Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

If he was ok with his family, he wasn't clinically depressed.
Clinical Depression.


---------- Post added at 19:14 ---------- Previous post was at 19:13 ----------

When you say "benefits", you mean money.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Ok I am going to repeat myself again. Clearly you have no idea about mental illness

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

NOT clinical depression. He could, and did, "snap out of it".

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Are you Trolling or do you seriously believe what you are saying?

Research smiling depression

It is perfectly common for those suffering Clinical Depression to hide it from people and I really do not want to have to repeat myself yet again but thinking otherwise show you have no idea about mental illness

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

He's trolling and will keep you going all night. It's a sad existence....

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

There speaks a man with experience..;)

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Whatever the Tories do and I mean whatever this individual will always defend them.

As a floating voter and anyone with a normal outlook on life, I support or don't support the things that I believe to be right or wrong, regardless of which party is involved. I have friends from across the political spectrum and even the most die hard Tories recognise that they sometimes get things wrong and one of them is often their treatment of the disabled since 2010.

Ironically, some psychiatric conditions e.g. Aspergers can give rise to particular obsessions and some can cause a total lack of empathy/compassion, which is discussed here:

https://bpsmedicine.biomedcentral.co...%20alexithymia.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

And even bigger workloads due to the last 10 years of cuts and to add insult to injury a pay freeze this year despite doing their best to continue delivering the service during the pandemic.

I'm now expecting the odd post detailing social service failures over the last year to try and show how they are crap and so don't deserve a pay rise.

Also, as a Mental Health First Aider it surprises me when people you thought were as tough as old boots and coping fine confide in you , while those you think are struggling just carry on.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Not heard of Mental Health First Aiders before. Are you someone who people that are struggling can talk to at work?

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

There is a huge link between money worries and MH issues that the DWP have no care for. Each little bit of pressure to fill in forms & have assessments by people with zero knowledge of how MH affects people, adds to their reduced engagement with those who can help.

DWP are not set up to be proactive and find it easier to do nothing & say no to payments. Rather than look at the evidence of how their systems are adding to the problem, instead of solving it.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

For many years I felt there was a senior management culture where I work of if you couldn't see it then it wasn't happening. So if I severed my arm they'd do their best to make sure it couldn't happen again but if my mental health was being impacted by work procedures the council would do nothing to change the procedures even when they knew there was a problem.

Things started to change when someone in a different department who has complex mental health issues barged in to a senior management meeting and blocked the door and made them listen (wish I could have heard her as she was in a manic phase at the time and while it's not funny, she's the first to admit she could do stand up during that phase of her illness). The next day she tried to self harm but it went too far and she almost took her own life. Finally the penny dropped and things started to change.

There's 5 of us in my little team, but we're part of a bigger group of about 50. Over this past year I've had quite a few calls from people who are not having a great time and often it's just knowing there's someone there who will just listen and can help you if you really need it. I make sure I speak to everyone in my team at least weekly and they know if they need to they can call for a chat (or a scream!) any hour of the day or night.

I could go on as it's something I really do believe in but you can find out lots more here and I would urge anybody to encourage their employer/organisation to make sure they look after their people's mental health.

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

An excellent summary of the DWP since David Camerons introduction of a 'stricter benefit regime'.

When I worked in benefits processing, we would go and visit people who were struggling, particularly if they were known to have mental health issues. We even used legislation in place to award payments where they were unable to complete or sign a claim form.

It's not the case now, the DWP have been underpaying some pensioners for years. When they found that some were entitled to as much as £100,000 back pay, they started saying that they would only go back for 12 month's (this is being challenged).

Remember, this is an insurance scheme that they & their partners have paid into to help with their old age.

If anyone knows of a pensioner who may be affected, please read this thread for more information. The longer this is left, the more likely they will be to lose money:

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/show...php?t=33709864

After pressure, the DWP will now check some claims, but others will simply miss out on something that would make them more comfortable in their twilight years. You can bet your life that if the pensioners had been overpaid they wouldn't only go back for 12 months.

---------- Post added at 20:57 ---------- Previous post was at 20:51 ----------

You're 100% right in that mental health/disability isn't taken as seriously as physical problems that people can see. I have experienced this personally, even by people who like to virtue signal their liberal values.

Good on you for becoming a Mental Health First Aider to help others, I respect you for doing your bit to help others..

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

When far more goes unclaimed than any overpayment, the system is skewed. Throw in the fixation on benefit fraud rather than problems with tax collection and you can see the mind set.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EvxxIXdX...jpg&name=small

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

This graph really does say a lot, Well it certainly says a lot more than the Tories did when IDS introduced Austerity a number of years ago and actively targeted the poorest in the country and pushing the Tax payer into blaming those on benefits for the state of the economy

Re: The state benefits system mega-thread.
 

Absolutely correct, by fair or foul means too. They even get their friends in the private sector to do their dirty work for them, paid for by the taxpayer of course. These private companies, paid for by the results that the Tories want to see, have no place in the benefit assessment process:

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.co...21tvp1IbGeNGDU

This woman took them to court because of the affect that their behaviour had on her. When a court awarded her compensation, they continued making things difficult by ignoring it. It was only when debt collectors were called in that they paid up.

Presumably to 'punish' the woman, the DWP called her in for another assessment within days. An MP had to become involved as she wasn't due to be reassessed again until 2023.

When asked why they had done this, they 'declined to apologise to her' and simply spewed out the usual corporate waffle that's expected these days from public servants expected to properly serve the public who pay their wages & elect the MP's who ultimately employ them.