Can people PLEASE stop saying that mental health doesn't matter?

[Pishposhpashy]

It does fucking matter. It absolutely does.

I am following ALL the government guidelines. I am isolating with my household. My DH and I are both WFH and our DS is not in nursery. I am going out for one walk a day. If I have to go out for food, that counts as my daily exercise. I keep my 2 metres distance from others. I am washing my hands frequently. If I become symptomatic, my entire household with self isolate for 14 days.

I am also 30 with no underlying health conditions. So my risk of serious illness or death if I contract Covid-19 is, statistically, low. Yes, I know that young people with no underlying health conditions have died of this. Yes, I know how serious it is. And yes, I will absolutely do exactly as I am told to do. But I have 3 suicide attempts behind me, from when my OCD was at its peak. Don't you dare tell me my mental health doesn't matter and I just have to suck it up and my physical health is more important, just because I have decided that I do not wish to sterilise all my groceries. I would rather accept the low risk of covid-19 transferring from the packaging than risk my OCD becoming that severe again.

I have seen several people on MN in recent days utterly dismiss mental health, and it just is not fucking on.

Why do other people's doctors prescribe them things like diazepam to help them through and I just get told to piss off and focus on my fucking breathing?

It's as if saying you're having a hard time isn't allowed, even if you're not planning on breaking the rules but just want to vent about it.

The one that shocked me was a poster who said she was suicidal and was basically told that she should be ashamed because it's a terrible message to be sending her children...as if you can't struggle with MH issues that badly if you have children. So ignorant.

user I'm really sorry, it's shit. I think it's a bit of a lottery sometimes, depending on which GP you get to see and how functional they think you look on the day. I only got my meds increased because I had a panic attack in the waiting room when someone's unsupervised small children, one of whom had a hacking cough, were running around the place and bouncing off my chair.

I'm with you OP, mental health matters.

I have been struggling with bad postnatal depression and am following the rules, but not being able to get out is really harming me.

The perinatal mental health team I had been referred to dropped me after a 5 minute triage phone call as they are reducing their services due to covid.

My mental health matters, if not for my own sake for that of my 9 month old daughter. The impact on a child of losing a parent to suicide is lifelong.

And the people telling you they have not seen the negative comments about mental health are either either trolls or not paying attention. I am considering coming off Mumsnet as it is truly awful on here at present.

Totoros - one advantage of you being within the first year of having given birth - at least in my area you get higher priority on the waiting lists for self-referral to counselling... which they can do over the phone. It is well worth getting on the list for that as they DO prioritise you post-partum.

Great subject for a Chat thread.

I am normally a very well functioning person who hides their mental health issues well and I had just got into a really hopeful place with how I was feeling - to the point I was hopeful of getting off medication, sleeping well and feeling calm for the first time in years... Now I'm back to masses of panic attacks and suicidal thoughts

This. I wasn't on medication. I was functioning. Most of my "real life" friends have no idea about my mental health. I'm still not on medication because I can't find anyone to prescribe it but I want to die. I can not live like this. I'm damaging my kids because I'm so angry and stressed and panicky all the time. I'm having nightmares and flashbacks.

I figure the kids are young enough to cope with me dying and it's probably less damaging watching me fall apart or worse, turn into my own damaged and emotionally abusive parents. 2 weeks of this has undone 2 years of therapy.

I understand the reasons for this, I don't value my life ahead of anyone else's, hell I don't value it at all. Really I should have died 20 years ago in the events which caused my ptsd but some of the comments I've seen are unbelievably shitty and obviously written by people who have no idea what it's like to have mental health issues. I'm telling myself they're frightened but ...

I'm trying. That stupid little of part of my brain which fought so hard to live is still struggling on. I'm learning a language and teaching ds Dutch. I'm baking and playing with the kids but I can't keep it up and I don't want to.

@Dinosauratemydaffodils I don’t know if this will help, but my counsellor told me that my similar feelings were triggered by shock on top of past ptsd and were perfectly natural, though awful. I felt a littje better as I was terrified I was going proper mad.

I’ve been thinking. I think people don’t care about mental health issues as they can’t “catch” them. If people are going to die of them it won’t be all at once so doesn’t pose a management problem for the NHS.

And, of course, we should all just pull ourselves together and quit moaning.

Those are my late night musings.

Agree with this. MH does matter but it's not considered important enough right now. I get why but it really shows how much of the propaganda 'time to talk' shit is lip service for appearances purposes.

If it really was important to the country those with severe MH issues would have some kind of support- perhaps not shielding but something. The knock on effects will be huge.

I get there has to be a line drawn somewhere especially in this unknown situation but the response to MH not being flagged as a vulnerable condition completely pisses all over the bonfire of hyperbolic bullshit of how seriously we are all talking MH issues

No question now, we are all clear where MH really sits in the pecking order in the view of the government. My issues isn't so much about the now. More how this situation has clarified the real situation for us.