David Cameron: 'We need to end stigma of mental health'

[Buddy]

Well, perhaps not here, but you're falling into the trap of thinking that because you know something, you know everything and that your experience is representative. It's not.



The reasons behind depression are complex, varied and personal. For some people, it is a chemical imbalance - it's a physiological issue. For some, it's caused by social issues, sometimes they have control of that and can work they way to a better place and sometimes that's not possible.

Depending on what they cause is, depends what treatment is most effective. Some people find SSRIs help, some find that counselling helps, some will struggle through it for the rest of their life. To have effective and comprehensive MH care, you need to be willing to tackle these diverse causes with holistic treatments - and that is expensive.

+1

The waiting times are atrocious. South London wait times for children alone is 1 year! At such a critical age when thy are at school and developing.

They now reply with a standardised letter they send when you refer to psychiatry mentioning their lack of resources and apologise for the wait.

 

[Arazi]

actually I think you don't understand - you're completely missing the point, 16 million people aren't housebound and unable to string a sentence together - you're talking about the more severe cases and I'm not referring to them when I'm talking about the majority of people, obviously *some* people need CBT, drugs etc.. but we're talking about a quarter of the entire population each year who suffer some form of mental illness - they don't all need regular counselling and pills

And i would suggest a large % of those 16 million wouldn't even see any mental health issue coming or going, you dont expect it to happen, and everyone's circumstances are different, also the stigma affect plays a large part, i would suggest a lot of those people dont "get" the mental health problem so dont realise it has happened when it creeps up on them and for most of them it then creeps away.

I agree that for most it can be a mild form that affects them and passes but through having busy or whatever kind of lives they have they do not realise they have gone through a mental health issue.

I also do think that there are far more people out there with more severe mental health issues like i described in my other post and dont do anything at all about it, all because of the pressure and stigma related to admitting they have a problem.

Most of the people that you would tell you have a problem to will always have a slightly different view of you than the one they had before you told them.

 

[russell664]

+1

The waiting times are atrocious. South London wait times for children alone is 1 year! At such a critical age when thy are at school and developing.

They now reply with a standardised letter they send when you refer to psychiatry mentioning their lack of resources and apologise for the wait.

When I was 15, I had to wait around 6 months to be able to see a psychiatrist, and even then, I had to come back a month or so later for a 'benchmark' to see what the best way to proceed was.

 

[Tefal]

Why do legal highs exist today? Same answer to both questions

Cause people realised they could make decent money selling on non owned chemicals for recreation instead of infustrial use?

Cause i dont think thats the reason people sold glue in the 80's...

 

[Tefal]

The problem I have with "mental health" is this:

In physical health, you can have a cold. Most people would not consider a cold to be out of the ordinary and would probably not even seek help for it. There might be medicine which helps with the symptoms, but that is usually only used short term.

In mental health you can have the equivalent of a cold in the form of say, a bout of depression. Of course that is not ideal, but it's a normal part of the human experience. Sometimes you just feel low and it takes time to pick yourself up.

But due to all the propaganda being pumped out recently about mental health, people are not acting like this is the equivalent of say Type 1 Diabetes: "Oh, I have a mental health problem and need special treatment". NO, you've the equivalent of a bloody cold. Buck your ideas and get on with life.

And it doesn't help that doctors usually treat these bouts of depression with anti depressants. Often prescribing them for months and years at a time.

Why a cold?

Why isnt it the same as say, bacterial infection or diabetes or cancer or an ulcer?

All common conditions that youd have to be a spectacular **** tard to not seek medical help for.

 

[Tefal]

Mixing "Unapproved substances" with materials that make them unpalatable is fair enough. Officially Mixing them with lethal chemicals with the intention of "Punishing" users with serious injury or death is another thing altogether!

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2010/02/the_chemists_war.html

never heard of co-codamol then i take it?

thats about the only way they were able to make over the counter codeine a viable option.

 

[helpimcrap]

The problem is, and where your comparison falls apart, while you have a cold, your body is coordinating an immune response. You will get better, it's just a matter of time. With depression, the causes are often due to social issues that your body isn't going to fix or may not even be in control of. Time isn't going to guarantee you'll be better.

Agreed.

Mental health is a series of complex issues all dictated by one problem, however compounded by the 'stigma' attached.

To fix a problem you have to fix the source otherwise you're just applying a plaster/band aid to it. As said it's not being recognised in the right way.

ps ban all 'legal' high crap. I can't believe that ever got legalised.... the people who take it have a mental health issue to 'need' that high. Or an addiction similar to the effects drugs have on the synapses.

 

[Sliver]

ps ban all 'legal' high crap. I can't believe that ever got legalised...

Actually it's been blanket banned from what this report says.

The Assembly Health Committee member said the incoming Psychoactive Substances Act will help reduce the availability of ‘legal highs’ and will ban the production, supply and importation of these lethal substances. The legislation will come into effect from April 1.

http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.u...legal-highs-to-be-curbed-by-new-law-1-7215566

 

[Hiijinx]

I whole heartedly agree it needs attention to "de-stigmify" but have my doubts on just what that means in political terms. Being someone who suffers from mental health issues, I can say that nothing is more hurtful than having your own doctors trying to dismiss you by saying you look healthy and your issues are "all in your head" as if they aren't a real problem to treat.

 

[Rexxar]

There used to be proper treatment for mental health issues, all sold off and turned into flats now though....

Part of the issue is that I don't think it'll ever reach a point where people can turn around and say "hi, my names John and I have ptsd" etc... It's just not socially acceptable and I know that I wouldn't be comfortable sharing my mental health issues with a stranger if I had them..

 

[Tefal]

There used to be proper treatment for mental health issues, all sold off and turned into flats now though....

errrr...


people have made flats out of psychiatrists?

 

[Ayahuasca]

Probably talking about psych wards, there's still one close to me that's been completely revamped into a very nice facility.

 

[Sliver]

errrr...


people have made flats out of psychiatrists?

Apparently if you lay one psychiatrist on top of another you get LEGO.

Seriously though, in my area the austerity measures this government has implemented has decimated social and mental health care centres in my community. Funding gone and charities left to fend for themselves.