To think that mental health should be given just as much airtime as physical health?

[CailinDana]

Huge amounts of money are spent on preventing smoking, preventing obesity, improving maternal health etc etc etc and I think to an extent it's worth it. But mental health seems to be totally neglected. People seem horribly misinformed or completely naive about very common mental illnesses such as depression and there is still a huge stigma around being mentally ill. As a result people's illnesses go untreated for years, leading to other physical illnesses and overall costing the NHS more money in the end. I think increasing public awareness of mental illness would not only help to release more people from the grip of depression etc it would also have the positive knock on effect of improving overall physical health as depression often leads to poor health habits.

AIBU?

YANBU

Yes, I agree with you. It would also prevent deaths because would feel more able to seek treatment and others around them would be more supportive and aware of warning signs.

I agree. Unfortunately it'll never happen because by it's very nature, the people with mental health issues are the ones least able to stand up for themselves.

YANBU. As a former sufferer of Post Natal Depression and Post Traumatic Stress I was too ashamed to go to the GP even though I knew something was wrong. I didn't want my children taken from me, I didn't want people giving me a wide berth, I didn't want people losing confidence in me as a person and know how society poo poo's mental health illness it made me too scared to go.

All better now though after a breakdown at the surgery and a fantastic DH and family!

There have recently been adverts on tv relating to mental health, and many on the daytime tv shows do deal with mental health issues.

Part of the problem with mental health though, is often that the sufferer does not even realise that they are in need of help, or will be in denial when help is offered.

YANBU

We need more counselling to be available and to be available quickly too and not just GP's prescribing AD's with no other help or advice offered.

I'd also not be adverse to some public education regarding what family members can't do in order to stop their not well relation upsetting neighbours and the gen pub.

The misconception is that you can lock somebody inside AND persuade them to stop making a racket.

Or just drop them off at psych, where a bed will instantly be made available.

I understand why people think we are neglectful/failing in duty of care/not invested in protecting others from the fall out. But trying to explain, one person at a time, that in fact our options are very limited is time consuming.

And hard to do when you are also trying to disarm a furious old lady who is convinced Ukranian spies are out to get her and wants to get the first strike in.

It's not feasable to expect everybody not to be scared, cross or taken aback...but it would be easier if the person (trying) to care for the ill person didn't get quite so much flack due to misinformation mainly based on (understandable, but irritating when in accumulated form) assumption.

One of the main things I find squeaky is the people in general have a very very poor understanding of depression in particular. The sufferer is often made to feel responsible for being ill -they are told to count their blessings, to get out more, to just keep on going when they haven't an ounce of energy left. I know when I was depressed many people acted as if all I needed was a change of attitude. That was horrible for me because it was as if people thought I was choosing to be ill, like I was inflicting my own feelings on myself. I think if general knowledge about depression was increased then people would be able to recognise it in others and then really help them rather than making them feel worse.

I do agree with you Thingumy, and I think you have hit the nail on the head there with why so many people do not bother to go to the doctors. It is virtually impossible to really discuss your problems in a five minute GP consultation, and AD's are not the solution for a lot of people either.

YANBU.

I think money needs to be targeted at prevention of mental helth illnesses as much as with physical illnesses. We all know what we should be doing to keep our bodies healthy, partly because of all the massive campaigns about it, but there are things you can do to help keep your mind heathy too and unless you go out ofyour way to research it yourself, you will never know.

If people were encouraged to look after their mental health, it would help to make mental health issues become more regognisable, which woulr help remove the stigma.

And of course, mental health servoces need to be drastically improved as well.

I've seen ads for dementia and a very good one about not being afraid to ask someone about their illness when they go back to work but I haven't seen any about recognising the symptoms of mental illness or how to help, say, a depressed person. I think it's essential as people with mental illness are often ot aware of it themselves and do need others looking out for them.

I agree with you - but unfortunately as KladKakka says, people who are suffering are, by the nature of the illness, less able to speak out about it. There is also still a huge stigma attached to mental health problems, despite the numerous celebrities (Stephen Fry, Ruby Wax etc.) that try to raise awareness of the issue. I'm involved in a local community project where I live that is trying to raise awareness of the issue (and raise money for charity - Mind and Shelter) by releasing a charity single - you can find out more about it on their website - www.meetmeinwinter.org and download the single from iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/album/meet-me-in-winter-single/id482015716
I'm sure if you asked most people they will know someone that has been affected by mental health problems whether it's depression, post-natal depression, stress/anxiety, bi-polar - it's so much more common that people are prepared to admit.

I was hammering on the door for 20 years and never got the help I needed. I was given anti-depressant after anti-depressant with the occassional bout of counselling thrown in but it never made an iota of difference.

Moved to Sweden, knocked on their door, was taken off all the pills, sent for assessment and withing 6 months of knocking was diagnosed as autistic and had a proper support plan in place.

My main experience of mental health services was in Ireland where it was beyond horrendous. I did get to see a psychiatrist once, who was dismissive, rude and belittled how I felt. The attitude towards me was the I was a whinger with little worry about. There was zero understanding of depression. It really was shocking.

CailinDana I found that too that people assumed I was just being self centred or down in the dumps. I was accused of being selfish and making everything about me when in actual fact I just could not function properly. I couldn't switch off the darkness in my head or put on my make up and act the part of feeling great because my mind was literally elsewhere.

A lot more education is needed and the stigma needs to be taken away too. Humans are like cars, you can make the bodywork as shiny as you like but if the engine under the bonnet is ready to crap out then you are not going anywhere. Same with the body and mind.

Yanbu. It's basic common sense, isn't it. Ignored by government after government (all colours) and money reduced by successive governments too.

I haven't seen any about recognising the symptoms of mental illness or how to help, say, a depressed person

I think that could be because the symptoms and signs are so varied, and it would be so difficult to generalise, and what would help one person, would not be right for another.

I was so shocked yesterday to read about the suicide of Angie Dowds, the trainer from Biggest Loser. :(

CailinDana

Think in part that is thanks to the watering down of the term, in common parlance it has become interchangable with sensations like being a little down momentarily about not very important stuff.

MIL is virtually catatonic when depressed, and very many people have a hard time seeing those sysmtoms as being recognisable as depression because their understanding of it is so warped by how the word is snaffled and used to describe "not happy".

At this point I think we might need a new word. Preferably one that is a tad unwieldy so it can keep its potency.

It is very frustrating to have to try to explain to friends and family what depression actually is when you're suffering from it and just don't have the energy. I think if more people understood the illness they would recognise that they are suffering without realising it and so many people's lives would improve.

I agree with you to some extent, but you have to take into account the fact that the money spent follows an exhaustive amount of research into successful interventions and pilot studies. Mental health research just hasn't had the same level of success, or the results from the pilot studies are less applicable to the general population. Even depression is so variable, the way it presents and the best treatment for that patient, that it is harder to develop a good general intervention than for something as quantifiable as smoking rates or obesity. It isn't as straightforward as prejudice from those with the NHS money.

I agree with increasing awareness, and do think people are attempting it, but it is harder than awareness of peeing often (for diabetes) say. You have one person talking about their experiences, it doesn't necessarily apply to everyone affected in the same way as peeing would ring bells. It would be great to see more work on interventions and research but I think jumping straight to "equal time and money as physical illness" would be misguided, the research is a few decades behind and should aim to make up that difference first.

YANBU I completely agree and it was something I was thinking about today. I've been suffering with Anxiety attacks at work, which in turn is really getting me down...

I've been off work ill for a few days and had that 'dread' about going back (I actually really like my job and the people I work with), was in tears in the car on the way into work and it really felt like i had to drag myself in... I did think that if it was a broken leg or a bad back I'd simply take a few more days off and people wouldn't bat an eye lid. However to ring up and say you simply 'can't cope' is seen as something to be ashamed of..

Sorry for the rant, just wanted to say I agree

YANBU

DS2 (16) is currently suffering anxiety disorder. In the matter of just 3 weeks he has gone from an ultra confident student to someone that can't step outside the house without me.

Luckily (if that's the right word to use) I recognised the symptoms early on because of my own experiences and have got him referred for CBT. It's been quite difficult getting other family members (including DH) to understand what is happening to him though.

I agree about the meaning of the word "depressed" being watered down too much. It has completely lost its true meaning.

I would agree that depression manifests itself very differently in different people but I think there are some common symptoms that people could be made aware of - a sense of hopelessness, not getting enjoyment out of things, poor sleep/eating etc. I think just an explanation that depression is an illness that requires treatment would help some people to take the first step of going to the GP.

YABU Not because mental health isn't important, but because you can't have a campaign to improves peoples mental health. Campaigns to stop smoking or do more exercise can have a meaningful result because they're trying to do a very simple change of behaviour. With mental health there's no behaviour to change, you can't just say "get out more you'll be happy" as you say, there are campaigns about supporting people, but they're not particularly valuable as they don't drive change.

It's pointless to just spend money advertising something which doesn't achieve much. Physical health issues can, mental health ones never. It's the same you don't have campaigns about blindness, or deafness or many physical disabilities too, it's only the issues where advertising can actually work.

You make a very good point Runner. Overall attitudes need to change first though I think. A friend of mine is a psychiatrist and she told me that when she chose that specialty she was given a very hard time both by her peers and her mentors who see it as a non-specialty that is a waste of her talent. Basically they saw it as glorified hand-holding and pill dispensing for mad people. That attitude really shocked me, especially coming from doctors but it explains a lot I think.