To want to get gym membership on the NHS

[lucyellensmum]

Our local swimming pool does GP reffered memberships and fitness programs. I suffer with depression and anxiety - i used to love the gym but i cannot afford it or justify the time away from DD. If i could get this at a reduced rate i could ask my mum to have DD for a couple of hours a week just so i could get back on track - i want to come off of ADs but cant do so without an outlet. Has anyone any experience of this?

YAdefintely NOT being unreasonable. We run exercise on prescription classes. For things like anxiety and depression there is good evidence that exercise can help. If hte NHS prescribes expensive meds why shouldn't it prescribe cheaper exercise alternatives? We provide subsidised rates at local sports centre for 12 weeks. Really well attended - attracts people who wouldn't normally go to gym, gets folk more active, helps with obesity etc. Go for it

most leisure centres offer discounts for people in receipt of benefits.

or you can pay by the class.

At what point should people take responsibility for themselves?

If you are already aware exercise may help, you are halfway there. Waiting for the nhs to fund it is an excuse to sit back and do nothing...cos THEY won't help.

"IF i dont do something myself, i am going to be on ADs forever, i have been told there will be no more counselling unless i go private, ive had the NHS six session quota for this area." by lucyellen..

I was in exactly the same position as you and I've done it..

being amember of the gym or being 'prescribed' a gym memebrship will not give you motivation.. any depression suffer knows that. You have to force yourself to do it until it becomes a routine. Just like getting out of bed and not driving your car into that hefty looking road sign.

My brother went afterward for a good 2 years, expat - that's 2 years of ADs and counselling saved and 2 years of improved mental and physical health for him. Sorry I didn't give all the info, but his relapse into depression came after he got mugged (his problems began after he got attacked at work), so it wasn't really the fault of the programme. They've stopped doing it now anyway and he won't leave the house unaccompanied since the mugging (my poor parents ) so it wouldn't be any use to him anyway.

there is no arguement that excerise helps.. exercise is an amazing treatment for depression.. I swear by it.. but exercise can be free or cheap

i agree w/MicrowaveOnly and Mascara.

the motivation has to come from inside because the prescription isn't forever.

and it seems like, anecdotally from this thread, that whenver the prescription stops the person stops going.

microwave - the whole point of supporting lifestyle changes instead of automatically prescribing meds for depression etc is to get people to take control and responsibility for their own heath. Its much easier for a patient to simply pop a pill. Taking part in regular exercise is taking respobsibility - and if NHS can support that lifestyle change then it should

You can get reduced gym membership on he NHS for depression, Our gps support this.

did he have to pay for it, lovecat?

because if he did, then why not pay for it from the get go?

i am very, very depressed.

and extremely skint.

but when i see how my MIL has to buy some of the meds she needs to move at all - she has rheumatoid arthritis - and i get my ADs for free, how i should also expect the NHS to pay for me to maybe exercise or maybe not.

they don't log if you go or not.

reduced or discount membership, sure.

but on the whole when people get things for free, they aren't as committed.

sad to see the deserving ill "cardio/obese" and the undeserving ill (mental health) arguments.is flawed superficial and Judgemental

to erroneously compare one set of pts to the other set is immoral and intellectually lazy and incomparable

in acute cardio and a lot these pts also present with motivation and other complex issues

all health care provision is morally and financially coplex. not easily reduced to good pt and bad pt

scottishmummy, that is a brilliant post

totally agree.

scottishmummy - where has a disctinction been drawn between "deserving" and "undeserving"?

what's wrong with expecting people to PAY at least something for a treatment like this?!

it has nothing to do with being ill-deserving, it's taking some form of responsibility, too.

that's part of the healing process.

I don't see any distinction between 'deserving' and 'undeserving'

Also as a suffer of depression and with a best friend who is morbidly obese I feel qualified to talk on both subjects.

Isn't turing up showing enough responsibility? How does paying a subsidised amount show responsibility? SHould the well paid have to pay more to show that their responsibility?

"it's taking some form of responsibility, too.

that's part of the healing process.
" by expat..

couldn't agree more..

accountability and gaining a feeling of control are also two major factors with fighting depression

Crunchie has just made a key point - it is NOT the NHS paying for subsidised council gym fees, it is the social enterprise running the facilities that offers a discount
They do the same for OAPs and as someone else said - it's during the day, at low occupancy times.
I bet it costs buttons in real terms as opposed to AD prescriptions and CBT anyway.
Going for a run or a walk might be a huge challenge for someone with depression and especially anxiety, whereas a booked and organised gym induction on the back of a GP referral is a motivator in itself
Running is a bad idea if you have not been medically assessed first or done much exercise in a while. Running could be where you go after your 20 free/subsidised slots expire
YANBU lucyellensmum, go and talk to your GP. Good luck.

because it seems like from the posts here, the people quit going once they have to pay up, nervousal.

the system is stretched to the max, there are people going without treatments that are a matter of life and death, and the OP is already on ADs. the NHS is doing what it can, given the circumstances.

distinction made earlier "You don't even know if it will help for sure (unlike the cardio patients and the obese who clearly will benefit)"

Marina - agree almost totally with your post. But here we (NHS) are funding exercise on prescription via health improvement funding - not being run by a social enterprise. Having said that we also have community based models of physical activity which patients can be referred to which are run by trained volunteers, with small fee to cover costs where applicable. We also do walking groups and stuff for free

They did with him, expat - this was 5 years ago and things do change, but back then he had to sign a contract saying that he would turn up and attend. If he didn't, no more free gym.

He was/is on long-term incapacity (?I think it's that benefit - not sure - basically he can't work because he has horrific panic attacks in anything more than a group of 2 or 3 people, couldn't attend DD's christening or my sister's wedding because it would have floored him) so once the 3 months was over he got a vastly-discounted rate on a council gym/pool, which made it affordable for him. TBH, although on that basis he could have paid for those 3 months, it wouldn't have occurred to him to go to the gym if they hadn't suggested it, he's not the sporty type.

I completely agree that it's not right your MIL has to pay for her drugs - I think it's appalling that the treatment that saved DH's life is not going to be made available on the NHS because NICE don't believe it's cost effective (on a broad-brush basis, they may be right, but for the individuals it could benefit, this is a disgrace), I seriously think that the whole NHS is in need of an overhaul because despite all the money going into it, things seem to be getting worse and worse - but the NHS paying for DB to go to the gym for 3 months saved them money over the next 2 years in ADs and counselling not required.

well locally we've got evidence that they keep up with exercise after prescription stops.

Treatment for depression/anxiety can be life and death. THe improvement that can be made to people's lives as a result of lifestyle interventions is huge!

And there are clear links between physical activity and improved mental wellbeing.

I really am flummoxed by the hostility this has caused. I guess because people assume gym membership to be a luxury they would resent their tax money going on to this - but how i understand it is this - these schemes are run by the local council, it is not the same as actual gym membership.

Microwave, the phrase my PhD supervisor used to describe me in a reference was that i am "acutely motivated". Well after suffering from depression my motivation is at zero - i can't help that - i am ILL, the same as someone with diabetes is ill. I did nothing to bring this upon myself. I can't work so i cannot afford to motivate myself by spending my own money on this. So for one thing, your tax money (which myself and my partner pay enough of thankyou very much) is not going to be drained by my exercise program. Is the fact that you don't view depression as an illness make me (or any other depressed person) less deserving than someone who is obese and suffering with diabetes because of this??

See thats the thing, everyone quite happy for obese people to get exercise refferal, but not people suffering from depression - If i were to use your arguments then i would be forgiven for saying, "Well, if they didnt stuff so many burgers down their gullets they wouldnt need the exercise refferal and wouldnt be using my taxes to pay for it".

Maybe if doctors prescribed this sort of pro active therapy instead of just doling out more pills - i am by the amount of women i know on "happy pills" who have received no counselling or therapies - then maybe there would be a lot more happier people out there.

For what its worth, im going to look into this scheme offered by my local council. It might be that as i am not "ill" i have to pay for it or it might be i have to pay towards it, i am happy to do this - i cannot afford gym prices at the moment. Maybe if i can use the exercise to motivate myself some more - i can get a well paid job and pay for my own gym membership, come off of tax credits and then everyones happy.