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Is this discrimination of the first order?
Posted Wednesday 30 September 2009
On the second part of Mind's journey to Party Conferences, we landed in Brighton for the Labour Conference. The question on our minds was simple - can Labour achieve a joined up approach for mental health - however everyone else wanted to talk about Andrew Marr's quizzing of Gordon Brown about his health and whether he was taking "pills to help him get through".
Marr put the question to the PM after a number of bloggers had speculated that as Gordon Brown restricts chianti and cheese from his diet he may be taking MAOIs, an outdated category of antidepressant. The PM denied taking any pills and focussed on policy. End of story? Not quite, as the interpretation of the issue raged around the Conference floor.
I was amazed by this. There are almost 36 million prescriptions for antidepressants in the UK, so by definition thousands go about their daily work while on antidepressants.
Winston Churchill, voted the "greatest Briton" in a national poll, struggled with his "black dog" of depression for years (for more on this, see the Time to Change campaign's A World Without report). And former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik took a sabbatical to recover from his mental health problem and then went on to win re-election. Why should this be such a big deal?
We still want our politicians to be strong and superhuman. Yet it's a stressful job. We found that 1 in 5 MPs had experience of mental distress, but very few have talked about this openly. There is still stigma on this issue, and this is something the Time to Change campaign is tackling.
Our mission at the conference was to encourage Ministers and their departments to fully engage with the Department of Health's New Horizons consultation, which I urge you to comment on.
At first the signs were not good. Many MPs we spoke to were unaware of New Horizons. But as we discussed this with Ministers in the Department of Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice, Department of Communities and Local Government and elsewhere, it became clear that mental health policy already goes way beyond the Department of Health and mental health services. Now there's a chance for the government to follow a more joined up approach, with departments working together to create a clear sense of purpose for putting mental health at the heart of society.
As we head towards an election, we'll carry on pushing for a better chance for all.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive
4 Comments
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As depression is almost as common as the common cold I find this type of stigma to be childish when enforced upon others by supposed adults. As seen so many times with our politicians, we are seemingly governed by a group of children at play in the fields of the lord. I personally have no time for Mr Brown, I have strong feelings against his political stance, but to attack him for enduring depression is both childish and cruel.
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I totally agree with Eidolon. I have no time for Mr Brown or his belielfs however I would never redicule someone for having depression. I am in the financial sector and can honestly say I would not be here now if it was not for my family, doctor and MIND. My employers and sadly my colleagues have been, and continue to be, so cruel and insensative. It could happen to anyone ---- I know! I do hope Mr Marr never suffers from depression. I would not wish it on anyone. I class it as the unseen cancer.
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These people are so used to habitually dishing the dirt they forget they are breaking the Law by hounding people on such pretexts. The Fact is that the most discriminatory practices continue unabated in the hallowed halls of Westminster! Churchill depicted in a strait-jacket is entirely appropriate when the context is 'if you have a mental health issue you will never work again - not here, not anywhere' - as the Palace of Westminster has it currently. From bitter experience I know that doors are slammed shut as soon as it transpires that your issues are mental health issues. Without Churchill's flair and application this country would have most definitely gone under the jack-boot - end of story.
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Andrew Marr should have been severely reprimanded, by his BBC bosses, for asking Gordon Brown that question. Would he have asked Brown if he was taking medication for erectile dysfunction, or for an underactive thyroid? I very much doubt it. For a start, it's none of his damn business, if Brown is taking any sort of medication. The real hysteria about this story, was that many in the press thought that if Brown was taking anti-depressants, this would some way make him incapable of making important, and rational decisions. "Look out everyone, Brown's got his finger on the button!" I shouldn't jest about this, however, it highlights the absurdity of it all.
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