Mental Health issues or Challenges of Life?

I suspect that older people have been saying this about young people for generations.

Funny to think of Tony Blair as “older people” though!

Yes. I do think he has a point.

I think that because the classification of MH conditions has gone from 47 in 1952 to 300 currently in the DSM-IV it means that people can self diagnose on line.. they wouldn't be unwell enough to be admitted into the MH service unless showing extreme symptoms..

but that doesn't seem to stop them deciding they are Mentally unwell. GP's do not have much training in MH usually.. so Blair may well have a point

I think some people jump on the mental health bandwagon. Yes life has its ups and downs but it depends what the 'downs' are surely and how many you get.

As someone who struggles every day with my mental health due to horrible and difficult events, and whose brother took his own life due to such issues, I would say it's all very well to comment unless you've been there. No I haven't been through a war and life in general these days is easier. Nonetheless some are equipped to cope, some are not.

I often turn the radio off/shout at it when I hear people talking about ‘my mental health/my anxiety/my depression, when all too often they’re talking about feelings. More accurate description would be ‘ I worry easily’, I’m sad, I’m fed up.
We all have periods when life is tougher for whatever reason. I find the ownership , ie my depression, concerning. It almost sounds like something to nurture.

I’m not dismissing how tough life can be for all of us at times. I’m suggesting being bereaved, sad, fed up etc is very different than clinical depression or anxiety. Even more different than schizophrenia or psychosis.

Al

RosiesMaw2

I’m surprised nobody has commented on this yet.
Speaking to former Downing Street adviser Jimmy McLoughlin on his Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future podcast, 71-year-old Sir Tony Blair has declared: “I think we have become very, very focused on mental health and with people self-diagnosing. We’re spending vastly more on mental health now than we did a few years ago. And it’s hard to see what the objective reasons for that are.”
“Life has its ups and downs and everybody experiences those. And you’ve got to be careful of encouraging people to think they’ve got some sort of condition other than simply confronting the challenges of life.”
I hesitate to raise my head above the parapet but have wondered how well-equipped we are as a nation especially the younger generation, the so-called “Generation Z” to cope with “the challenges of life”
Goodness knows our parents’ and grandparents’ generation faced much worse - war, hardship including unemployment without the benefits system of today, no NHS, no CH, hard physical labour, few cars, few of the domestic appliances we now know, to name but a few.
Has he got a point?

Yes, I think he has a point.

I do think some people are very quick to go down the "anxiety" route, when it's actually a natural response to unsettling situations.

My friend works in a college for teen with a variety of issues, and she gets really cross when staff talk about students "anxiety", when that isn't actually their diagnosis, or problem.

I think he has a point too.

It sounds like something to nurture I agree Iam.

Aveline

Yes. I do think he has a point.

So do I. And I don't think it's just young people. Don't get me started (or cut straight to the summary for the short version) I think that there is a culture of 'self first' (often called 'self-care') that is endemic. Instead of thinking of the impact our actions have on others, too many people just see things in terms of how they are affected. A main driver in my leaving work early was that I had a colleague who was always taking time off for 'stress' every time there was a difficult time ahead. This left me to pick up her work as well as my own, and increase stress for me. Before anyone says that this is something for management to deal with, that's as may be but the fact is that they didn't. The colleague had numerous spells of 6 months' sick 'leave' and countless other days off for miscellaneous illness, although she wasn't ill enough not to be able to claim back holidays from when she'd been off sick and go abroad. She wouldn't leave, as the salary (based on the fact that the job was stressful) was more attractive than she would get if she had a more basic job that didn't have peaks and troughs of stressful things going on. After a particularly awful case of this I decided to leave for my own mental health, whilst she stayed on accruing a pension and earning a salary.

On a different note, I run a monthly meeting for an interest group, and it is held in my house. I provide a room (which room depends on numbers) and refreshments. I don't mind doing this at all - I am happy to host and put the kettle on - but it would be so much easier if people could stick to what they say about whether they are coming or not, but they won't. I draft in chairs from all over the place if we need a larger room because a lot of people are coming, but if not, it's much easier just to sit around the kitchen table on chairs that are already there. Judging quantities for refreshments is all but impossible, too. There could be anything up to 20 people, so I have to assume that this is happening, but the actual number of attendees is usually between 9-12 people, and if the weather is bad it might be 2 or 3. I don't live in a remote area, so I just mean if it looks like rain, not that roads are impassable because of blizzards .

I ask before each meeting if people will let us all know numbers (other members also need to print documents, so it matters to them, too) but every time people pull out at the last minute because they aren't 'in the right headspace', or asks to be listed as 'tentative' until they see how they feel on the night. It's maddening. If they were paying for tickets to something they wouldn't be tentative.

I find that many people are routinely late for more social things too, or feel it's ok to cancel without thinking about the inconvenience for others. I was at two Christmas lunch things, and in both cases the table was booked for X, but a number of people cried off at the last minute because of 'Christmas stress'. The restaurant staff were put out, which was embarrassing for those of us who were there, and in one case we could have gone somewhere different who only had a smaller table available, but we thought we needed a large one.

I think that the ability to text to cancel is responsible for some of it, and possibly Covid contributed, but mainly I think it is just selfishness. I was brought up (and brought my own children up) to think that if you say you will go somewhere and a 'better offer' comes up that's just hard lines - you honour your word and go to the one that's in the diary. Similarly, I was made to go to school (and work) unless I was incapable of doing so, rather than being allowed to decide not to go unless I felt 100% capable. It's a mindset thing, I think.

In summary - I think that too much is written off as 'mental health', and whereas of course things like depression and anxiety are real, people should find ways to work around them if they suffer from them (eg take jobs that don't exacerbate the problem, and not make social arrangements they might not keep), rather than expect everyone else to deal with it.

Real mental health issues are hellish.

Never thought I would agree with Tony Blair about anything but he's absolutely right about this.
I'm not taking anything away from the truly unwell who deserve all our compassion but it's clear there are many folk out there who need to get over themselves and grow a backbone.

Great post Doodledog and this in particular I think that there is a culture of 'self first' (often called self-care) that is endemic. Instead of thinking of the impact our actions have on others, too many people just see things in terms of how they are affected.

Good summary, Doodledog

Norah

Good summary, Doodledog

I agree that one’s mental health should never be used to excuse bad behaviour or not doing things. I think in many circumstances mild anxiety and depression can be used as a reason not to work, however it’s good to work, it can in many cases make some mental health issues more manageable.

Having said that, companies need to be more aware of mental health diagnoses and prepared to support employees.

My MiL was a paranoid schizophrenic. Both my grandfather and my biological father committed suicide, my SiL committed suicide. Our youngest daughter is diagnosed, via a psychiatrist, with BPD, (Borderline Personality Disorder), she has weekly therapy and anti-psychotic medication and holds down full time work.

Unless you’ve lived with serious mental health issues it’s not easy to fully understand.

Kate1949

Real mental health issues are hellish.

Hear hear

It's not just self diagnosis that's concerning there's also what appears to be an increase in diagnosing others as toxic and/or narcissist for example.

I agree with Doodledog.

Resilience is an attribute that seems to be overlooked today. Coping with what life throws at you.

Of course, for some people, life throws more than is possible to cope with without help and support.
And of course, there is mental illness( why isn’t that term used these days?). Both my sister and another relative have long-term diagnosed mental illnesses.
That’s different.

I am pleased there is more NHS help available for people with serious mental health issues, however, even if it is not enough or not soon enough.

I don't think anyone is denying that real mental illness is horrible. But that's not what the discussion is about. It's people jumping to a diagnosis of MH issues to explain what are just life events. That is what is a pain in the proverbial for everyone else. Someone with a real condition is a very different matter.

Obviously those who claim MH as an excuse muddy the waters for those who actually have poor MH, too.

Yes, he has a point.

Too many people cite their mental health issues when they only have to cope with the normal ups and downs of life. Admittedly, the downs can be pretty tough at times.

What annoys me about it is that they divert resources from those people who genuinely have poor mental health, or mental illness, and really need the help.

I think MH has become much more of an industry, there's almost an encouragement for people to become introspective and dare I say it self absorbed. I broke my arm last year and as a result had to go to physiotherapy. At the initial consultation I was asked how that had affected my mental health, when in fact it had just hampered certain aspects of my life, that was essentially it, without being depressing, although I appreciate, depending on circumstances, that could affect one's state of
mind. Similarly I was asked about my MH at a physical check up at the doctor's surgery, I guess it's one of those things that are now part and parcel of getting an overview of the patient. Casting my mind back to my own growing up years, I can remember, feeling fed up, having the blues, growing up. I perceive these are all feelings that go with the territory of our formative years, would those be categorised now as MH issues? I didn't regard them as such then and I think if they are now categorised as such then that blurs the lines between low level depressions and the very real MH that some people experience. .I think I was always aware, as a generation mine was more fortunate, we escaped the world wars that were part and parcel of our grandparents' and parents' lives, and in retrospect their stoicism about what they went through compared to subsequent generations was truly underestimated. How would this current crop, who encompass those who talk about not being in a "safe space" cope with the realities of really not being in a safe space, when bombs were raining down on them I wonder. Having said that I perceive a more prolific use of mind bending drugs and social media have both impacted detrimentally on younger generations' mental well being, there are certainly pressures I perceive many of our generation escaped.

I think Blair has a point, but of course, ex politicians have that freedom to express what they really feel as opposed to following a party line.

I do remember a poster on MN causing an uproar when she started a thread suggesting "am I right in thinking everyone has mental health issues now?" divided opinions between those who agreed and those who castigated her for making light of a serious issue.

Yes, Tony Blair is spot on.

We have children in primary school with ‘anxiety’ and ‘stress’.

What hope as they get older, and have to deal with the real issues of life?

Recently, I attended a concert at the grammar school my GD attends.

As we queued in a corridor to enter the main hall, I browsed a notice board. There were about half a dozen posters, all relating to which teachers were trained in mental health and anxiety issues, eating disorders, bullying, self harm, drugs, you name it, any student looking at it could imagine they had a ‘condition’ that needed attention.

Sometimes, it’s just ‘life’, and you have to accept it and get through it.

It's good that there is help now though. There was none in the horror of my childhood.