Each week we publish blog posts on a whole range of topics, relating in some way to mental health — written by Mind staff, service users and health and policy professionals. Some blog posts may not reflect official Mind policy.
We welcome comments and questions on our posts, but have a few ground rules to keep the site welcoming and interesting to every body. The first rule is the most important: be respectful of other commenters and bloggers.
Paul describes the "whole weather system" of depression and asks whether there's an upside to his experiences.
1 CommentWe recently published our updated guide to housing and mental health. Chris from our Information team blogs about the importance of stable, affordable and secure housing for good mental health.
1 CommentDespite achieving success in her job and having the support of an understanding manager, our guest blogger Natalie still finds the need to put on a brave face at work.
1 CommentToday is Holocaust Memorial Day, an annual event I had the privilege and honour of working to help establish over a decade ago. You might be thinking “well that’s very nice but what’s that got to do with me?” I’d like to think everything. It was not just an attack on Jews. It was an outright attack on humanity and on human rights.
Kirsty has always worked, but when she was forced to leave her stressful job owing to mental health problems, she was shocked to find herself slipping below the poverty line.
I had a Saturday job from the age of 13, worked my way through my A-levels in retail, and then through my degree as an auxiliary nurse.
I love working and the opportunities for growth and making new friends that come with it and, despite my diagnosis of bipolar disorder and the difficulties that come with that, I’ve always maintained steady employment.
Unfortunately, in November last year I ended up having a manic episode, triggered by working long shifts and night shifts on a stressful hospital ward. I was told that I needed to leave my current job and find one with regular hours and much less stress if I wanted to stay out of hospital in the long term. I worked as a casual worker so wasn’t entitled to sick-pay and therefore had to claim benefits upon my discharge to the crisis team a month later.
Tears came when I was informed that, since I was under 25, claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA) entitled me to a paltry £53 a week to live off until I had been assessed (which takes at least three months). I was also having to use a credit card to pay my rent whilst housing benefit ask for everything but blood before paying out.
I was reduced to having to make decisions such as whether to pay my energy bill or have food for two weeks. I’ve become trapped in a catch-22 situation – the stress of having no money is impeding my recovery and return to work, but this stress can only be resolved by returning to work and earning.
Now almost £1,000 overdrawn and having spent £1,000 on my credit card to cover rent (I still haven’t had a decision from housing benefit, and I doubt they’ll refund the interest accrued on my credit card or the bank charges), I’m at the point where even though I’m not really well enough to return to work, I have to.
My point, and my reason for writing this blog, is this: whilst there may be individuals who try to abuse the system, the great majority of us who need to seek the State’s support are genuinely in need. The lack of financial support offered to those with mental health issues has meant that I’ve had to endure existence below the poverty line since leaving hospital, and this has definitely hindered my recovery and return to work – not quite the “living a life of luxury on benefits” nonsense that the media would have you believe.
Indeed, even I never really knew how low benefits were for individuals who cannot work until that paltry amount was staring me in the face. If the Government is so committed to supporting people back into work, then it should start by providing a liveable sum of money to claimants of ESA. Poverty is not conducive to good mental health, and so the stingy sum currently offered serves only to hinder individuals’ recovery and return to work.
Kirsty is a graduate who loves reading and making travel plans. She lives with her boyfriend and two cats.
Help us fight for fairer benefits – email or Tweet your MP with our easy-to-use form before Wednesday 01 February. Ask them to vote for a two-year limit on ESA instead of the 12 months that the Government is pushing for.
Ruth writes about People in Mind, an oral history project and exhibition marking 25 years of Mind in Bexley.
6 CommentsAgata, who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, tells her story and describes the comfort art has brought to her life.
6 CommentsToday’s news includes research from Professor David Nutt, the former government drug adviser, and his team, on using psilocybin, the active ingredient of magic mushrooms, for depression. He suggests that such substances should not be banned from research just because of their legal status.
7 CommentsPauline from our Legal Unit blogs about what we've been doing to help employers understand the impact of mental health problems on staff and encourage a culture of openness in the workplace. .
Ilona reviews The Happy Depressive: In Pursuit of Personal and Political Happiness, a new ebook examining the nature of happiness from a personal and political perspective, by Mind ambassador Alastair Campbell.
The same year that I was born, Alastair Campbell had a breakdown. We could well have been in hospital at the exact same time; me facing life for the first time, and him facing up to what his life had become. We both had a lot to learn.
2 CommentsMind member Selina writes about the ups and downs of life in 2011, and looks forward to 2012.
As 2011 drew to a close, I couldn't wait to get off the rollercoaster. It was one hell of a ride. I can't decide if it was the best or worst year of my life.
7 CommentsWe urgently need your help to overturn some very damaging parts of the Government’s Welfare Reform Bill.
If there’s one thing you do today, please tweet the Peers in the House of Lords and ask them to support the changes we’re calling for.
16 CommentsCharlie Watson tells us why she's running the London marathon in memory of her friend Vic.
On the outside my housemate, Vic, was a good looking, friendly, sporty, outgoing 20 year old university student. However on the inside he was silently battling bipolar disorder.
4 CommentsThe start of a new year is an excellent opportunity for personal growth, learning new things, and breaking bad habits, but it’s an equally good opportunity for self-sabotage.
7 CommentsWhen my children were in primary school we made up a team with some friends and became the ‘Nice But Dims’.
We would alternate between our school quiz and our friends’ children’s school quiz. This went on for all their years through school until they left and the Nice But Dims went into retirement.