Tony Blair says we need a national conversation about MH as its costing too much

[B0xes]

Tony Blair said recently on Jimmy's Jobs of the Future Podcast (clip available on youtube) that we need to have a national conversation about mental health. Why are we spending so much on it. Why are people self diagnosing. He believes people are being encouraged to view everyday challenges we all face as mental health issues.

Is he being unreasonable? In one sense, I'm inclined to agree to an extent, in the other, I believe he led the charge for so many of the social changes that have made us less resilient and many of these issues are due to individualism which led to atomisation and loneliness and being encouraged to see the market as the entity that fulfills our needs rather than strong families and robust social networks.

YABU - Blair can do one.

YANBU - He might have a point

There need to be measures to make the workplace more accessible for those with mental health struggles. My DC are both diagnosed with autism and anxiety which presents in different ways - OCD and selective mutism. They are both academically capable and should be able to get decent qualifications and go to university if they want to. However, most workplaces, and certainly recruitment processes, are set up for confident people who are great at talking, selling themselves, thinking on the spot. My DC would be highly unlikely to be successful at such things.

There was a thread running a few days ago about whether you should disclose any medical conditions to your employer which was filled with people who had been pushed out of work because they disclosed issues. Plenty of anxious, ND, disabled people will want to work but may need adjustments and a supportive environment. Lots of employers don't seem to want to make that happen.

All of them, everywhere?

Things now are not even close to the bottom of what they have been throughout history.

And yet, people got through the day and made a living.

Maybe the issue now is this idea that if you have health issues, you should be supported not to work. Lots of young people seem to believe this but why they think it's so I do not know.

I’m talking about the pre Valium generation. The standard of mental health was considerably better than it is now and they were far more resilient. They had to be, there was no safety net.

No one said they are going to be scrapped. I personally think the criteria will be tightened. And as has bene previously mentioned many times PIP is not about working, many people claiming PIP already have jobs.

Because they have had mental health support and adjustments throughout their childhood. They expect it to continue into adulthood, and it does not

A PM is only primus inter pares (excuse spelling, if incorrect; a figurehead, if you will. He's been out of office 20 odd years, so I think 'blaming' one puppet for anything is rather facile.

PIP is NOT paid to not work but TO work and do list the hoards of available wfh jobs that don’t require a raft of qualifications and TEAMs meetings. My husband works from home, is highly qualified and stressed out to the eyeballs.WFH jobs are reducing too.

This!

It might not be popular, but I suspect one reason this is the case is because it is so difficult to let people go now if they don't work out.

You don't take chances when you can't afford to be stuck with a drain on your business.

Who are you talking about?

It is very easy to let people go. Very easy. You just have to follow the law

People haven't changed. People have been through wars, poverty, illness, bereavements they are part of life.

What has changed is lack of faith, lack of hope for the future. I'm not the most religious but I believe it does give hope.

The other thing that's changed is global 24hr media and grim news 24/7

It really isn’t

Exactly this

Is there still the two year probation period? You can let people go for any reason in those 2 years.

I don't really get why people with ADHD or mental health issues get PIP. Surely the Gov would be better off paying for therapy and targeted support for them so they know where the money is going and there's a goal to getting people back into work/society and contributing in some way.

Too many people realise PIP plus housing benefit plus UC plus council tax exemption/reduction equates to more or less minimum wage, so too many would rather sit on their arse.

Its perfectly normal to be nervous about an exam or a driving test or a job interview but what seems to be happening now is that these things aren't regarded as normal but as a MH/Anxiety issue.

I don't know why, perhaps there is a lack of support and its self generating via friends and social media?

I also think the prevalence of cannabis use is partially to blame too.

I know a young man who has been unemployed for 3 years, the job centre don't push him to get a job, its just a tick box exercise for them, he has Anxiety, so the leave him alone but job, any sort, would help him, he really enjoyed doing 3 days on a building site but instead of encouraging him, the DWP took 60% of his earnings off him..... he stupidly declared these.

I have 2 severely mentally ill children. I’ve never heard anybody at work or socially complain about their mental health or have sick leave let alone constantly, You’re talking rubbish. If I did hear anybody struggling with their MH I’d have nothing but empathy.

@icelolly12 people with severe mental health problems do need PIP. People who struggle to be in touch with reality, or who cant get out of bed. These are people who will have spent some time in psychiatric hospitals. But many will not get PIP as they are not well enough to apply.

Who will be providing the therapy? The NHS can't provide enough as it is. You would have to be approaching private providers to deliver it. I bet the tax payers would be up in arms about that.
And how long would it last? What happens if someone has therapy and is not "cured" after so long?

Lets apply your logic to physical problems. Would you tell someone with cancer that they only have so many months to get better before their benefits are cut?

@Whatafustercluck We have been lucky in that her school have been very supportive. She is at a special school and they have provided some in school counselling but this mainly deals with the death of her Dad which happened four years ago. The school is also stretched for resources so this is not very frequent.

I have definitely become "that mum" when it comes to pushing for things. The reality is that if I don't then no-one else will. I am dreading her moving to adult services. DD has had an EHCP since Year 3 because of a neurological condition and I would advise, if at all possible, to get as much as you can in the way of diagnosis as early as you can.

I think this is the issue with “raising awareness”. We’ve raised so much awareness that our resources, which cost actual time and money rather than social media attention , cannot cope.

Yes probably more than minimum wage. Well worth anyone having a bash at getting it.

The voucher idea has been ditched for good reason. There is no therapy- anywhere. We’re paying £500 a month for my son to access the therapy he desperately needs. Also need varies a lot. People don’t have the same needs and some will be quite individual.

The Dispatches program showed similar. A man who was on benefits and living in a hostel was super keen to come off of benefits and retrain. He signed up for a plastering course, and then told his would lose his benefits for doing so. So he is stuck. Lots of people in that situation.