World Mental Health Day

TheChimp its national normal day tomorrow there Is a day for everything lately

Stats show that 1 in 4 people will suffer from mental health at one time in their life, this could be due to financial worries, bereavement or a relationship breakdown. This day is about saying it's OK not to be OK and also to be aware of some coping mechanisms before it becomes an issue. During Covid a lot of people have been under a lot of pressure.

beccatavender It's certainly ok for people to say that they're depressed and anxious when they're in court up on a charge.

I do know what you are saying though.

Mind you, a lot of people who are seriously depressed don't want to talk about it and having a Mental Health Day won't change that.

And CBT is an absolute waste of time imo because you can't discuss what feelings that you are having. I suppose that it does work for some.

TheChimp It's a tricky one to assess. I couldn't personally confirm who actually has mental health issues and who doesn't. Also, it can be short term or long term so somebody who appears to be taking the pee may actually have serious issues. Let's take a person who's been earning a good wage, drives an expensive Audi lease car, goes to the gym 5 times a week and generally likes to show off their wealth and looks. I'd possibly look at them in the street and generally think "what a prick". This year, that person lost their job, has no car and £10,000 of new debt because of the covid situation. There are three scenarios. 1. They just carry on, soldier through it all and come out the other end. 2. They have a temporary breakdown because of the new debt and fact they can't interact with all their mates down the local wine bar every weekend. 3. Worst of the lot - they were mentally ill all along behind that facade of wealth and were just covering it up. That latter scenario may appear as them taking the pee but actually it's just something coming to the surface.

Dennab Sadly, you're wasting your breath. Cynics will only truly understand if they have experienced or witnessed the issues. It's also rather sad that a topic was generated and mostly negative opinions are here. I've lost two friends in recent months - nobody had a clue and that's beyond sad because it left us all with 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' with a sizeable dollop of guilt.

On the one hand, we proclaim that people with mental health issues (if they are in an early enough stage to recognise it) must seek help and then the underlying attitude is that it's a convenient excuse for misdemeanours............

sunny101 As a 30+ year veteran, I certainly feel that I have the right to be cynical.

I've seen it within my own family with people taking the mickey.

I have all the sympathy in the world for genuine cases, but there's a lot of people who say that they're depressed and anxious just to gain financial gain.

Dennab I know what you're saying.

I'm just talking about people who take advantage of the Social and just say that they're feeling depressed and anxious. I've heard a discussion within the family with one member saying that they were going to try to fool the doctor just to see if they could get awarded PIP. I also have 'friends' who have done the same. And it worked.

Genuine depression can take you to the darkest of places, it's just so annoying to see people taking advantage.

TheChimp My point is we don't know for sure who is genuine and who is taking the mick. I certainly wouldn't want to label someone as taking the mick and then find out they'd taken their own life the following week. I do understand your frustration. I have a family member who served for years and now has severe OCD to the extent that they cannot interact with many people. There will always be poeple who take the **** in every situation eg. benefit claims etc. However, they're a minority in my opinion and with mental health, it's not as black and white.

TheChimp I just read that comment. They're openly telling you about taking the ****! Well that's a different thing entirely. I'd be having words...

TheChimp The fact you have had family taking advantage would make me be spitting too. I just wondered how many people read the thread and were put off by commenting because of the negative vibe here. The 'normal day' comment from a member (which was edited from yesterday ) just seemed to sum up why people don't talk.

For the record - I had, what I lovingly call, the 'TOO episode' a few years ago. I lost too many people, too closely together in time and far, far too early and it resulted in a three month shutdown. I didn't recognise it at the time as I'd always been the go-to coper. It was a dark time and I remember only a few parts. Did I ever think it could happen to me? No way!

Dennab Oh yeah, that's what happened.

I would never pass judgement on someone who said that they were suffering from mental illness unless I specifically knew that they weren't.

People have passed judgement on me for the last 30 years. Fortunately, things are a lot better these days with a lot more understanding of the condition.

TheChimp You probably saw my post recently about the bloke I knew who died. It woke me up to the complexity of it all. I've also had a friend who I haven't seen in years because he keeps saying we'll meet and doesn't turn up. A lot of people gave up on him because he just vanished from everywhere including social media for months at one point. Eventually, he came out to myself and my other half about having a problem and getting help with it. Regarding your thoughts, it just shows how we shouldn't judge people solely on what they write on a forum. Let's not get into that though.

Thank you you might want to see https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

beccatavender thanks