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Post by snowstorm on May 14, 2020 18:47:23 GMT
Good point, I don't know if bipolar diagnoses get that 'flexible'.
A very good argument I would say for changing the name of sz to something else entirely, I think it could make a big difference.
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Post by Admin on May 16, 2020 3:05:15 GMT
It's an interesting observation - 10 years of Tory Austerity, cuts & welfare 'reforms' that has blamed & targeted for the 2008 financial crash caused by bankers; the most vulnerable in society - the poor, sick, mentally & physically disabled, the mentally ill, recidivists, addicts & homeless - killing at least 130 thousand of them. i never saw much outrage about it all, now the consequences of it all is starting to impact the 'normal's', compounded by the pandemic & it's a whole different story, in the media & society.
i do feel a certain Schadenfreude about the UK / USA especially.
& the country has voted for the Tories 3 times in a row, they chose it all.
The worst i reckon is still to come.
Given the history of the UK you would think that people would learn, but they don't.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2020 21:04:25 GMT
It's an interesting observation - 10 years of Tory Austerity, cuts & welfare 'reforms' that has blamed & targeted for the 2008 financial crash caused by bankers; the most vulnerable in society - the poor, sick, mentally & physically disabled, the mentally ill, recidivists, addicts & homeless - killing at least 130 thousand of them. i never saw much outrage about it all, now the consequences of it all is starting to impact the 'normal's', compounded by the pandemic & it's a whole different story, in the media & society. i do feel a certain Schadenfreude about the UK / USA especially. & the country has voted for the Tories 3 times in a row, they chose it all. The worst i reckon is still to come. Given the history of the UK you would think that people would learn, but they don't. Yes is a lot of hypocrisy around the current situation. My fear is that many more will be diagnosed unnecessarily and medicated for life because of this crisis. I don't feel schadenfreude as so many who don't vote for it are suffering because of it.. they are caught up in it and through no fault of their own. Is very sad.
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Post by Admin on May 16, 2020 21:16:14 GMT
Yes is a lot of hypocrisy around the current situation. My fear is that many more will be diagnosed unnecessarily and medicated for life because of this crisis. I don't feel schadenfreude as so many who don't vote for it are suffering because of it.. they are caught up in it and through no fault of their own. Is very sad. What do 'we' do about it all? It's the way it all is - same stalemate in all the ideological / polarized / political / medical / Anti & Pro psychiatry debates / arguments.
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Post by Admin on May 16, 2020 21:18:43 GMT
17.5 million people did vote for the Tories - the country keeps voting for them.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2020 8:21:57 GMT
I don't think fb and other social media platforms help, in fact they deliberately hinder progress. They've created more hate and division on purpose. And nothing changes, so social media is a red herring as far as creating change goes in ways.
If voting changed anything they would ban it. But why create an 'Institute for Statecraft' to smear a politician that would genuinely have changed society for everyone, if people didn't really want change? I don't think they would see the need to. The country votes the way it does because the media tells it to do so. People have very little independence of mind.
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Post by snowstorm on May 17, 2020 9:17:11 GMT
Yep - all that media coverage of Nigel Farage and the brexiteers Brainwashing and numbing.
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Post by snowstorm on May 17, 2020 21:58:48 GMT
There's the story on here somewhere of the poor guy who got brexit related psychosis, whether he is the same unfortunate person who heard the voice of Theresa May in the experiences study, history does not relate!
Just shows how much stress plays a part in these episodes, so difficult to avoid - but so important to minimise for vulnerable people.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2020 16:08:35 GMT
Well have been told we are going for No Deal today, which will cause much suffering to vulnerable people if experts are correct.
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Post by snowstorm on May 18, 2020 16:45:19 GMT
If there was 'Brexit psychosis', how much 'austerity psychosis' was there?
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Post by snowstorm on May 18, 2020 16:53:55 GMT
I suppose that would have featured the voices of George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith saying - 'we can't afford it' and 'forget pip, you are not eligible'.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2020 17:40:57 GMT
‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ is upon us again. This year the theme is kindness. The campaign states the fairly obvious; that kindness and acts of kindness towards others are good for you and others’ mental wellbeing. Let’s be honest; cruelty and nastiness towards oneself and others isn’t exactly going to lift anyone’s mood or help someone positively in general. At least on the surface, this seems self-evident, but sadly in 2020, more than ever perhaps, it needs to be said.
It’s true that ‘lockdown’ during these ‘unprecedented times’ (which they aren’t really, there have been pandemics before, but we are just more simultaneously and globally aware due to 24 hour global media) has produced some ‘heartwarming’ stories of kindness towards others. There is no denying that many people in communities have answered the call for helping the vulnerable should they need shopping, prescriptions delivered, or even in some cases ‘just’ a friendly chat to remind someone that there are others that care enough to talk and that they matter as a human being. There’s no doubt that ‘key workers’ are working their butts off to protect and save lives every day. It would of course be good of the government to show them a little kindness too by providing the appropriate protective equipment they need to do so most safely and effectively, but it seems we can’t have it all. Kindness mantras, it appears, only apply to ordinary citizens, not politicians, a major issue which is sadly swept under the carpet in several ways by this campaign.
Now there are plenty of examples of not so kind behaviour from citizens too; crowding out beaches, protesting en masse, and even spitting on people, knowingly spreading the virus, and killing as a result others. Domestic abuse cases are rising asa result of victims/survivors being stuck with their tormentors 24/7. None of this is exactly kindness, and so it seems lockdown has polarised even further a country polarised by Brexit, into ‘the good, the bad and the downright cruel and selfish’. In a land which rather selfishly voted to uproot people and families who in some cases had lived here most if not all of their days, just so that they could be sure no one was talking about them in earshot by making everyone around them ‘speak English’, whilst ensuring that only ‘indigenous’ folk could work in the jobs that only ‘non-indigenous’ folk wanted to do (this year’s fruit picking season should be a case in point). Basically, due to racism, paranoia and a nationwide inferiority complex (although at this point it should be pointed out that Northern Ireland and Scotland didn’t vote for this, even though obviously there is racism, paranoia and inferiority complexes in those respective countries too, possibly often of a different kind). This has been fuelled by a toxic media and social media, where division is deliberately sowed to produce more divisions in society, aided by professional ‘trolls’ whose aim is to cause as much upset and cruelty/nastiness amongst groups of like minded people.
So kindness really is something people need reminding of right now. Also kindness to oneself, which many can be guilty of forgoing or not recognising the importance of, and is it possible that only a nation that has some level of collective self hatred could have ended up in this current situation? Quite likely if not obviously. Therefore on the surface it seems like an apt, timely campaign that sums up the Zeitgeist well. After all, everyone’s mental health has and will be affected by the self harm we are inflicting upon the nation, through Brexit, and add to that the lockdown/virus. We are going to need to learn to be kind now and quickly, if we didn’t know how to be already. The campaign itself doesn’t really mention Brexit, as is clearly a political ‘hot potato’ and possibly something the Mental Health Foundation, who are ‘hosting’ it, don’t want to touch as a result. If ever the charity requires funding, government help is always a welcome boost. It probably also explains why the damage done by the ‘conscious cruelty’ of the welfare system over the past 10 or so years, has been strangely omitted.If ever proof was needed that the lack of kindness could adversely affect one’s mental health, that is it. It’s estimated that 130, 000 people would be alive today if it wasn’t for social security policies wielded by successive Tory (with, briefly, the Lib Dems) and previously New Labour governments. Cruelty has an effect on all aspects of one’s health, not least one’s mental health. Deliberate cruelty, possibly more so.
Then there is the mental health system itself, and its lack of ability to care for those with actual diagnosed disorders effectively, for many reasons, one of which is lack of resources and government funding. Another is a culture of power and control rather than an egalitarian, mutually respectful service, where both staff and service users treat each other as equals and with dignity and respect. Many feel the system is abusive, both towards the mh professionals working in it and towards patients. A top-down hierarchy exists; at the high end of direct care services psychiatrists, and at the bottom end patients. It’s arguable that a system based on an uneven power hierarchy will always be vulnerable to abuse, and institutions such as this in general are hives for cruel individuals to inflict hurt and pain upon others. Cruel psychiatrists, cruel nurses, cruel patients, can make the situation toxic for everyone. Lack of psychological support for staff, service users and an overreliance on chemical ‘treatments’ and even ‘therapies’ like administering electric shocks lead to more tensions and an unpleasant, unhealthy atmosphere. Built on coercion and violence from all sides, it could never be said that this is a kind system. That’s even before one considers the added problems with availability of staff during the current pandemic, and the impending issues with a possible No Deal Brexit scenario and a shortage of medicines within services and/or the wider community. The phrase ‘a ticking time bomb’ has rarely been so apt. Stigma is still rife towards those with diagnosed mental health problems, especially at the more severe end. Will this improve when our mh spirals ever further out of control after a double whammy of a potential No Deal and the current crisis? Will kindness prevail? Has it ever?
This campaign is mainly concentrating on kindness towards those who are not necessarily diagnosed with mental health problems. This is another major issue: kindness towards those who are already particularly vulnerable for whatever reason is of the utmost importance, and the battle against stigma is ongoing. The mentally ill themselves do not need to be ‘collateral damage’ in the coming storm. Who can tell exactly what will happen, or perhaps the powers that be are very aware and know exactly what they are doing? Either way, if the past 40 years are anything to go by, it’s not going to end well for those in society who need our kindness the most in these ‘unprecedented times’. A major shift in our thinking about the way our socioeconomic system is run, and consequently other systems such as in mental health care, is necessary for any hope of kindness to flourish in the world, and not just in relation to our psychological wellbeing. Let us hope that this campaign is more than a meaningless gesture, and those who have the power to enact a kinder and more fulfilling future for all of us are truly listening and taking note, whilst taking responsibility for their own failings and lack of kindness towards others. Sadly I will not hold my breath.
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Post by Admin on May 23, 2020 17:48:19 GMT
‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ is upon us again. This year the theme is kindness. The campaign states the fairly obvious; that kindness and acts of kindness towards others are good for you and others’ mental wellbeing. Let’s be honest; cruelty and nastiness towards oneself and others isn’t exactly going to lift anyone’s mood or help someone positively in general. At least on the surface, this seems self-evident, but sadly in 2020, more than ever perhaps, it needs to be said. Thank you for your work.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2020 18:22:35 GMT
No worries. Rushed a bit and could have said more but wanted to get done today.
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