To think mental health will hit crisis levels

[StylishMummy]

I can't help but think very soon we're going to have more people with poor mental health than those without. Every other person appears to have anxiety/depression/OCD etc, most of which are requiring treatment, medication and adaptations.

I've had PND so this is absolutely a non-judgey post, but I can't help but think at some point people are going to be so unwell mentally that half the population will cease to function, people just seem so much less resilient!

Services are 'cut to the bone' but there's unprecedented demand on mental health services, it's no wonder that waiting times are increasing exponentially. To properly fund EVERY person who needs treatment for mental health conditions, surely the country would be bankrupt?

Is there any way to reverse this mental health crisis?

this is a theological question and not an attack on those who struggle with mental illness. Also no political posts please!

And then the help isn’t always that great for the child at the end of the nine month wait.

I hope you're ok, endofthedays. You remind me of my friend as showering for her is absolutely terrifying so she just doesn't do it anymore. Even though I am suffering I know a lot of seriously mentally unwell people because of where I lived previously; i.e. people who can't/couldn't function in society as it stands and I am one of those.

It takes a helluva lot to survive a MH condition so you may find those people actually have more resilience than most.
We talk about it more, that is all. Having a close family member with a very serious MH condition has enabled me to see it, albeit to a much lesser degree, in others including my late father who was never diagnosed but certainly displayed symptoms.
Maybe we are stronger now because it doesn't get swept under the carpet?

I wish it was a shorter wait for CAMHS but even then there's no guarantee, unfortunately. There needs to be a better, safer way of distinguishing between temporary problems and those who have a disorder, lifelong condition. I wish I knew what the answer was.

Thank you Vates. I hope things work out for you as well. Xx

YABU simply because the Mental Health system is ALREADY on its knees, has been for years, and it's getting worse, chronic bed shortages, and staff shortages to care for inpatients, outpatients so at capacity that they are virtually closed to new referrals. Months waiting lists for CAMHS, years waits for counselling.

What is needed is

A) more open access community services, walk in types, to be honest America understands the need for a variety of talking groups to exist far better than we do.

B) the kind of financial attention that good causes that have telethons get but this will never happen because it's not a desirable enough topic and the "scary" stigma is still quite prevalent

It's not known as "the Cinderella service" for nothing

People respond far more positively to the thought of extra funding for people with cancer than they do to extra funding for the mentally unwell though death is as real a consequence.

Because the "they need to sort themselves out" attitude still exists.

In short I guess what PP MrsMaisel said first

Yabu to try and deny it’s political it’s absolutely political!

I suffer from ocd, agoraphobia, depression and general anxiety. I am the most sick I have been in almost 15 years since first diagnosis, I’m housebound 2 years and existing not living.

I have an appointment here at home this week after fighting to get support for over 6 months after my last cpn dropped me - I still have
not had either an apology or an explanation as to why that happened, the nurse lead has mostly dodged my calls and manager of the cmht has never even spoken to me.

I’ve been left all that time taking a medication it is medically not just mh wise dangerous to stop cold turkey, I’m supposed to get blood tests 6 monthly while on it too which hasn’t been happening.

Mh services are already in crisis, this is just my story but I have family and friends around the country who also have mental illness and their stories are disturbingly similar.

Underfunding, poor practice etc are issues affecting them of course but another major issue that STILL isn’t being even acknowledged is that many women with PHYSICAL ailments are having those ailments go undx while they are instead FALSELY diagnosed with mental illness. At one point my mh service sought to try and address this issue local as they apparently were finding a lot of female patients referred to them actually had things like thyroid disease or vitamin deficiency which once dx and treated any supposed mental illness resolved.

If you are genuinely concerned about dc op I would say as someone who with hindsight can trace their mh issues back to childhood (wasn’t the happiest/safest but that’s not the whole story) I would say ensure your dc know how to relax! I mean REALLY relax, not to feel anxious if they’re not doing anything, to have good sleep habits, to have good eating habits, to do regular exercise they enjoy, preferably outdoors (there’s considerable evidence/reasons for getting plenty of sunlight and fresh air, I found studies on coastal air being good too, I’ve rarely lived away from the coast but generally found I do pretty poorly when I do physically and mentally, I have asthma/eczema/hay fever and associated allergies and ‘sea air’ does seem to help), to practice self care generally and have good boundaries when it comes to helping others (this was also a major issue for me, I was always the “coper” the one who looked after everyone else, the eldest child in a dysfunctional home desperately trying to keep things normal and minimise stress for my abused mum and honestly it ended up being my downfall.)

But...you can’t plan for everything. The ocd is my main issue and there’s strong evidence that the cause or one of the causes is genetic factors mainly to do with brain formation and chemical responses. I certainly had issue with dirt and germs and sensory factors from a young age I just didn’t know why and neither did my parents. It was the 70’s this stuff just wasn’t really known by lay people then and it never occurred to them to seek a dx for me being “fussy”. But with hindsight I had rituals from a young age and had meltdowns which my parents basically dealt with by enabling me. I’m of the opinion that at least 4 members of dads side of my family are/were undx ocd inc my dad. His being military allowed for a lot of his “meticulousness” being explained away by that.

As for resilience - I’m willing to bet that I’m probably actually more damn resilient than many critics of the mentally might be! I’ve survived a hell of a lot that most people haven’t been through, I’ve been treated pretty badly by people who think they’re better than me because they don’t have a mental illness and who quite honestly imo would not stand a fucking chance at getting through half of what I have!

As they say - walk just a mile in my shoes and THEN tell me you would cope better!

“Why on earth do you need an official diagnosis for OCD etc? Surely in many occasions you know.” Based on the many many comments I’ve read/heard inc some appallingly disablist ones left to stand on here then no - people DON’T just know.

There are huge misunderstandings around ocd and agoraphobia is my experience and I’m sure the the sufferers of other MH conditions have a similar experience.

Mental is separate to resilience.
It's bullshit to think otherwise.

When you have mental health problems they affect you in good times and in bad times. Its not about what's going on as yes that will affect anyone but bad mental health can be with you regardless.

And I have bag loads of resilience as I'm still alive. Most people have not had to put up with the amount of crap and shit I have had in my 40 years. It could fill a book or two and sure it links to bad mental health but what I'm trying to say is that people with mental health problems are probably the most resilient people you will meet.

For instance, i have to battle every day to step on pavement, yet most days I do it. It's a constant battle a lesser person would have given up by now.

Yet there are people with mental health problems holding down jobs, being a parent etc, all of this takes a hell of a lot of resilience to do 24/7 and then repeat. Ad infinitum.

Does anyone say about all the cancer sufferers and the fact that they need to build resilience? No! didn't think so.

Yet it gets trotted out all the time in relation to mental illness. Utter bullshit.

Id say the crap administration of UC and people on shitty zero hours contracts having to use food banks are contributing to the rise in numbers of people with MH issues.

I think YANBU but I think what you are talking about is increased poor mental health , not increased mental illness .

I think our society (and particularly our children) are certainly heading for a worse mental health crisis than we are already suffering.

I don't think there are more people with actual mental illnesses than there have always been but I do think that, due to numerous lifestyle, social media and social relationship factors, we as a society are becoming more and more mentally unhealthy.

We also recognise poor mental health much more than we used to (that's the good side of it, I guess). We know that we all have days where we feel less physically healthy than others (that 'not sick but feeling generally crappy' feeling for example) and now we know that that applies to our mental health too.

It already is at crisis level in New Zealand. Mental health issues do seem to be more prevalent, but then again alot of the people you see around, in the old days (20-30 years ago) would have been locked up in institutions. Life is also alot more stressful, peoples standard of living has dropped and it's harder to buy a house with only one income. Its no wonder we are all stressed!!!

Doctors are usually reluctant to diagnose kids, which is a big part of the problem - by the time they do get diagnosed as adults it's often too late to help. They'll also ignore kids more likely to suffer because "we don't want to diagnose all the siblings in this family - it seems weird that they all have it".

Mental illness has been a huge widespread problem for a very very long time. The causes for it are complex and varied and ever changing as society changes. For example, my fathers family has a history of mental illness... my dad always assumed it was because they grew up in poverty. But if they grew up nowadays, with better social support but other negative influences like social media, would they have been triggered all the same?

The systems in place to help people with mental illness have always been woefully inadequate and often downright abusive, think back to the old ‘insane asylums’. People lived in these institutions for years, some their whole lives. They were hidden away and forgotten about.

Until very recently having a mental illness was shameful, people wouldn’t freely admit to it. It probably feels like there is more mental illness around now because more people are talking about it, disclosing their experiences etc.

I do believe that mental illness like anxiety seems to be more prevalent in children now than ever before. But, again, are we simply better at recognising it?

My Dad would have been a very anxious child because of his circumstances growing up. Nowadays that would be diagnosed as a condition in itself alongside the poverty, but back then a child’s mental health would have been considered largely irrelevant.

I have to LOL at people who parrot 'resilience' as the current buzzword. There's a smugness to it that makes me believe those folk haven't the faintest foggiest idea of how completely and relentlessly shite life can be for some people, so they can congratulate themselves on how resilient they are.

I don't have shit life syndrome but I can recognise the reality of it for loads of other people, and the reason their mental health breaks down has fuck all to do with resilience. its an appropriate reaction to never-ending ill health/ grief/ poverty meaning you can't meet your basic needs/ other misery.

Until relatively recently MH was the Cinderella of the NHS thus there are much few psychiatrist and mental health nurses not to mention hospitals. It is therefore little surprise that the service is in crisis.

I have anxiety disorder but I am able to recognise that anxiety is a natural, legitimate emotion that everyone will experience in their life and I think it’s a backwards step to start spouting that only people with a diagnosed disorder can use the term. Or that anyone who is in a temporary state of anxiety is somehow being inappropriate or appropriating mental illness

Surely the issue is people not expressing themselves is what can lead to issues worsening and becoming interfering with your life. People with anxiety disorder don’t own what can be a normal natural human state during a difficult or challenging period. You can also feel temporarily depressed which is not people saying they have clinical depression

I find it weird that people ought to be 'officially diagnosed' before describing themselves as anxious or having ptsd or whatever too. It's bloody hard to get a diagnosis!

My GP said depression and anxiety when I was seventeen, and that's the only official diagnosis I've ever had. Trauma therapist said ptsd likely, psychologist doesn't believe labels are helpful, have just been referred for autism assessment, been hiding ocd traits and tics as best I can since childhood, terrible at leaving the house, just had my first psychotic episode. Still feel guilty claiming any condition beyond depression.

I was in my thirties before I managed to persuade the GP that all my issues weren't going to be solved with a couple of six week counselling episodes and a lifetime's supply of antidepressants. Lack of services is a problem and so is being able to access what services there are.

or is it because people just don’t want to face life’s tricky issues that many of us face and feel that anxiety is a catch-all phrase as an avoidance
The word ‘resilience’ does spring to mind.

I have a history of depression. I'm on medication for anxiety. I don't think I lack resilience, and I've faced plenty of tricky issues - sexual abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, long term health issues. I think my mental health problems are actually a pretty normal reaction to having had some crap stuff happen.

And I do the mindfulness, the walks, having 'me time' etc. I don't passively sit round popping pills. I still need the pills though.

@TheMidasTouch Really? I've got younger cousins and IIRC they still participated in races and stuff, I remember one of them missing a Radiohead gig because she had a race the next day. I grew up in the '90s and I don't remember the participation medals thing, I didn't get shit when I came last in the 100m (I didn't want to enter as I suck at sports, but everyone had to enter something). We had prizegiving ceremonies for people who came top in a certain subject. I got one for modern languages.

And on a personal note, one of the reasons why I have trouble dealing with my MH issues is because I'm extremely competitive. I always compare myself to other people.

@ChristmasOnTheHorizon I wonder how many of the people going on about resilience think mental illness isn't real, or that there were no mentally ill people in the olden days because everyone just ~soldiered on~. I mean, it's not like asylums existed. Or electric shock treatment. Or suicide.

Menora, I agree.

It’s fine for people to talk about anxiety who don’t have any kind of disorder. It is a commonly felt emotion.

I also agree that there is confusion over mental health and mental illness.

my mental health has had many ups and downs. I have had 2 episodes of severe depression (one was PND) and GAD since childhood, but I am functioning and managing and I would say I am well. I am possibly more susceptible to experiencing this again though in the future perhaps, or I will be able to spot the signs and manage. I don’t think I am more resilient or better at coping than anyone else, I responded well to CBT and talking therapies and haven’t needed to see a psychiatrist or have any further interventions. Not everyone responds to CBT though it’s not suitable for everyone

I think services are tailored towards people who have more severe mental illnesses than poor mental health episodes and are going through very difficult periods of their lives perhaps. And it’s common for people to brush away their mental health as ‘not that bad’ especially when it can feel competitive. People feel that they end up having to live with low levels of constant anxiety all the time, because it could be worse, or they are seen as managing because they go to work. Those people are at risk of deteriorating and can often end up in the over stretched system by the time they really are debilitated. I’ve worked in MH and it’s been very reactive not proactive for a long time now. People get help in a crisis, but not during the slow build up over time

@Menora That's the thing, you can go for periods where you're coping and then everything goes to shit.