Prince Harry speaks out.

Let's not forget the additional complication of mental illness occasioned or aggravated by drug and alcohol abuse, whether by the person in question or in utero.
As Galen said way back in the thread there are different sorts of depression occasioned by external factors or for no apparent external reason and so I cannot blieve the rise in mental illness is unconnected with the rise in substance abuse as well as the breakdown of much of society.
I am NOT apportioning blame. Just saying that the end result is a person in crisis. Can that person even ask for help? That first step HAS to be made easier.

The only thing Anniebach is that I can't go along with the idea of 'respectable' mental illness. None of us knows what will happen in life, the dice rolls and we bear the consequences and finding your feet is sometimes impossible. Also, if you read the link I posted, you will see that mental illness may well be coming from earlier generations mishaps and misfortune. I don't think blame helps.

I happened to see this somewhere else, makes you think....

www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems/

Azie, I say respectable and perhaps should have said acceptable. A person with anorexia gets sympathy, an obese person who comfort eats needs to get their act together

PADDYANN as I have said before we are ALL an accident of birth we don't get to CHOOSE who we are, people from ALL walks of life kind be kind , helpful , thoughtful, grateful ,l, or we can be selfish lazy stupid cruel etc etc. Some very wealthy people seek to only indulge themselves, others do what they can to help others, Unfortunately some people are Spitful . Small minded & just plain nasty ??????

annie I do agree that some mental illnesses gain more empathy than others. Your e.g. of eating disorders is classic. People generally will have indulged themselves at some point with food so associate obese people with "over indugence" rathr than ill but fewer people will have deprived themselves of food so see anorexia as a "genuine" illness.
Bi-polar disorder is such a spectrum of behaviours and can be very devastating for the whole family.

Penstemmon, thank you. I just feel so strongly that if mental health problems are to come to the fore because of this publicity it is important we breakdown these divides between what we can sympathise with and what we find unacceptable behaviour.

Bi Polar is hell for the suffer and hell for those who love the suffer

Bi polar can affect anyone from all classes. From the people I know who have bi polar, I would say that it is one of the conditions that people sympathise with, although they often don't understand it.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Carrie Fisher, Sinead O'Connor, Lily Allen, Stephen Fry, Jeremy Brett, Paul Gascoigne, Spike Milligan, Dusty Springfield, Amy Winehouse, Ruby Wax and loads of other high profile sufferers have spoken of their experience with bipolar.

As I'm sure you know, outcomes are better if sufferers are diagnosed before they start self-medicating with drugs or alcohol or start getting into financial difficulties,which leads to further depression. Teenagers typically self-harm or develop eating disorders. That's why it's so important that people speak out before other problems arise before they're diagnosed. Once they do, there will be even more issues to unravel. Even the rich (especially males) don't do that.

I think that is quite a long list of well known people who have spoken out about bi polar . I disagree that people sympathise , they certaintly do not sympathise with the actions of sufferers . Help is still lacking though , mental health services need money

MawBroon is right to look at the impact of substance misuse on mental health. The age old question of which came first is particularly relevant because of the increase of heavy drinking and substance use.
Bi polar diagnosis does seem to be on the increase. The individuals I know personally or through work, have all been drug users from early or mid teens. It used to be said that LSD or heavy use of cannabis could lead to psychosis or schizophrenia. I haven't seen any research that debunks that and we have more drugs around and in use now than 40 years ago when I began work.

We also have more babies born addicted or exposed to substances before birth. The impact of that on developing brains remains unclear, though it seems probably it contributes to developmental disorders.

Annie's point about society's common responses to mental health also goes for physical health. The tendency to blame people who get cancer, or inflammatory diseases by members of the public (not medics) is a feature.

It has to be good that as a society, we are becoming more well informed about mental health.

My daughter started drinking after her mental health problems worsened , not before , it was a doctor who suggested a glass of wine to help her relax , this was the start of her alcoholism

I agree Iam64. I think there are many ways that could be improved, not just via the NHS. Some mental health issues just can't be prevented and medical treatment is not always effective.

Martin Lewis, from Money Savings Expert, has produced a comprehensive booklet about the financial implications of mental health issues.He campaigns for mental health to be considered when people fall into debt or about to be evicted.

The Health and Safety Executive produced another booklet about supporting employees with mental health issues. There are others, but I can't remember them at the moment.

I think one practical step would be for the public to stop "blaming", stop being so judgmental and to realise that most people with mental health issues are just as "normal" as somebody with a physical illness.

I also wish people would stop using the word "depressed" as in "I'm so depressed" every time the weather's bad or a pet worm dies. There must be some other word.

I also wish sites such as the NHS would stop talking about "low moods". Being depressed is a hell of a lot different from having a low mood or feeling down.

That's what I mean annie. Her condition would possibly have got worse anyway and should have been treated properly much earlier. People despair when nothing seems to work, so use the easiest "medication", which is often alcohol. The doctor was downright irresponsible.

Thank you Daphne

Annie and daphnedill, I can look around my circle of close friends and family and hardly any have escaped some kind of mental health/substance misuse issue in their wider circle. I used to feel we were unusual but I no longer believe that. I suspect that many such issues are family secrets, like Mrs Robinson in the Dustin Hoffman film. There are so many drinkers, whose capacity increased as they got older and less broke so that half a bottle or a bottle of wine in the evening becomes the norm. I'm not criticising those people, they're usually productive, hard working and with "nice" families. Eventually though, it seems it catches up in one way or another.

Manchester is my city and the news media has covered the epidemic of homelessness linked to spice misuse. Manchester Piccadilly Gardens was a glory when I was in my teens and working in the city. We'd take our sandwiches at lunch time, sit and have our lunch, feed the pigeons. It was so calm and friendly whereas now, it's avoided because of the risk of exposure to the homeless folk, turned into a zombie like state by a cheap smoke of spice.

The growth of homelessness in Manchester has inevitably drawn other homeless people. Walking through town in the morning, every shop doorway seems to have someone sleeping in it. There are many community actions to help, the police and paramedics are doing a brilliant job but whilst they're responding to emergencies in the homeless community, what about "ordinary" crime and health problems.

I do so hope that the current election campaign ensures that these issues are discussed by senior members of the main parties. We need a concerted effort, an alignment of concerned politicians from which ever persuasion to accept that the so called austerity approach is making things worse, on so many levels. The NHS needs proper funding and services need to be properly joined up. I know, most of us have been saying this for ever - can we make a difference? Will the high profile of William, Kate and Harry help focus and maybe get this government to accept there is a problem rather than re-stating however many million they say they're given to mental health. It isn't "just" m.h. it's housing, social care, education, youth offending, probation and prison services to name a few. There is so much expertise in these well established public services, why not use it rather than blame them ?

I agree with you 100% Iam64. That's what I meant when I mentioned about Martin Lewis' booklet about mental health and finance and the HSE's guide for employers.

Mental health issues can often never be cured, but people can be helped to manage. Anybody with a public role has apart to play.

Typically, a person with mental health issues might do badly at school, start taking tome off work (if he/she manages to find a job), get sacked, not be able to pay bills, get more stressed/depressed, might turn to drugs or alcohol or stay in an abusive relationship, because he/she loses control of life, get evicted etc etc. The result is that somebody has more problems than if the original mental disorder had been addressed.

PS. My DD lived in a flat overlooking Piccadilly Gardens with a communal bin space. She could look out of the window and see people settled down for the night in the bin space, after they'd rummaged through the bins for scraps. There always seemed to be dealers in the area.

The person with the mental illness needs to recognise they need help, if they don't it is up to those close to them to try but that is not an easy task.

I do think that "social class" has an impact on response too. My DD has a friend who spent time in psychiatric wards due to eating disorder and self harming. She is the DGD of a former well known TV journalist, her parents are in the 'media'. She still has times when she self harms. She now has two children. The youngest has been diagnosed with diabetes. So she bought a dog that she hopes (but does not know) will be able to be trained to spot her son's physical change to alert to a hypo. The stress of all this has started her harming again. She has also been diagnosed with ME.
She is a great mum and a lovely, well spoken 'middle class' young woman. I feel if she was a young woman, in a similar situation, but living in social housing estate without the benefit of a family who can manage the health system etc. she would be less favourably treated /perceived. I hope my opinion is wrong.

Sadly it isn't Penstemmon.

A person's accident of birth to a particular socio-economic group should not impact on their access to health services,

I fought for two years to get my daughter into rehab, even telephoned the Welsh Assembly to complain about funding, I won and she was admitted. After about six weeks she hit a high, discharged herself because she decided she could cure herself ! This is a woman who was a wonderful mother,, wife, daughter,sister. The favourite of the extended family, town councillor, school governer , charity worker. Now she is so underweight, self harms, sends me abusive text, a few days later a text to say how much she loves me. I dread a knock at the door . It is hell , I cannot imagine what she is suffering, she is tortured, I just long to see her well before I die, who else will stand with her and love her? There are times I want to slap her, shake her, feel such shame then,

Annie I fully empathise with the frustration of the 'self destruct' behaviour and the dramatic emotional swings. Take care x

Pen, it is so painful, I just have this cry within me - where is my lovely dsughter

Anniebach your pain and grief are so clear, I could weep for you if it would do any good. There are those elsewhere on GN who seem to think they have a monopoly on broken down relationships, but your cry from the heart is much more poignant.
All I can say is don't ever give up hope just as I know you won't give up on your daughter
The repercussions of mental health issues are far reaching indeed

Thank you MawBroon, I am just one of many , I think being a one parent family since she was seven causes me to question my parenting, my siblings say I spoilt her, this is so annoying, bipolar isn't caused by a bit that. I do wonder what signs I missed though . Anyway this isn't about me so sorry all.

All illnesses causes family distress yes? But mental illness is more than worrying, it's searching for help which just isn't there and for understanding of what the sufferer endures .

annie, I have no personal knowledge of what you and others have been and are going through, so all I can do is offer you and everyone else, my sincerest sympathy. Although I can see it must be difficult, please try not to blame yourself for your daughters difficulties. Sadly I can't do anything practical to help, but I can send you a hug and hope that things may improve for you (it IS about you too!) and your daughter.

Anniebach you have my sympathy, you are doing all you can for your daughter, I hope she gets some help soon.
I worked in a big psychiatric hospital in the 60s and saw the majority of these places close down. Although not in agreement with the thought of such ' institutions ' they did provide a place of safety for many people where they could get help. Nothing was ever done to replace these hospitals, small community units are not economically viable. We need to be able to offer safe places where people can be treated and where it is not left to chance whether or not they are found by community workers.