benjamin and Laybourn are now ambassadors for Rethink Mental Illness, while Benjamin runs a youtube channel to challenge stigma around mental illness. He created this short film to help people to understand what is like to live with schizoaffective disorder.

Jonny Benjamin is a mental health campaigner for Rethink Mental Illness, one of the charities for this year’s Guardian and Observer Christmas appeal

In support of the Guardian and Observer Christmas appeal on mental health, Jonny Benjamin has agreed to answer questions from readers.

Benjamin says: “I was terrified to talk openly about my mental health issues because of the stigma around mental health and suffered in silence for a long time. When I finally opened up about my mental illness it was a huge relief and now I campaign to encourage others to do the same. I want people to know there is no shame or embarrassment in having a mental health issue.”

Ask Jonny Benjamin your questions

What would you like to ask Jonny Benjamin?

You can submit your questions to Jonny until Friday in the comments below or by using the hashtag #AskJonny on twitter @SocietyGuardian, @EmmaEHoward or on our mental health Tumblr. You can also use the google form below if you wish to remain anonymous.