To think that White Dee from Benefit St isn't doing people with depression any favours

[Bearbehind]

I've just seen White Dee from Benefits St being interviewed on Sky a News about the budget.

She said she can't work due to her having depression- yet she can appear on TV and is not ruling out standing as a politician

Needs, tell us about your foot, whats up apart from the swelling?

Ah so my friend who was raped in every way possible from age 10 is now an unfit mother. Glad we cleared that up.

Yes if she HAS to leave the house she does.

To get her daughter to school or to a doctor. It gives her horrendous panic attacks. School is manageable since she learned to drive after her partner died.
All she has to do is get to the car now, she feels safe in a car.

Getting to a place of work every day would be okay I think. She is unlikely to cope when she gets there though. If it's crowded she struggles. ...

And yes, she loves her daughter who is lively and caring. So much so that she has just been nominated for a good citizen award. The award ceremony is going to be a massive ordeal for my friend which is why I will go with her...to support her.

Yes - spoon theory is what I was trying to describe, in different words. If sugarmouse doesn't believe severe depression can make you unable to go out to a job, but not unable to be a decent parent, she's never going to believe spoon theory.

Well it's quite itchy and I know it's not a fungal infection. It's worse when I've had a bath

But surely all these clever people don't need to see it or talk to me about it they just know,because they are that good at diagnosing things.

Just remember, your poorly foot is NO EXCUSE for not getting a job cleaning toilets (not with'your foot, obviously).

Well pouring urine onto chillblains used to be used as a cure. Maybe you could clean the toilet with your poorly foot?

My dh gets itchy legs when he gets out of the bath, i wonder if its the same thing...?

They seem better at telling you what it isnt, so its going to be a long night eliminating every possible foot illness...

Another thread full of ignorance.

A depressed parent isn't an ideal parent if they are sometimes unable to be fully functional, but also aren't necessarily an unfit parent.

What would you suggest, that a depressed person has their children taken into care? Because that's ideal isn't it?

A parent in a wheel chair will be less able in some ways than an able bodied person, a parent who gets cancer, a parent who has a hearing or visual impairment, all will at times have to keep things ticking over.

Life isn't all or nothing.

Is being on maternity leave and owning my own company a good enough reason?
And if I really need to put my foot in a loo can it be my own please?

Christ on a bike some people are ignorant.

Geez this thread has gone umm , exactly as I thought it would.

Leaving White Dee aside, it's possible to be a depressive and fantastic family person, or indeed an asshole. This is also true of others. Of course sometimes mental illness makes people behave in a way that would scream 'asshole' but that is brings it's own difficulties. I don't get the impression that is the case here, but I could be wrong .

I don't think it's unreasonable to have an opinion on her suitability to work based on her TV appearances. We don't have the full facts and might be wrong but my perception is that she is well enough to work at the present time.

I would expect her doctor and her sickness assessor disagree with you,give that they have the only opinion that counts for anything it's a good job they are privy to the information they need.any thing else is assumption based on not much.

Everyone knows TV programmes and newspaper/magazine articles can be heavily edited and manipulated to give exactly the impression the producer/journalist wants. So they should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Everyone knows TV programmes and newspaper/magazine articles can be heavily edited and manipulated to give exactly the impression the producer/journalist wants. So they should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Judging by the state of this thread I'd say it's a reasonable assumption that there's a number of people who don't understand that. :)

Let me try and explain it for you Artic. Odd one off TV appearances are very different to holding down a permanent job where you are expected to turn up everyday and can't just phone up and say you can't make it today/tomorrow/this week because it's a bad week but might be able to re-arrange for another time if it's suitable. Assuming she is depressed (and I have no idea whether she is or not) you are not going to be able to form a reliable opinion because the days you do see her on TV are likely to be the days or bits of days that are good and not the totally fucking awful bits.

It's the same mistake my line manager made. She assumed that the illness would be constant on a day to day basis and that the days she saw me when I did make it in were the same as the days I didn't. It wasn't until she had the misfortune to see me on one of the days I was too ill to work that the penny finally dropped.

i will ask you again though, do you have a reputable non daily mail link to prove any of this MP aspirations. Otherwise I'm calling bullshit.

How much more reputable source do you need than the woman herself saying it on a televised interview misspixie?

It wasn't some quote in the daily mail, she actually said she was considering it.

(And I'll use whatever smileys I like thank you

Funny that because she categorically stated otherwise only a few weeks ago. . So I'll take that as a no then re the link.

kudzu stop using all these big words, you'll confuse all these lovely diagnosticians on this thread .

I don't have a link as it was an interview on Sky News channel but she did say she hadn't ruled out becoming an MP.

It was the reason for starting this thread so I'm hardly going to have made that up.

I also think you'll find it's you with the passive aggressive comments now misspixie

As I originally stated, I just don't think saying things like that help others who are unable to work due to depression. I'm not claiming to be qualified to diagnose her condition

How many people on here who are unable to work due to depression and are claiming benefits because of that can honestly say they would make tv appearances and talk about considering a (what has to be imminent) career in politics?

poster RafaIsTheKingOfClay you can't edit things you haven't said or done for instance the stealing in benefits street they can cut and slice it show it out of contact but when it comes down to it they did steal

And white dee dose have a dirty house which her kids live in while she sat of her big fat arse. Trying to get others more benefits shame she didn't spend more time cleaning her house and doing things with her kids

poster Bearbehind I agree I don't think any one thinks one or two appearance are not ok however she is pretty much on tv and radio all the time now she got her self and agent (why would she do that of she can only mange a few interviews)

And those who site people like Stephen fry who has depression and still works exactly he still fucking works

Fuse dog I think that's what they mean by editing, it's perfectly possible that they filmed when her house was really messy. There might be other weeks when she has a big clean up, or is sat doing homework with the kids or playing/watching a film, taking them out. I'm not saying it is btw just we can't know for sure can we? They probably picked out the absolute worst bits for the show.

Not saying White Dee and the rest are wonderful people who we should aspire to be either btw, but I just can't get all het up by 4-5 strangers on a reality TV show, who were deliberately portrayed by the show and maybe by themselves as being scum of the earth.

What I mean is take any of us, if you let a film crew into your house for a year, every day, the good and the bad, sure you might not be a fat unemployed smoker, but I bet there's days you don't get out your pyjamas, your house is a tip, you shout at your kids.

How could they portray you?

Again. Not a newbie. Comments such as yours wash right over me. Getting back to the point...why not? Sue Marsh has a chronic disability. She does TV Interviews talks etc. By your analysis OP she shouldn't do it neither if she's not fit for work neither? It brings it back to the old adage to what people have been campaigning against for mental Illness - that it is just that. Just because you don't see the effects 24hrs a day. Doesn't mean the black dog isn't there. I'm not worried because she hasn't got a chance in hell of becoming an MP. She's hardly Jack Monroe material is she? Many on this thread have stated that some can't work because of depression and others have stated they can work in spite of their depression. Depression doesn't make the two mutually exclusive it affects people in different ways and is why I'm very glad such opinions are left to be made by medical professionals and not armchair diagnosticians.