To agree with Wes Streeting's statement that MH issues are overdiagnosed?

[Locutus2000]

Pretty controversial stuff.

Who decides?

So if they suddenly cut off support to those who need support to get well enough to work..is the support ready to step in when the money is cut, so they can get better to work and then house themselves? Or do we just leave the disabled needing the treatment with nothing till they add it in later?

Also you really need to educate yourself. ND is not mental health.

This is a deliberate misreading of people's points.

Its not hard. Negative emotions are a normal part of human experience. They shouldn't be pathologised, but people should be taught to deal with them.

By identifying them and developing strategies. ND children will need a lot of support to do this.

I can think of six or seven avenues people who want a greater sense of community could pursue where I live.

I agree it isn't a given anymore, but it's can be found by people who understand it's importance and are willing to actively seek it out.

I don't live in a rich area btw. In fact, I think it's easier to access in less privileged places.

I wonder if that is accurate though because humans are hunter gatherers. We were not farmers. We turned ourselves into farmers. We were also nomads, we turned ourselves into non nomads (not sure what the word is, perimenopause) because of course you cant be a wanderer and tend land.

The human zoo has existed for a long time

I only partially agree with you.

Being diagnosed with something like anxiety can actually make it worse.

Many personality types then go away thinking and obsessing about their diagnosis. And let's face it Dr google, algorithms & social media will feed into this obsession. I believe many people end up feeling far worse over a very short period of time compared to their first diagnosis.

There is a whole community out there feeding your anxiety, whilst before the Internet, it was you and your GP or threapist trying to adress the issues at hand.
Nobody is at fault, not the patient nor the doctor it's just human nature.

ND and mental health problems. So many people now have ADHD (that is ND yes?) And/or have anxiety and depression. Many of the behaviours are normal human reactions but of course some people do have significant issues that require a diagnosis and treatment.

The problem is those with genuine and significant illnesses get lost in the masses who jump on the mh/ND bandwagon sadly.

Streeting would be better off addressing problems with the education system and with employers first of all.

Yea, I think we are now pathologising normal (albeit uncomfortable) emotions and a range of personality traits

I agree with this. And there seems to be this vibe that we can't ever find life hard or stressful without diagnosing it as "mental health". We have a real resilience crisis & lack of proportion. We live in a remarkably safe country with mild weather and plenty of food. In the context of the world the vast majority of us are incredibly privileged. There is relatively little true poverty, and what there is is often a more complex issue inter related to things like addiction.

He's the health sec why would he do that?

No I don’t think self medicating, SH, dangerous impulsivity, depression due to the huge struggles that come with afhd and autism( many have both), EDs, massive anxiety due to sensory issues and communication difficulties which are very common with ND etc are normal or easy to just get on with.

His colleagues need to address this then. They can all talk about it together.

Yes those with an ND disorder will more than likely have comorbid MH disorders. ND is considered a divergence in brain function but that is a theory, and like any disorder and condition like that it has criteria that has changed over years, diagnosis has changed over years.

Schizophrenia has been like that, its an umbrella term really for a number of differering symptoms and types and there continues to be flux in how that is diagnosed and whether that is the correct diagnosis for someone.

To say someone is ND is considering a number of traits and symptoms under an umbrella, it used to be divided into levels of severity, some countries still do this, I suspect it will change back again.

I think there is a lot of validity in observations that many people with poor MH are being made worse, or are in fact depressed and anxious because they have untreated, unrecognised physical health needs. He needs to focus on that first.
Waiting lists of over a year for tests and scans and follow up appointments for example. Dreadful

That’s great to see that the OP, some posters and a minister are now better placed to diagnosed people than, let me check …., doctors!

Does it apply too to let’s say cancer, auto immune disease?
If Wes says it’s over diagnosed, he knows better than the doctors who ve seen the patients.
Anazing. We don’t even need doctors anymore!!

Whether we would be temperamentally happier pursing a hunter gatherer lifestyle is an interesting question, but not one we will ever be able to accurately answer.

There are things that we know are good for human existence that we need to start fighting for. Community, (real) connection with others, meaningful things to pursue.

I agree with him, it is over diagnosed, and often used as an excuse to opt out of life. That said, there's a lot of things in the modern world that are causing problems. If people weren't attached to mobile phones and social media all of the time, if work was go to work and come home again, if teens could escape the pressures from their peers, if people actually went out and interacted with humans face to face rather than all behind a screen, a lot of societal problems would go away. Technology has a lot to answer for and in many ways hasn't improved our lives at all.

I agree, but I think the bigger issue is over diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions such as asd and ADHD.

Completely agree!

Because sometimes, just sometimes, problems are linked!!

Oh surprise!

Evidence for this?
It’s not easy to get a diagnosis.

There are still hunter gatherer tribes around the world. I will see if any research has been done on them. I do know that the ones which have been introduced to drugs and alcohol don't do very well afterwards though.

There are things that we know are good for human existence that we need to start fighting for. Community, (real) connection with others, meaningful things to pursue

I'll add the great outdoors & exercise to that list.

So you know better than the doctors, SALT and clinical psychologists, all specialised in that area who done the diagnosis.

Sounds good.

And you know better because?
You’ve read research papers on the subjects?
You’ve trained in that area?

Or is it just a feel? What the nice minister has said so it must be right?