Dark Days...

[Jog On]

I think it's because in the 70's we had no real processed food, trans fats, additives or E numbers. Most veg was 'organic'. No meat pumped full of hormones to make the animals grow quicker etc. Alcohol was much more expensive. I think diet & lifestyle is to blame for a LOT more than people think.

We didn't have the media bombarding us with perfect images, mobile phones, gaming, the internet, social media, online bullying, access to free porn. It's no wonder young people especially suffer anxiety with all that going on.

This (IMO). Hyperstimulation and information overload + social media bragging and comparing lifestyles etc.

[quackhandle]

It's cos Noel Edmunds stopped presenting Swap Shop after the 70's ended, and went on to other shows that were crappy - the nation's mental health too a dive from then onwards..

TisWas was far better!

qh

[Zigenare]

TisWas was far better!

qh

The only 2 bits of tiswas that were better were Sally James' breasts!

[mb31]

I found it interesting that the advice from the 'professionals' is that if you are on the edge of suicide then broadcast to the few not the many to avoid overload and fixation. That may be true but then again without this thread I wouldn't be able to identify the few to broadcast to at CUK and the fact it's an anonymous forum makes a difference for ease of disclosure. On mental health forums you often get lost in the noise.

Regarding mental health awareness at work, and at the risk of the Tory caricatures joining, I'm very cynical about it.

After targeting the majority of their NHS austerity cuts at mental Health services, the Tories realised that the service was in crisis and not fit for purpose so rather than injecting more funding they performed a crafty manoeuvre by displacing responsibility for mental health and well-being onto employers under the oversight of HSE. Mental health became part of company briefings and metrics, posters cropped up in staff kitchens and volunteers became mental health champions. Most of the champions have limited knowledge of enduring conditions and tend to compound all mental illnesses into mild stress, anxiety and depression. The aim is to signpost people to help and encourage them to exercise or perform mindfulness as a cure all.

In other words the employers passed the responsibility back onto employees to self manage or see a GP. People in their droves then booked GP appointment. GPs referred to mental health services and an already overstretched services saw a threefold increase in referrals but without any additional funds to increase capacity. A psychiatrist who is the source of this information told me there is a mild hysteria going on, for example three out of four patients who are referred for potential Bipolar actually have mild anxiety. Unfortunately Bipolar has become very fashionable, some people want to be like Mariah Carey and other people look for an excuse for errant behaviour e.g. I cheated on my wife three times but it's the bipolar. That's not to say that 1 in 4 genuine cases are not important to catch but that the primary care system of referrals is not resourced well enough to handle milder conditions either and pass the buck quickly.

So, thanks to the Tories resources are stretched more than ever and most companies claim to be good mental health employers but in fact they are filtering down responsibility through 'awareness' with no real funding or cultural change. On the plus side, contractors can now use H&S to leverage mental health support rather than relying on inside IR35 employment law. If you get shafted and can see a systemic problem then you can report a company to the regulator but don't expect to work for the client again unless it's anonymous. They don't discriminate they say.

That's my cynical rant over for the day. Dimprawn will probably join now and tell me that BoJO will increase access to bipolar meds through our American friends so we can all be on antidepressants like they are....bright days indeed.

[GhostofTarbera]

I found it interesting that the advice from the 'professionals' is that if you are on the edge of suicide then broadcast to the few not the many to avoid overload and fixation. That may be true but then again without this thread I wouldn't be able to identify the few to broadcast to at CUK and the fact it's an anonymous forum makes a difference for ease of disclosure. On mental health forums you often get lost in the noise.

Regarding mental health awareness at work, and at the risk of the Tory caricatures joining, I'm very cynical about it.

After targeting the majority of their NHS austerity cuts at mental Health services, the Tories realised that the service was in crisis and not fit for purpose so rather than injecting more funding they performed a crafty manoeuvre by displacing responsibility for mental health and well-being onto employers under the oversight of HSE. Mental health became part of company briefings and metrics, posters cropped up in staff kitchens and volunteers became mental health champions. Most of the champions have limited knowledge of enduring conditions and tend to compound all mental illnesses into mild stress, anxiety and depression. The aim is to signpost people to help and encourage them to exercise or perform mindfulness as a cure all.

In other words the employers passed the responsibility back onto employees to self manage or see a GP. People in their droves then booked GP appointment. GPs referred to mental health services and an already overstretched services saw a threefold increase in referrals but without any additional funds to increase capacity. A psychiatrist who is the source of this information told me there is a mild hysteria going on, for example three out of four patients who are referred for potential Bipolar actually have mild anxiety. Unfortunately Bipolar has become very fashionable, some people want to be like Mariah Carey and other people look for an excuse for errant behaviour e.g. I cheated on my wife three times but it's the bipolar. That's not to say that 1 in 4 genuine cases are not important to catch but that the primary care system of referrals is not resourced well enough to handle milder conditions either and pass the buck quickly.

So, thanks to the Tories resources are stretched more than ever and most companies claim to be good mental health employers but in fact they are filtering down responsibility through 'awareness' with no real funding or cultural change. On the plus side, contractors can now use H&S to leverage mental health support rather than relying on inside IR35 employment law. If you get shafted and can see a systemic problem then you can report a company to the regulator but don't expect to work for the client again unless it's anonymous. They don't discriminate they say.

That's my cynical rant over for the day. Dimprawn will probably join now and tell me that BoJO will increase access to bipolar meds through our American friends so we can all be on antidepressants like they are....bright days indeed.

On the bright side you must have hyper sexuality and other fun bipolar things (drink/drugs) etc

It’s not all bad


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[northernladuk]

I wouldn't have thought cynical ramblings would be the best thing for your mental situation. Wouldn't it be better to leave all that alone and focus on something more positive to get yourself out of where you are?

[Whorty]

I wouldn't have thought cynical ramblings would be the best thing for your mental situation. Wouldn't it be better to leave all that alone and focus on something more positive to get yourself out of where you are?

Maybe this is cathartic for him. An anonymous forum (pardon the pun) to get things of your chest.

I find CUK a great outlet and helps my mental state; knowing there are others much worse than me really cheers me up no end

[Gibbon]

Maybe this is cathartic for him. An anonymous forum (pardon the pun) to get things of your chest.

I find CUK a great outlet and helps my mental state; knowing there are others much worse than me really cheers me up no end

Happy delusions, the best we can hope for!

[mb31]

NLUK and Whorty

Actually I was answering the question posed earlier in the thread about why the Tories are bad news for mental health.

On the bright side you must have hyper sexuality and other fun bipolar things (drink/drugs) etc

It’s not all bad

Hypersexuality is usually bad news. One of my friends ended up on suicide watch in hospital not long after she slept with 10 different men in 12 days (Tumblr). She also had a child after being raped in similar circumstances. My wife knows that the women in support group flirt and she trusts me. I do have to delete some of the messages I get though "I like it up my arse, you know where I am if you want me" etc. It's the road to ruin.

[GhostofTarbera]

"I like it up my arse, you know where I am if you want me" etc. .

GJABS would disagree

My best friend is bipolar and HS she loves it, the trouble she has gotten me into over the years you would not believe !!!


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