Pseudo Nym
23-08-10, 17:15
I am new to this forum but have been a long time lurker; I have found much on this site very beneficial and helpful. I guess like many of you I am inhibited in my daily life by mental health issues; it is a long story, I have a Generalised Panic Disorder, Anxiety Disorder and Clinical Depression and all of the side issues that come with them. As an added bonus I also have Epilepsy to throw into the mix.
Written down it seems something of a list, but to be honest, although I am unable to stop or control these issues on a daily basis, I now understand the theory behind the the causes and what to expect from the attacks; resultantly I have come to terms with the hand of cards dealt to me and accept there is no magic wand that will help me return to something approaching a normal lifestyle.
I don’t look for or expect sympathy, I live a simple life on my own, I see my neurologist regularly, a psychiatrist every few months, I have visits from the Community Mental Health Team and have recently had another crack at CBT with a psychologist. I cope by being very self-deprecating, a tad too negative and I always expect the worse to happen and if it doesn't I look upon it as an unexpected bonus.
I find it is still something of a social stigma to have mental health problems and Epilepsy. I am sure I am not the only one who dreads the often heard sentence “you like all right to me, there’s nothing wrong with you”.
What has prompted me to finally contribute to this forum is what I perceive to be a post General Election witch hunt on those of us who receive state benefits. It seems every day there is another case of alleged benefit fraud reported in the national and local media. It is a drip drip situation, and has got to the stage whereby much of the general public, has been negatively influenced by the headlines, and regards everybody on benefits as a fraud and scrounger.
I feel ostracised and that I am a social pariah because the Government are complicit in these headlines and are happy to see us being blamed and made scapegoats for the state of the nation’s finances. I am not mentally or physically strong enough to handle the accusations and the blame for the state of the country; it is making me very ill.
Thus, I know it is irrational and although all of my medical team have tried to reassure me and tell me not to worry, I am now totally out of control, I am paranoid; I cannot sleep, I spend hours walking around the house in tears fearing that everything I do is being watched by people eager to cause me mental pain and anguish and to cut the streams of income I need to survive. It has now got to the stage where I am scared to leave the house or even do the simplest of tasks such as putting the Wheelie bin out for collection.
What disappoints me most of all is the deadly silence coming from those we would normally expect to publicly fight our corner as more and more vulnerable people are being taken off benefits such as DLA and Incapacity and left to fend for themselves. These decisions to remove people from or cut their benefits are not being made by expert professional mental health workers or neurologists but by poorly trained amateurs with little knowledge or empathy to our condition.
I have been in touch with Epilepsy groups and even MIND, but they seem happy to enjoy the kudos of talking to Government departments behind the scenes, when what is needed are public statements and campaigns to highlight how the vast majority of us are not malingerers or workshy, but normal people who just happen to be in receipt of benefits that help many of us have at least a minimal semblance of a life. Anyway, that’s my rant over, many thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read this somewhat long rambling plea for empathy.
As an aside, it was once said whilst I was at Uni, “Kevin has a tendency to use 30 words where 10 would normally suffice” I am sure you will agree some things never change.
Written down it seems something of a list, but to be honest, although I am unable to stop or control these issues on a daily basis, I now understand the theory behind the the causes and what to expect from the attacks; resultantly I have come to terms with the hand of cards dealt to me and accept there is no magic wand that will help me return to something approaching a normal lifestyle.
I don’t look for or expect sympathy, I live a simple life on my own, I see my neurologist regularly, a psychiatrist every few months, I have visits from the Community Mental Health Team and have recently had another crack at CBT with a psychologist. I cope by being very self-deprecating, a tad too negative and I always expect the worse to happen and if it doesn't I look upon it as an unexpected bonus.
I find it is still something of a social stigma to have mental health problems and Epilepsy. I am sure I am not the only one who dreads the often heard sentence “you like all right to me, there’s nothing wrong with you”.
What has prompted me to finally contribute to this forum is what I perceive to be a post General Election witch hunt on those of us who receive state benefits. It seems every day there is another case of alleged benefit fraud reported in the national and local media. It is a drip drip situation, and has got to the stage whereby much of the general public, has been negatively influenced by the headlines, and regards everybody on benefits as a fraud and scrounger.
I feel ostracised and that I am a social pariah because the Government are complicit in these headlines and are happy to see us being blamed and made scapegoats for the state of the nation’s finances. I am not mentally or physically strong enough to handle the accusations and the blame for the state of the country; it is making me very ill.
Thus, I know it is irrational and although all of my medical team have tried to reassure me and tell me not to worry, I am now totally out of control, I am paranoid; I cannot sleep, I spend hours walking around the house in tears fearing that everything I do is being watched by people eager to cause me mental pain and anguish and to cut the streams of income I need to survive. It has now got to the stage where I am scared to leave the house or even do the simplest of tasks such as putting the Wheelie bin out for collection.
What disappoints me most of all is the deadly silence coming from those we would normally expect to publicly fight our corner as more and more vulnerable people are being taken off benefits such as DLA and Incapacity and left to fend for themselves. These decisions to remove people from or cut their benefits are not being made by expert professional mental health workers or neurologists but by poorly trained amateurs with little knowledge or empathy to our condition.
I have been in touch with Epilepsy groups and even MIND, but they seem happy to enjoy the kudos of talking to Government departments behind the scenes, when what is needed are public statements and campaigns to highlight how the vast majority of us are not malingerers or workshy, but normal people who just happen to be in receipt of benefits that help many of us have at least a minimal semblance of a life. Anyway, that’s my rant over, many thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read this somewhat long rambling plea for empathy.
As an aside, it was once said whilst I was at Uni, “Kevin has a tendency to use 30 words where 10 would normally suffice” I am sure you will agree some things never change.