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?

I have ME and I am offended. It is a serious neurological condition.

Agree. People look overweight, pasty, faces like a slapped backside, far too much vaping, shoving UPFs and convenience food down their necks, going from work to sofa. No wonder the NHS is on its knees

I agree completely. What I find more frustrating is that people don’t seem to have any common sense and can’t make a simple decision themselves. A poster the other day had received house sale information which wasn’t for her and started a thread on what they should do with it. I mean, phone the number on the letter and let them know. So annoying!

The language you use is so inaccurate. Your misusing the word hyperchondriac (health anxiety) for starters. Chronic is a medical term for a condition that lasts over a certain period of time.
Unless you have a disability and or a chronic condition you have no right to have an opinion on this.

It's that elephant in the room, covid.

It affects multiple systems in the body, and will be the cause for a lot of this is a few ways:

• long covid
• effect on immune system, dampening it down extremely effectively for months, if not years, so people catch every damned thing that's going round that bit more easily
• and within that, dysregulation of a part of the immune system that is very relevant to cancer

@User757373 you clearly have no idea what POTS is! Could you manage fainting every time you got up and moved around? I think not.

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?

I think when you have to present your argument dishonestly in order to make your point, you need to be questioning why.

The lady has chronic pain and migraines. But when stating your opinion, you talk about "aches and pains and headaches". Why is that? Migraines and "headaches" are not the same thing. Chronic pain and "aches and pains" are not the same thing.

The fact that you've changed the language to try and dismiss her disability is very telling. You know that your point does not stand if you describe it accurately.

Do we all have chronic (long term) pain? Do we all suffer from migraines? I certainly don't. I don't think that describes a typical state of being at all. And neither do you, which is why you couldn't say it and you had to change the wording.

But we’re not working more than in pre-Covid, despite WFH. There used to be 1 million people in the UK chronically ill and unfit to work, now it’s 3 million (a 200% increase in 4 years).

Socialising is quite different from working. I can leave social event at any point, I can wear tracksuit bottoms and comfy shoes, I can chose where, when and with whom to socialise, I can sit in a group of people and just observe without needing to communicate at all, I can lie down on my friend's couch, I can socialise once a week or once a month for 30 minutes or for three hours. Which job do you think will provide me with the same flexibility? Can I tell my employer that I only have enough "spoons" to work 30 minutes this week and I might still need to leave early if my symptoms become too severe?

I think covid is true also. We all had it in September, I have recently stopped coughing finally and have suddenly been feeling much better. DD a has had a stomach issue which the GP says is not uncommon with covid and goes on for months.

I have pots try living with it before you have an opinion. Everytime you stand up your heart rate shoots up to 200 and you pass out this happens multiple times a day

Look we may need to get more back into the work force. But I see nothing wrong on people being allowed to WFH if they have chronic conditions.

That's great for you and I'm glad you have minimal pain and are functional, but some of us with chronic pain don't have any medication that works, and you can't judge all disabled people by your own metric. For example, I'm a healthy weight, exercise regularly, eat organic unprocessed food, etc, but when my chronic pain flares up it can be debilitating for four days, and the drugs only just take the edge off. It's not as clear cut as you make it sound.

Me too, they have no idea what it's like do they? I hope you're doing ok.

I wonder if there really are more people ill now than before or is it just that it’s far more noticeable as everyone is expected to work and contribute to the economy. Obviously Covid had a massive impact but even before that it was a problem.
When my mum was growing up and to a smaller extent when I was growing up most women were SAHMs. Obviously there were many who were super energetic and did loads at home & outside the home but there were also many who struggled with life generally, always seemed ill and spent large parts of every day in bed. Who knows what was wrong as they were mostly never taken seriously or diagnosed with anything. You might say that so-and-so suffered ‘with her nerves’ whatever that meant!
They were just ignored before but now they’d be expected to work and would need to claim sickness benefit if they couldn’t.
Likeness I knew many men who struggled at work and were always a step away from being sacked - often dismissed as lazy but maybe they did actually have an undiagnosed physical illness.
I do feel modern society with its expectation that everyone works is less tolerant when sometimes people just can’t through no fault of their own.

I don't know how threads like this are allowed your just slagging of disabled people would this thread stand if it was about race, religion or sexuality

I'm glad that now WFH is available to the chronically I'll for their mental health.

My husband is a drama llama over minor issues yet delays seeking treatment when it's serious. Torn rotor cuff he thought he could exercise away. Hernia he ignored for too long.

It's gone worse since lockdown, I've noticed it amongst people I mix with. Some people seem to think others are interested in listening to all their symptoms. A friend of mine tells me all of the things wrong with her and her daughter and it's as if she relishes it.

Absolutely agree. And (I know I'll get flamed for this) but the same goes for mental health. We've taken on about 10-15 staff this last year and almost every single one has some form of mental health issue listen on their 'personal information and health questionnaire'.

Why do have to put a label on every single thing these days?! Someone is worried? They've got anxiety. Someone is sad because their boyfriend has split up with them? They're suffering with depression. Feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work you've got to do? Get signed off with stress.

FFS! Being anxious / stressed / sad / angry are all just emotions resulting from life events / circumstance!!! Not mental illnesses! How insulting to those who genuinely suffer too.

You only have to read the threads on here most days! Someone posts that their husband is in a bad mood. "Is he depressed? Does he have ADHD? Is he ND???" Someone can just be an arsehole you know!!! Not everything needs to be a diagnosed medical condition!

It's absolute madness and seems to be escalating to the point where it's a complete get out of jail free card, a massive drain on the NHS (the amount of people I know who get signed off with "stress related illnesses" is obscene) and an absolute nightmare for employers.

I don't know about a nation of hypochondriacs, but I do think many people who were allowed to WFH during covid now seem to view it as a basic human right. I have friends who openly admit to taking the piss whilst working from home and will joke about doing nothing but responding to the odd email while spending hours watching Netflix, gardening or whatever it is they like to do. They are all outraged that they've been asked to go back to the office 1-2 days a week and are coming up with all sorts of reasons why this isn't possible. I know someone who has told her employer she cannot go back to the office 2 days a week due to chronic pain, but her pain levels have not stopped her decorating her house, doing DIY and garden projects, going to the gym and for long walks in the country all whilst getting paid to work from home. She genuinely seems to believe that her employer is being discriminatory by wanting her to regularly attend her contracted place of work.

Much less resilience nowadays. My parents, with 5dc, always worked. Dad often had 2 or 3 jobs. No work meant no food. No benefits (other than family allowance) and no sick pay.
I do think the amount of additives in and processing of food along with environmental pollution and a sedentary lifestyle for many all contribute.
Soooo many adults are self diagnosed with adhd. Is it a genuine phenomenon or an inability to cope with, genuinely heavy, workload of full time work, parenting and looking after elderly parents?
I have 2 chronic conditions but have rarely had sick time and worked up to retirement. TBH I don’t suffer with pain and walk miles a day which is a great think. I appreciate time is very limited for many.

Overall, I think the NHS is marvellous. But I think there are two massive downsides which are intrinsically linked.

1 If the NHS can't/won't solve a problem, there's no sense that people can/should find (and fund) their own solutions.

2 Becuase the NHS is struggling, the problem above is hugely exacerbated.

I have a mild, but very very rare, disability. I was born in another country without socialised healthcare. I was also lucky enough to be solidly middle class with parents who had the time, energy and finances to ensure I received the right support - mostly in the form of physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage and a selection of activities designed to help me manage and improve my mobility. As an adult, I have continued much of this, all self-funded.

In the UK, the NHS would not be able to do very much for me.If it got really bad (which it does sometimes), I could probably go to the GP and be referred for physiotherapy (and of all the therapy I've had, I believe only physio or ostetherapy are provided by the NHS - certainly I can't access massage, chiropractic, hydrotherapy or yoga - all of which have been beneficial at various times). But that would probably take weeks, if not months. What's worse (from my perspective) is that this is a long-term condition so I could get physiotherapy or some other treatment and it would 100% help and I would most likely be discharged.... and then I'd have to start the process all over again in 3-9 months when it flared up again.

I am on a facebook group for people with this problem. And what has struck me is how many people in the group are suffering and have quite a "this is just the way it is, suck it up" attitude. It is entirely possible (and likely) that they do not have the funds for the private support I receive, but I don't even see people saying things like, "If I could afford private physiotherapy/ hydrotherapy/ chiropractic/ massage etc, I'd totally do that". It's like it doesn't even occur to them that it's an option. If the NHS can't fix it... then it can't be fixed.

And that, I believe, is the problem.

Who are virtually all the people? Do you work in specialist services by any chance and assess people with ME/POTS? Do you have any statistics that support your claim?
Yes, some conditions make you more susceptible to ME but no more than having underlying conditions making you more susceptible to heart failure. Would you claim heart failure to be a micky mouse disease on that basis? ME, POTS and fibromyalgia are no different. They are real conditions with real consequences on persons' life.

I do really wish sometimes that people who dismiss these conditions have an opportunity to live with Long Covid. Not for long, of course. 18 months or so will suffice. And then you can come back and tell me whether it seems fake to you. In fact, I had a very emotional conversation with someone not long ago. They admitted to me that throughout the pandemic they judged their colleagues with diagnosis of Long Covid and thought they were just a bit lazy. Until they themselves have been diagnosed with Long Covid. "Eating some humble pie" is how they described it.

As an aside, I’m not disciplined enough to wfh. I’d have to be receiving calls as left to my own devices I’d be too easily distracted.

Or it's maybe because it impacts a significant amount of her life. I work part time because I can but I have to use all my holidays up for hospital appointments. I usually use all my sick pay up on hospital stays and recovering from surgeries. My days are spent chasing up drs and paper work. Being disabled and chronically ill takes up a lot of time and becomes a massive part of your life. This week alone I have booked a week of work holiday and have 3 f2f hospital appointments, 1 telephone hospital appointment and 1 telephone gp appointment. These appointments are also spread out up and down the country as I have some rare conditions that my local hospital don't treat.