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.
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.
26 CommentsThis is a guest blog from Jenny on how almost anyone could experience mental health problems, unemployment and face the challenges of the welfare system.
The warped standards with which the society judges those on sickness benefits sets us all up for a miserable and self-loathing experience of unemployment.
My behaviour and self-esteem were not entirely ‘normal’ from about 12 years old. Difficult events plus a predisposition towards depression has meant life has often been a rollercoaster of trying to cope. However, a degree and jobs which fed my confidence confounded psychiatrists’ predictions that I’d only ever manage part-time low-stress work. Then recession hit my area of work badly, and following my second redundancy I spent two years unemployed.
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