To be really cross about the proposed cuts?

[Byjimminy]

And feel really effing sorry for those with genuine anxiety and depression - it is disabling!

Already seeing threads in MH with people despairing in anticipation of cuts. As if mental health services haven't already been decimated beyond recognition already. GP appointments as rare as hen's teeth, CAMHS and access to decent therapy is next to non-existent, the conservatiives slashed all the support workers and sure start centres and we've had the worst pandemic in decades (centuries?) - long covid is thing too! And now people are just self diagnosing/making up mental health issues? How the hell anyone believes anyone manages to claim PIP without a proper diagnosis is insanity itself.

I completely agree with this article: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/wes-streeting-overdiagnosis-mental-health-adhd-b2716618.html

I know there will be umpteen threads on this already, but maybe some others like me just want to let stuff out in frustration and have a fresh place to say it. To think this is a labour government making these decisions BEFORE putting the services in place to actually help and treat people is beyond comprehension.

It's very hard to get my head around all this, it's quite obvious that Labour have set up hundreds of fake accounts on social media to push this narrative. It's incredibly sad that we've gone from a fairly empathic society to one that hates disabled people quite literally overnight.

So we're not allowed to discuss this? OK. 🙄

It's just my opinion @Sweetpeasaremadeforbees

No , you're trying to shut down the discussion by accusing posters of being bots. I think that's actually against talk guidelines but I'm not reporting because I think that your post should stand and be seen.

I agree and I think sometimes this safety net traps people into not getting better and not helping themselves.

That’s is your personal opinion and most certainly not a statement of fact. Poor mental health has been shown to be linked to poor physical health not to mention the huge risk of suicide. I firmly believe mental health is every bit as important as physical health and maybe if you had a child with cptsd who had taken overdoses you may see things differently. Unfortunately there are always people who will take the piss but that doesn’t mean we should make things harder for those needing help especially when it’s already a grossly underfunded area. Personally I would prefer a few pisstakers to people succeeding in killing themselves because they couldn’t get help as people saw them as time wasters. Attitudes like this are why I don’t bother seeking help for my poor mental health.

But how many people will realistically kill themselves? Our suicide rates have been going down since the 1980s thank God, but more people seem to have significant mental health problems than 20 years ago.

I don’t find the ‘do X or Y, or these people will die by suicide/neglect their kids/burgle your homes as they’ll have no choice’. There is an element of emotional blackmail there, and yes I have been extremely depressed and suicidal, 20 years ago but I remember it well.

Just to share my story I’ve been significantly mentally unwell since the age of about 15 (this was back when being under a consultant or needing MH at all at that age was quite rare). I’ve had 2 what I would describe as nervous breakdowns since then, but honestly I credit my recoveries with the fact I didn’t know benefits were an option, so I carried on working. It was hideous to start with and I would go into the toilets to hyperventilate and cry, but over time this eased off and routine and social element really helped in a way that I can only identify looking back.

I really don’t think benefits are the answer in most cases.

How many people with a disability that keeps them at home are now overweight. So much harder to get to work.

Regarding MH Services, a lot aren't underfunded but understaffed because they cannot attract staff for the roles, that's not a opinion that's a fact. There are regions which are attractive for people to move and to work and there are those which aren't. I know of areas near me which have a whole multitude of NHS roles vacant which are funded but cannot attract staff, from consultant level downwards.
With the increase in people seeking help for MH conditions increasing dramatically, then the waits to be seen have also increased because if 10 staff have 1000 people on caseload in 2015 then 15 people needing to see 5000 people means something has to give and that's the wait times. There is no magic wand, but in all the money you want but if the staff aren't there then it won't do anything.

Fair enough @Sweetpeasaremadeforbees

You could say the same for people working from home.
My boyfriend works from home I swear is getting bigger by the week.

The issue is too many people arw relying on benefits to live. A very good example I'll give you is a girl I know who is very intelligent. Has Adhd Autism anxiety etc and so she doesn't work she lives on 1500 pounds a month.

I met her at a fan convention. She can't work supposedly due to all these crippling conditions but can fly to another country and spend 3 days hanging out with hundreds of ppl. Her trip was funded entirely on benefits. Were talking hundreds of pounds of tax payer money.

Im sorry no way! People like that absolutely should be working. The system is corrupt and I'm so glad Labour are actually for once doing something about it.

What was her life like either sides of those trips? She may have been very anxious about going, and when she got home would possibly go into shutdown.
That is what would happen to me. I would have to do a lot of preparation ahead of such a trip and acknowledge that I would be useless for a few days after.
A fun trip that you choose to go to is totally different to going to a job. Totally different. If you are ND then pushing through something you are not interested in is very difficult.

She's constantly going here there and everywhere. But to ill to work. Gimme a break. And why should the tax payer fund that?

You sound like you don't like her much.
You see her highlights. You don't see behind the scenes.

It’s the individualism versus collectivism thing again isn’t it. These cuts will be bad for individuals and I’m genuinely sorry for them. But it will benefit society as a whole. And governments do have to be about what is going to benefit the most people don’t they?

That reminds me of during Covid where people with learning disabilities and brain injuries were told they would not be offered a ventilator if needed.
Get rid of the useless dead wood.

The issue is that there are 33mn taxpayers in the UK. The current (2024) welfare bill is £64bn and expected to grow much higher. This is benefits only, state pensions aren't included.

It means that UC/PIP/DLA cost £1930 each taxpayer average. This is before we start talking about NHS/Education/Police/Defence/etc etc

By 2029-30 it's expected to reach £3000 average per taxpayer.

This simply can't go on. Anxiety and depression are treatable, yes it's difficult, but people have no choice but to start funding own living. What do you believe happens in countries with no welfare? by some miracle people there don't have MH issues? so is this welfare state which is causing it?

Why do people keep mentioning anxiety and depression? I know a lot of people on benefits for mental health, and no one is on it for just those.

Shocking isn't it. I honestly don't think people realize the mess this country is in and how unaffordable this all is. I thoroughly expect these cuts to just be the start of it. Even as it stands now it isn't even going to start making an impact ( if it even does) for another 2-3 years by which time there will be near on another 1 million PIP claims already initiated. It is just a drop in the ocean.

Excellent post

I'm not sure. The group of people which will be affected by these cuts will likely to be pushed to get jobs and it will be good for them longer terms as well.

How do you know that?
Being pushed for work will make me more poorly.

One of my kids had a breakdown about ten years ago following a traumatic incident. He had to be signed off sick for several months and had terrible anxiety. Couldn’t go to the supermarket, drive his car, was in tears all the time. He tried antidepressants but they made him dizzy and sick. He made it his ‘work’ to get back to life and to his job asap. Ate clean, didn’t touch alcohol, regular bedtime and cycled for hours. He had a mortgage to pay and didn’t want to get into debt. I take my hat off to him for the effort he put in to control his depression and panic attacks, but he was back to work in months. It took about a year for him to be comfortable driving, but he practiced very short car drives for months until he was again.

if he hadn’t had a mortgage to pay and had been living here at home, I think he would have been more likely to slip backwards and could possibly have ended up on benefits too.

I'm not familiar with your situation. Those truly disabled will keep their benefits. The rest have to start funding themselves. End of

They wont. The cuts are brutal and sweeping. No one is safe.