To think we are becoming a country of hypochondriacs?

[YellowTulips25]

Firstly, let me preface this by saying that I entirely sympathise with people who have to live with serious long-term medical conditions. I don't wish to downplay illness or disabilities - visible or hidden - at all.

However, does anyone else feel like we're rapidly becoming a country of hypochondriacs, where an increasing number of people let seemingly minor health issues dominate their life?

For example, an article on the BBC this week features a woman who talks about having 'chronic pain, migraines and travel sickness' as reasons why it's impossible for her to work in an office. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9x0819417o

I think most of us suffer from aches and pains and headaches from time to time? What'd happen if we all started using this excuse?

And I know plenty of friends who always seem to have some ailment or other troubling them, whether it's being in pain, being tired, having a cough or cold, etc etc. It seems almost as if constantly being ill is part of their personality, a badge of honour?

I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but surely I can't be the only one to feel like rolling my eyes at some people's lack of resilience?

You need to do your research on migraine and chronic pain before posting this

And that’s totally fair. I’m glad you’ve found something that helps. I think a lot of posters were implying it’s just a bad headache and we should all be able to work through them though, and it’s just not the case!

My lifestyle choice to contribute to my health condition was birth 😂.

You'd be surprised how many people have said diet and exercise would help. Not sure how that would help my skeletal deformities, dural ectasia, non cancerous tumours developing on nerve endings or underdevelopment muscles behind my eyes all present since birth. Not sure how eating more fruit and veg would help.

1

Some people have worse immune systems than other and get sick more often. Simple as that. You come across as a bully or someone who is jealous that people with various illnesses work from home. Some chronic illnesses is like a full time work in itself, the least we can do is being accommodating to these people

I used to be resilient but I guess I'm one of your snowflakes now, because I can't work. I coped for 3 years whilst my son had daily psychotic episodes
#######Trigger Warning##### (or are trigger warnings only for snowflakes?)
His self harm is horrific- e.g carving words, signs, symbols into his face, his body, his legs. Multiple overdoses. He is cared for "in the community" which means drugs and 2 appointments per annum.
Unfortunately, my resilience failed me last year and, like the snowflake I am, I have depression and anxiety myself. I found it impossible to leave my son in the care of his younger brother while I went to work. Unfortunately his 14 year old brother is a snowflake too- he had anxiety and depression too, requiring beta blockers and fluoxetine to get through his GCSEs. Unfortunately, I was widowed at 44 so there's no help at home. I did manage to carry on working through that. I wasn't a snowflake then.

No words x but please accept a virtual hug and solidarity x

@MistressoftheDarkSide
I fundamentally disagree with almost everything you have written.

Our society is infinitely 'kinder' than any era in our history. You don't need to look too far back in history to see how we literally did let the weak, disabled and poor die or be institutionalised in workhouses. I don't say this because I want to go back to those times but just to remind you that there is no inalienable entitlement to a welfare state that meets all your needs in a way you see fit. The welfare state exists due to public consent and if you lose the support of the people then it will inevitably be scaled back and eventually removed. This is how democracy works and why we are in such precarious times. Personally I would rather reform the system and most importantly be realistic about what we can afford to stop the whole system being dismantled and the vulnerable being in an even worse situation.

You may think money is some fictitious entity but the reality is that money allows us all to be something other than subsistence farmers trading goods and services. It is how we are able to even begin to have the concept of a welfare state where people are supported without being able to offer any goods or services in return.

You seen unable to believe that we might just not have the resources (and yes money) to be able to run the health system in the way you would like. More human oversight costs money. People aren't going to work for free. I think a sense of entitlement has grown where people genuinely cannot believe that we can't have every state service and benefit we want. They just can't accept it. They have to blame the government or mismanagement rather than accept that we aren't that rich of a country and we don't have enough people able and willing to pay into the system to pay for everything.

Yes they probably are connected. Your 'friend' who is always in pain, is in too much pain to leave the sofa and too much pain to go outside, even when it is sunny. Do you really believe that people choose to lead completely limited lives as a preference to living a full life. Do you think that TV and being inside is actually the thing she wants to do most in the world? You sound like you have led a healthy life and have no understanding or empathy for someone who doesn't have that luck. I am lucky, I am healthy. I also have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is chronic in the fact that I will always have it and always have painful dislocations, but it does not have a massive impact on my every day life. I also have every sympathy for those who have long term conditions that affect every aspect of their life. Every one I know who claims to have a chronic condition, does, have a chronic condition and they have to make the best of it. Ignorance and mocking is not helpful. It is not a personal achievement to be healthy. It is genetics and luck. Yes lifestyle helps, but does not cause most chronic conditions.

Thank you @MistressoftheDarkSide , accepted and appreciated.

You're right about accessing health care but another poster has it right, we are sick because we eat shit, dont do exercise and spend too much time staring at screens

A lot of healthy people are developing horrible autoimmune conditions and cancers. It's wishful thinking to imagine that only the lazy and greedy get sick and we can just avoid it through virtuous behaviour.

This woman is working. She wants to work. Being able to WFH helps keep her in employment.
Any excuse to benefit bash eh?

Oh my god, I've been a hypochondriac this whole time. My chronic urinary tract infections are actually just aches and pains!

You've cured me.

Im not 'healthy' as in I have a number of health conditions, however are you in dispute that we as a nation dont have a problem with lifestyle health problems?

You're deluded if so

You have the right to disagree with anything I say of course, and that's fine.

As to your comment about this country not being rich, would you care to explain why that is? And what your definition of rich is? How is there money for multitudes of inquiries, think tanks, vanity projects etc etc but none for infrastructure? How are so many bad financial decisions being made? But that's OK, we'll just make the worst off even poorer and even sicker and what? Hope they quietly die off? Well, that's happening already, just obviously not fast enough for some people's taste.

I've just seen a story in my local rag. Funding is being withdrawn from a local Marie Curie hospice. Better get that Assisted Dying bill through at all costs eh? Because good palliative care is too much of a drain.

I'm sick of the way things are going with demagogues encouraging division and pure spite and hatred in the name if money. We invented money, we control money. This overarching love of it is definitely the root of all evil.

Something else I think is relevant is that in the past, a lot of people with chronic conditions or disabilities were just largely invisiible. There were no options for them to try for a job in the first place - possibly becuase their conditions were not treated well so their disability was even worse than it is in today's world (again, my disability is an excellent example of this - due to the treatment I've had you wouldn't know to just look at me or meet me, but without that treatment it would be a LOT more obvious, and restricting) and/or because workplaces weren't interested in making accomodations. Similarly, if someone developed an illness, they probalby were just let go.

I am old enough to remember when you'd hear about elderly relatives or sometimes a friend's parent/aunt/cousin etc who were "poorly" or some other vague comment and needed care/support and who were seldom seen out and about the rest of the time.

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/24894144.marie-curie-home-service-told-will-not-renewed/

Somewhat outing but sod it. My mistake, not a hospice, but services to people in their own homes.

@soupyspoon the issue is when people mistake that all health issues are improved by diet/exercise or that they can offer some advice you would never(!) have thought of

I've had
"What about some vitamins"
"Have you tried paleo"
"I get heat rash too"
Everyone gets period pain"
"You're always ill" (funny that, my immune system is non existent so yes I tend to not be well)

Mine are mostly autoimmune conditions so just bad luck, I started with the first one age 11 and just collected them as I got older

I don't think the recent surge in sickness is connected to that, no. I actually know more peers (in my forties) with serious illnesses who are sporty, fit, watch their food and don't drink too much than otherwise. Obviously do what you can to keep healthy but don't be so arrogant as to think sickness won't come for you too.

The suggestion that most people are disabled due to diet, lack of exercise and not going outside is disgusting.

If I wasn't disabled, I'd have a better diet because I would be able to eat the things my bowel condition won't accept, and I'd be physically able to prepare my own nutritious food.

My lack of exercise is due to my disabilities. I was fit and healthy and exercised daily before I became disabled. My GP and consultants have advised me not to exercise because it makes me very ill.

I can't go outside because if I move, I pass out. I cannot be away from a toilet for more than a couple of minutes. I can't walk, nor self propel my wheelchair. Do you honestly think I want to be trapped in four walls?

Mumsnet gets worse by the day.

Money is linked to resource. We never had infinite resource nor do we control it. This has forever been the struggle for humans long before money was even invented. How do you get enough resource to survive? If we pool our resources can we do better? Can we use our resource to protect the vulnerable?

There is an obvious problem when the 'vulnerable' and non contributors outnumber the strong contributors. Our ability to get resources diminishes and the resources we have need to stretch further. We aren't a rich country because we currently are in debt to the tune of our entire GDP for a year. This is a crazy level of debt especially with interest rates running so high! Would you define someone that owed an entire year's salary in debt and had absolutely no savings as being rich? It's not rocket science. Even our GDP per capita is 20th in the world and well below the USA and the Scandinavian/Nordic countries. Over half of UK citizens are net recipients of tax and benefits.

I just don't know why you think we can fund all these things? We need to live within our means as a country just like every other person and entity.

My lifestyle choice was i was born multiple congenital conditions, cant believe i didnt focus more on diet and exercise in the womb 🤣🤣

It's just another nasty, albeist mumsnet bitch thread isn't it?