Why aren't "we" allowed.tomsuggest peole need to take some responsibility for their own health?

[Holidayfix]

Another one on the benefits issue.

My position is I'm surprised by these cuts and I absolutely support a benefits safety net, and where people have been unfortunately enough to have poor health dealt to them I feel it's absolutley necessary that "we" support them.

However, like it or not, a lot of what affliction people, mentally and physically, in the modern world is lifestyle related and there are very many things that many people could do to help themselves.

Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone, but why is it unacceptable to suggest that people could help themselves by doing the recommended things that support.mental and physical health?

Why do you think they don’t?

Like what? Have you tried to access MH services for example?

I don't think, for example, that government could run a campaign encouraging people to take responsibility, without a huge backlash.

Yes I have. And what helped me in the end was researching ways to help myself. My suffering was relatively mild and I gave up before I got any treatment, but I did help myself with exercise, diet and making myself get out and do the things that made me anxious. I could have stayed signed off work indefinitely.

Take responsibility for what? If people are genuinely too ill to work, then what do they have to take responsibility for? Or is this another benefits bashing thread? I'm not on benefits, but I don't begrudge anyone who genuinely needs them. What I do begrudge is the scroungers who know how to work the system. They are the ones who need dealing with to address the benefits issue.

i think if your MH issues are quite low, then that can be very fruitful. But the people claiming PIP fir example, mostly have quite significant MH issues that can’t be treated with a bit of fresh air and a better diet.

So you weren't really mentally ill then. Just had a touch of bad mental health.

Good for you.

It's not benefits bashing no,I'm a big suppoort of the safety net, as I said.

Loads of the health conditions that make people too ill to work are lifestyle related. We know that, it's just fact. Why can't part of the solution be that it's OK for government/doctors to say that and ask people to take responsibility for improving that for themselves?

I think lots of young folk now suffer from anxiety which is actually just ‘life’.

Maybe it’s Covid. Maybe it’s social media but I think several grips need to be got.

Yes, I said that, and so do plenty of others.

Of course those who are more seriously ill need a different approach, but why does that mean those who can help themselves shouldn't be asked/expecred to do so?

But to get PIP with MH issues you have to jump through hoops. I provided pages and pages of evidence - appointment letters, prescriptions, assessments, hospital stays, section documents. They contacted my GP, my psychiatrist, psychologist, care coordinator.
People with a touch of anxiety or depression won’t meet the criteria.

You can’t place the same level of responsibility on everyone when everyone does not have access to the same resources.

If you do not create the infrastructure in which people are cared for, mental health support is available, food education is significantly better than what we have, food is available and affordable to all, green spaces are freely available and everyone has access to safe places to exercise it’s immoral to punish people for not eating healthy / exercising / getting some fresh air etc.

I wasn't necessarily talking about MH.

I could have stayed signed off work indefinitely.

Do you really believe that? You think you would be given enough benefits to live on indefinitely due to mild mental health issues?

Because you're equating your mild blip to someone who has evidence from a GP, medication and still those things don't often help. PIP isn't easy to claim by any stretch of the imagination.

Why do think others are like you and can research and overcome these things?

I'll tell you now. I've done over 30 years of research and medications thank you. It only occurred to me to claim PIP last year because the job centre had me bashing my head against the walls getting jobs here, there, everywhere - that lasted months at most before I looking at my own yellow fat cells and the whiteness of my bones from cutting myself open over and over and over.

Yeah? I'm 49. I've had 2 years respite from the government telling me to work. Sick notes don't count at the job centre, you still have to sign on.

So thank your fucking lucky stars.

Oh I agree, absolutely the first thing I'd do with the reform of the NHS, if I could have a start from scratch model, would be to deal with the living conditions that make those things so difficult for those who need it most, but I still don't understand why it can't be suggested that they should try.

To be clear, I am not advocating removing benefits from anyone, more a public health campaign about taking responsibility. Where people are unable to improve their health that way, they should still have the benefits they need, but I don't see why they can't be asked to try without it causing outrage.

Getting any help at all for MH problems is difficult, people aren't ddepressed and suicidal, one day and the next day get up and start applying for jobs and feel ready to go back to work.
Some mental health problems are temporary and with the right treatment and support, people may feel able to go back to work. I don't think that simply taking benefits away is going to be the "help" they need to do that!

Oh they believe it because they are completely ignorant to ways of the World on benefits.

But you absolutely were talking about mental health.

And as soon as someone explains a little of the reality to you, you attempt to back track.

Yes, I realise it's not possible, that we won't be having a start from scratch model.

But I don't know why it's so outrageous to ask people to take responsibility for at least trying the changes we know can make a difference.

The OP isn't about MH. I was asked about my own experience of.MH services and I gave it, but I wasn't only thinking about MH when I wrote OP.

Hmm well 98% is bladder cancer patients are smokers so would you only help 2% of them? If someone is paralysed skiing or racing cars, do they get nothing because they brought it on themselves? The theory just doesn’t work.

You're being very selective in which posts you choose to reply to.

What did you mean by this?

I could have stayed signed off work indefinitely.