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

Nope I’m more angry at the tone deaf ( assuming it’s not deliberate which I very much doubt) posts criticising my family and others like us. 10 year old therapy is no use to us and I wouldn’t begrudge anybody getting therapy however I do begrudge a post let who is alledgedly ND and had mental health struggles telling my family to just pull its socks up when she had the support they and so many others need. When she has walked in my shoes with exactly the same presentation of ND, trauma and MH battles without the treatment needed she can comment.

Exactly this. And thank you @Munnygirl, it was indeed 3 different sets of therapy over 10 years. All requested due to different traumatic circumstances. But hey, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story 😂

Ok, that makes more sense. Still, three lots of therapy is still pretty impressive for the NHS.

Some people get none.

Again, you are failing to see that people can be different from you. It is great that you are so strong and survived without compassion. Lack of compassion could kill someone else, we aren't all the same.

But she has walked in your shoes. She has shown things can improve and they can for your girl. She also hasn’t had 10 years worth of therapy but three sets over a 10 year period

“Weak, relying on others, bailing out!” there you go again.

We all have ADHD and autism not just ADHD.

You can’t get benefits for ADHD

My husband and I both work, nobody bails any of us out.

She isn’t my girl, doesn’t know my girl or my son or their history, circumstances, presentation or struggles so really she has no right to comment on our family or parenting.

I would just stop responding to this poster, she must be on the wind up. I'd like to think that there aren't people out there that are this tone deaf to realise that different people struggle in different ways

Perhaps Tony the multi millionaire should keep his opinions to himself.
I detest these Ill thought out comments and how they set people against eachother.

I think her posts are familiar.

Totally right that wasn’t how it was written at all.

How can she possibly have walked in her shoes? One person with ADHD is one person with ADHD, they all have different presentations and different struggles. Her lack of empathy probably helped her recover quickly to be honest. She has still used public funds to help her recover too. Public funds that aren't available to others right now so what are they meant to do to get better?

Well I believe that I have, if not far worse, so I did comment. I by no means got the support I needed, especially when i was younger. I have a whole raft of historic childhood sexual abuse that I still need to talk to someone about but that moment isn't now as I'm too busy supporting my own children. And I might need to talk to someone about the death of mother just under a year ago as caring for her (yes, while still working) and watching her die and turn black as she did so was quite traumatic, as is dealing with her estate when it transpires she's not even told a lot of people my dad is dead. He died in 1991. So yes, if I can do it anyone can and if more people did 'pull their socks up' (your phrase not mine) then the country might not be on its knees. Now go and take your anger out on someone else.

Well, what are you complaining that you're not getting then? I don't understand!

Bangs head against brick wall
@Gfre654 Just ignore

As I said you don’t the history, experiences or the conditions of my children so you really don’t know if you have anything worse and most definitely can’t walk in our shoes . You are you, we are us. Disability varies, it’s not one size fits all.You’re boring me now and I have work and caring duties tomorrow so I’m off to bed, you can goad to thin air.

Your last sentence is ironic, given your anger and venom in your tone and words.

What you fail to recognise is that the people you called “weak” may have been through far worse than you.

To be fair the first was in about 2006 and it came as standard ahead of NHS IVF then. Then in 2019 and then that therapist referred me to someone more specialised in family stuff to help me with my feelings about my childhood, so I got two lots of 6 weeks in a pretty short period.

Yep, over and out!

Do you begrudge her for being able to access help? The issue today is that mental health services have been chronically underfunded for decades and we are now at the perfect storm. There is not enough resources by far to go around for those who are in need. But we shouldn’t begrudge those who managed to access help

Aw, that's sad.

It's apparent your life experiences have made you hardened to the suffering of others. That's a real shame because it really sounds like you could benefit from people who can empathise with your situation because nobody can give 100%, 100% of the time and it definitely sounds like you've been running on max power for a really long time. Look after yourself, and remember you only have value in a world where you can be used for capital gain.

Nope, nowhere did I say I begrudged her the counselling, don't know why you would even think that unless you are just trying to twist my words? She is the one arguing that other people should just get on with it without any of this help. I think anyone that needs it should have access to it. Totally agree about the chronic underfunding for years.

I’m not twisting your words only I was getting a sense that you were but I may have “read that wrong”

Personally, I hope she gets more counselling. It's really obvious she might need it.

None of my parents friends, colleagues etc. were excessive drinkers, nor receiving "mother's little helper", and neither were my friends' parents. Lets not pretend that this was a blanket mentally unhealthy generation.