Have you experienced mental health discrimination, in what situation and how did it make you feel?

When I re-started training at the local running club, I met a lady who I thought was rather nice, we became good friends and would often go out together down the pub for a drink and a chat. Our friendship was going really well until a man at the running club who knew of my illness, told my friend that I had Schizophrenia because he had "concerns" about me. Since then our friendship has suffered and we are not the good friends we once were. I have tried to talk to her about my condition, but she just ignores me and changes the subject. More recently she has become hostile towards me, by being insulting and patronising and sometimes she just treats me with contempt which I find disrespectful and upsetting. What should I do? Should I grin and bear her moods, or should I break off the friendship altogether. My husband left me a year ago and so I am alone and feel socially isolated. At least my twin daughters are very supportive of me, I don't know what I'd do without them! Unfortunately I only get to see them at weekends.

I was diagnosed with mild ADHD or ADD as its know in adults 1 year ago, six months in my partner asked me to leave. This made things really hard to this day I am still strugling on my own. I am not getting to see my two young daughters of 5 and 3 very much and my partner is making it very difficult. I can't believe someone who works for the NHS as a staff Nurse would have such an attitude, but then alot of things have come to light I cant believe, like my kids asking me why I dont live at home anyomore and then singing songs about people being crazy.

This is only one example of how they have tried to portray me as some one totaly mad, but to do it to my own children i find really sick. Some people are so cold my kids are crying to me on the phone that they miss me and she wont let me see them or if I do I can see one and not the other or just for few hours. The law for access seems to be a totla waste of time it is all very wrong.

I have suffered from mild depression on and off for most of my life and have usually controlled it with 20mg Prozac. Then a few years ago I had a breakdown and have since been off work for almost three years. I was put on higher doses of prozac and then venlafaxine but it turned out that I have a serotonin sensitivity and consequently I was feeling wired most of the time! Since then I am on a different drug, an SNRI and I'm stable - stable meaning able to get up dressed and just about function but only just. I have been very lucky in that I am covered by health insurance by my employer and am due to start a slow return in a few weeks.
I have to say my experience of depression has been like it is for everyone - awful. Very lonely and isolating. I have tried to make contact with colleagues at work through Facebook thinking it might be a good way to keep in touch but several people - all from my office haven't even accepted friend requests and these are people I have worked with for over 10 years. Two of my best friends have just disappeared - and I find myself hurt by their reluctance to stay in touch. Therefore I would say that the illness itself is bad but the way people can treat you is every bit as bad - I feel like I've grown an extra head. I now hide away, have lost the little self esteem I had in the first place and am at a loss to figure out how i am ever going to get my life back. I don't expect people to make a special effort on my account but it has become more and more obvious that people just don't want to know. The stigma around mental health issues is truly shocking and my story is nothing compared with some. I dread going back to work and I dread seeing these people - I am angry and humiliated. I have witnessed people at work literally running away and locking their office door when an ex employee who is a known schizophrenic came into the office once and these were seemingly intelligent people. I will certainly be trying to make ignorant people see that mental illness can happen to anyone. But I do feel like I'm in a minority and frankly being up against nonsense like this does not help recovery or self esteem in any way whatsoever. Being out of the work scenario for this long has not done me any favours but I had no choice - I know I'm lucky to have a job to go back to but if I'm honest I'm afraid of being crushed by unkind words and falling back to square on rapidly. How can people be expected to deal with this when they have been through depression or similar?

I have battled anorexia for most of my teens/twenties and after having to leave a job due to health problems i applied for a job i was well qualified for...after the interview i was phoned up and told i was not successfull because of the reason i left my previous job....
When i returned to pre-school teaching i had to jump through so many hoops with medical check-ups, occupational health interviews - made me feel so humiliated...

My employer has updated its sickness policy to SAM wich has an alrm bell fitted if you mention depression. Ive suffered since 2004 on drugs on and off and now permanently.Caused a divorce and now only issues added to my pile.

I had a call asking for my medical records and suggesting if I didnt use the psycologist help on offer my employer would frown upon it - did I realise they are paying me for being sick. Other one was did your GP diagnose you in the correct manor? Later agreed unfit for work in other words GP incorrectly gave sick note if they say so.

This system singles out mental illness as if your totally abnormal, no one else gets highlighted. Discrimination I can see. Is depression a recognised illness. Employers hate it.

I entered the word 'bo---cks' into my television search engine and hit the enter key. The screen calmly announced that my search had not matched any programs. This is strange, really, because almost the whole of television output is bo---cks.

The same would seem to be true when writing to the Prime Minister, politicians, government departments, media and complaints agencies. Reasoned argument is, clearly, impossible.

If you precede your letter with, "I suffer from mental health problems" then you are likely to get a kind reply but not much help. If you write to the Health Department or make a complaint you will be treated like a piece of sh-t!

THEY TREAT US LIKE SH-T!!!

I am a 25 year old training to be a teacher. I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder (moderate, apparently) halfway through my course, and disclosed this information with my tutor and my school mentor, which I thought was the responsible thing to do, given that I work with under 18's. As soon as they had that information, their opinion me changed dramatically.

Previously, I told my tutor that I experienced anxiety on public transport, and despite my offering an alternative placement and 'reasonable adjustments', I was told there was no option but to do my 10 week placement in a school 2 hours away by public transport (2 busses, 2 trains). The anxiety I experienced on a daily basis caused me to take a few days off sick. I was told that I had to complete the remainder of the placement without any time off, and make up for the additional days - all this was fine until halfway through the 2 week period I was making up for, my mentor told me I had failed. He couldn't specify a reason, and it took him three days to inform me that my illness prevented me from forming meaningful relationships with the pupils.

I got a distinction on my portfolio, yet I failed this placement for the above reason. So despite the fact that I could teach (as the whole department agreed) my mentor failed me, and the University could not change that judgement. I now have to re-sit a 10 week placement at another school before I can get a paid teaching job.

Schizo, maniac, wierdo, nutter, freak, wacko, jacko, mental, crazy, crazied, looney, looney tune, psycho...

...are some of the words to describe a child who has been

sexually abused...

...when they grow up...

There are not enough tears to express the abandonment.

Nutter; mad; wierdo; psycho; mental; not right; bad; strange; lazy; dosser; good for nothing; freak; wierd; crazy; schizo; psycho; paranoid; para; maniac; wacko; jacko; axe murder; bunny boiler; crazed; sick; sicko; riff raff; bum

These are just a few of the words to describe a child

who has been sexually abused....

... when they grow up!

It's a long long long story ... then I had a very bad experience on a supported employment placement. It wasn't my fault, but I ended up at an industrial tribunal (host employer and employer arguing over who was responsible). No one wants to touch me now. I'm scared to work. I've no support and my cmht social worker pacifies me and doesn't take what I say seriously. If she believes me, she doesn't believe me enough to fight my corner. Life is crap right now!

Like many people, I do not disclose my history of mental illness (depression/ anxiety), particularly at work, other than to those I believe will be sympathetic. When I do tell people, I generally ask them not to tell others. This decision has been reinforced over the years when colleagues have put forward opinions such as 'everyone on anti-depressants might attack someone at any time'. Although this has meant that I have not experienced direct discrimination, it has perhaps prevented open communication with and assistance from my employer when I have been unwell. Also, hearing others express such ignorant and prejudiced views has led me to feel stigmatised, and that I have some kind of dark secret which I have to hide. This is despite the fact that I work in the public sector and currently work in an area with a direct interest in disability discrimination and preventing people with health problems from losing their jobs by supporting them at work.

When I bought a house, I applied for payment protection insurance should I lose my job. Despite having never lost a job or had more than 3 weeks off work at any point, I was refused cover due to my medical history (periodic episodes of depression/ anxiety). Although I did not mind not having the insurance, it was upsetting to feel that someone had assessed me and decided that I was at such a risk of losing my job that they would not cover me. Although it is within the rights of the insurance company not to cover me, I felt stigmatised, as I have always prided myself on achieving things despite having depression.

My most recent experience was at a free laser eye surgery consultation this week, and I would be very interested if anyone has any views on this. I was asked as part of a medical questionnaire if I had any experience of anxiety/ depression etc., to which I answered 'yes', thinking it must be relevant to the surgery. I told them that I had taken antidepressants in the past, but not for the last 4 years. The optician later checked this with me, and asked if I had thought of going back on them at any point (by which I think she was trying to find out if I was currently experiencing depression). I answered 'no', but she then said that they might need a letter from my doctor to say that I was (mentally I assume) capable of making the decision to have the surgery. I just nodded at the time, but in retrospect I wish I had walked out! I find it ridiculous to assume that because I once took antidepressants that I am incapable of making decisions for myself. If the surgery involved altering my appearance e.g. a nose job, then I would agree that it is important to consider the situation as some people may see surgery as the answer to something else that is going on for them. However, in this instance I was shocked at the apparent belief that depression or anxiety would make me incapable of making decisions for myself. As far as I understand it, a doctor could still work if they are on antidepressants - does that mean that they would be incapable of deciding whether I am incapable or not?

I would be interested to find out about the legal situation here - are they legally entitled (or obliged?) to ask for a letter from my doctor? If not, should I contact Ultralase and suggest that they improve their training and guidance on this matter? Why do they have a question about past experience of mental illness in the first place?

The other thing that really annoys me is when people say jokingly that someone is schizhophrenic when what they really mean is that person has a split personality. That is two completely different things. How many times I have had to explain to people that schizophrenia does not mean you have a split personality. One of the people who joked about this was actually a pharmacist. Why people have to joke about mental illness at all is beyond me. I mean people do not so openly joke about someone who has a physical illness. If only people knew. Most of the time you will find the people who truly understand mental illness are the people who have suffered from it themselves.

In work terms I've always wanted to adopt a child, but I know there is no way I would be able too. Due to the fact of having mental health problems and a history of mental illness.

Obviously, the stigma is greater for those who, like myself, have suffered from mental illness.
However, the astounding lack of knowledge of the subject even leads to people who are not ill being accused of being ill, with that stigma associated with the illness then being erroneously applied to that person.
For example, people being called "psychopath" if, for instance, they may have lost their temper once.
A better example is how newspapers use mental health stigmas to paint unfavourable portraits of people that they wish to condemn. "This man is clearly mentally ill"; "he is a psychopath". These labels are rarely accurate, with the subject of the reports rarely matching DSM criteria for the ailments they are supposed to have. But that mental illness is used to colour their reports is a sign and evidence of the stigma overlapping.
There's also the common, man and woman in the street line, used whenever somebody does something to annoy or upset them. "You need help". The idea implied being that anyone who does anything bad, must be mentally ill, therefore vice versa, anyone who is mentally ill, must be up to something bad.

I really wanted to become a doctor, strangely enough the type that treats people with mental illness.
I had better grades than a lot of the people that were accepted on the Phd course, and better experience, in terms of charity work.
However, I was turned down immediately on application based on the fact that I used to have depression. They claimed that I would immediately "break down if I spoke to a man who was shot in war". This was a couple of years back when I was younger and milder. I think I would've been a lot more angry now.
If this is from those who purport to treat mental illness, you can see what sort of a battle we have going.

I was a registered general nurse, however when I became unwell with bi-polar I found my emplyers fairly understanding to start with however, as I had taken a lot of time off sick, it was decided on the ward when I came back to put me on permanent nights - which wasn't good for me as getting regular sleep and leading a 'normal life' was important to me however I found the RCN very supportive and I was transferred to a ward where I liked very much as a student as it was care of the elderley and they dealt with patients with dementia and Alzeimers and got a much more supportive attitude from the staff and sisters on that ward. However after a good time on that ward I decided to take a 'career break' instead of losing my job by going off on long term sick. However when I went back into the NHS 3 years later on a phased return I found the 'stigma' unbearable as the ward I had liked had closed and moved to another side of the city, so I had to start on a new department and the questions and comments asked and made by the other staff members were very hurtfull when they realized I had been off due to mental health problems - I feel if I had been returning to work after a physical illness they would have rallied round and been supportive, however, mental health on a physical ward is still very tabboo and stigmatized, I ended up leaving the NHS again, not due to being ill, but upset by the comments and treatment towards me by the nurses and doctors I worked with!! So after that step back in my life I did turn to self harming which was someting I'd never done before as I felt I was a failure and it was my fault and there was something wrong with me that I couldn't do a job I loved. However, I found the experience of going to A&E with self harm wounds was more positive and the staff seemed more knowledgeable and less judgemental than on the general wards, however, when being admitted onto a general ward the reaction from the staff on a general ward was not good towards mental health and I found my rights as a patient (eg to go out and have a fag by myself seemed to much for the staff to comprehend) although many other patients with physical illnesses smoke outside hospitals with no questions or seemlying little stigam/labelling - however I seem to be not to be trusted/mad/may run off if I go out for a fag!!! Although I have now been 'well' again and stable and not been in hospital for a good few years I have just moved house to get away from the stigma of me being unwell in the past and to make a new start in life - to find my next door neighbour is a general nurse trainer, so I thought she may be a little more understanding being a nurse trainer in the local NHS Trust - and told her I also used to be a nurse ina friendly conversation and then of course the reaction when I told her I'd left nursing due 'ill health' (what do you say to people sometimes???) so now, after telling her that I have had mental health, I appear to be getting comments like I'm unwell because I'm not sleeping well - well that is true I'm not sleeping well because like anyone who has just moved will know it takes a little time to settle into a new house/area/new neighbours ect. However I don't consider myself to be 'ill' or need advice on where is safe to walk my dog and to 'get well soon' from a nurse when before I said I had had mental health problems she was ok and told me it takes time to settle in and it seemed ok then not be sleeping too well - however now I'm being judged on my mental health state it seems 'I'm unwell' and I feel patronized completely by a general nurse trainer who really should know better if she is in charge of training staff in a large NHS Trust, therefore any thoughts I had about returning to my vocation as a nurse have been dashed again, due to the attitude of staff in the NHS - I think it's disgraceful and wish I'd 'lied' to this woman and told her I'd had cancer or something and I think I'd be settling into my new home a lot better!!!!!! How do we stand a chance in society if the so called 'caring professionals' are discriminating against mental health compared to physical illness, it seems in hospitals they are very aware not discriminating against religion or sexuality ect, however they blatently seem to discriminate poeple with mental health problems as members of staff and as patients and in society - it is time to change!!!!!! And I'm fed up with NHS after years of discrimination from Dr's and nurses who should know better - I can remember the sociology I did a long time in my training about discrimination ect, it's a pity other's can't !!!!!

I have cronic depression, hold down a responsible job. Most people around me, who need to know, know about my condition. When times are bad some are knid some just stay clear (which is fine with me). In 6 years the ONLY discrimination I have encountered is from the NHS in particular my local mental health centre and my GP's practice.

The receptionist at the MH centre look and speak down to all the patients. My wife happened to be with me one day and was horrified at the way we were treated (her job often means she works with MH patients). She put a compliant in the book but got no response.As luck would have it most of the people around me, at work are okay, but why must the MH team leave messages on my answerphone "this is ....... from the North Wlits Mental Health Team" I am sure all answerphones record out load.

The reception staff at my GP's automatically assume that I do not know what I am talking about and deny that they have had reports from my Consultant. I am currently prescribed 375 Mg of modified release Venlafaxine, the recommended maximum daily dose is 225.

Neglect in the Community will only start to work when we are treated with respect.

I am single, and I am dating guys....The problem I face is when do you tell a guy that you have Bipolar? I have tried it all different ways, waiting for a a while, or telling then straight away. Some are fine, but really haven't a clue what its all about and make stupid comments such as "How are you and your illness today, have you had any funny turns yet?" Or they just don't wanna know through lack of understanding. The last guy I went on a date with, was so keen it was unbelieveable...He believed that he was a man of the world after travelling extensively, and basically told me I should pack my bags i.e tomorrow and hit the road as there was nothing to stop me. I got my point across that it is not always that easy for people to pack up and leave especially if you have any health problems. So then he wanted to know what I meant, so I told him I have Bipolar disorder and a little bit about it, that I was discharged earlier this year as I have been somewhat stable and seeming to manage my condition myself, he knows I have 3 part time jobs also, one being a very respected position in the NHS. So he knows (or so I thought) that I am "OK". Anyway I had a phone call the next day from him basically saying that he liked me a lot, but really couldn't see me again as he was unable to give me the support I needed to help me though me illness!!!!!!!!!!!................ I was speechless, infact I laughed, nothing else for it to be honest. Someone who still believes they are very open minded, just did the most narrowminded, stigmatising thing ever!! Excuse my language when I say this, but what a knob!!! lol

I guess I became "mentally ill" on the day in my teens when my childhood "I wish I was dead" became "I'm going to kill myself".

Back then in the 1960's in rural Oxfordshire knowledge of mental illness was based on the three huge Gothic Hospitals, all built some distance from the homes of the "normal" majority. Those who were "sent" to the hospitals were rarely ever seen again. Those who did return were invariably "changed", life's glitter and spark extinguished by the "chemical cosh" or by the electric shock treatment that adults spoke of in whispers, leaving my childhood imagination to fantasise about people being wired up to a machine similar to Frankenstein’s. The deadened eyes and slow speech of those known to have endured this treatment did nothing to counter this vision.

One clear example was provided by the Aunt of my best friend who spent all of the 1950's "in the bin" for no reason other than that she had a child out of Wedlock. Witnessing her immunity to any form of happiness or stimulation, the way she welcomed success or failure with the same blank expression, ensured I never told a soul as my teenage advancement brought awareness that, at times, I saw things others did not see and heard things others did not hear. I became aware that my thoughts were often different to those of my peers, the main example being the way they reacted with fear or horror to any mention of suicide, a concept I was very comfortable with as I spent time with those thoughts on a daily basis.

While there was only me to worry about I was able to conceal my depression as long as I gave it an occasional voice through the unseen poetry I would write from my darkest places.
I made a deal with myself when I was 18 that I must never marry or have children in case they "turned out like me". However, love turned out to be a more powerful psychosis than my own and when my depressive cycle came round at the end of the Seventies I had to seek medical intervention because the illness was impacting on my wife and children.

Following the break up of my family (now there's a familiar tale) in the mid eighties I plunged to depths that required "time out" in a therapeutic community and it was necessary to make my mother and sisters, and my workplace, aware of the illness (which they all thought was occurring for the first time).
From that point on I became aware of the three temperaments: Those who spoke in whispers whenever I was close: those who hid their own lack of understanding behind callus, insensitive or offensive, "well meaning" humour: and those who feel the need to treat me, alternatively, as an invalid or a three year old child.

Following those experiences I never attempted to return to the same "life" after either of my next two major breakdowns. This had advantages; I obtained qualifications in both Social Work and Adult Education and had careers in both between relapses.

My teaching career ended with the biggest emotional dive yet in 2004. I then realised that I no longer had the will or the energy to protect others from my illness so, with the help of my partner and the staff at the local psychiatric day hospital (which I attended daily for twelve months), I "Came Out" to my family and dearest friends, making them aware of other breakdowns, suicide attempts, etc, that they had been unaware of.

Now, the reason I have borrowed the term "coming out" from the Gay Community is because from that day I no longer fear the stigma, the insults or the patronisation.
This is me, I am now officially a loony, so when (at 55) I grew the pony tail I've wanted since I was 18 I just shrugged of the complaints and sarcastic remarks, "well what do you expect, I am a nutcase". If I am not well enough to do something I tell the truth and seek whatever help, or, more often, the isolation that I require.
No more excuses, no more lying to those I love, no more "putting a brave face on". Like the grand old Duke of York, When I am up I am up, and when I am down I am down, and when I am only halfway up I am neither up nor down.

The thing is, now I am an out and out Loony, happy as a pig in ****, it is the establishment, not the 'man or woman in the street' that discriminates against me. Two recent examples follow.

1: I also have a physical disability. When I sought legal advice recently to fight discrimination against me on that account I was told that seeing the problem through might be "a waste of" my "time and energy". Nothing to do with my physical disability that so I think it's clear which of my incapacities led to that comment.

2. You may have realised at the beginning of this post that I believe in facing negative labels and stereotypes head on. I wrote a poem entitled "I am a loony from the bin" which was praised by my colleagues at the day hospital, and social workers, and psychiatric nurses. In it I take all the derogatory terms about mental health and turn them in on themselves. Reclaiming the language of Mental Health culture in the way Anti-Racist movements and the Gay Community did in the past.
With the encouragement of my supporters, on two different occasions, I sent the poem to two separate mental health charities who were requesting creative input.
Neither of them acknowledged receipt of the poem. I wonder what would have happened if I had sent a wholesome, clichéd, poem or essay using language they approved of.

Oh well
I guess I wait now to see if this one gets past the PC jobsworths.

Love and light.
Brian.

After a period of intense stress in my job, I experienced stress, burnout and depression. My employer commented that "I did not look ill," "I may have been ill but I still had the ability to work" (viz - I was not insane, therefore not disabled) and that I made them feel uncomfortable (poor dears).

The culmination of 3 years proceedings against my employer was at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London, and their web site has a report of the case.

1) STAFFORD AND RURAL HOMES LTD
2) MS K ARMITAGE
Appeal No. UKEAT/0360/08/JOJ
EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
58 VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, LONDON EC4Y 0DS
At the Tribunal On 9 – 10 December 2008
Judgment handed down on 9 March 2009

My employer was unable to overturn findings of Disability Discrimination, victimisation and harassment in addition to unfair dismissal. The Chief Executive was personally liable for victimisation and harassment. The total cost to this charitable social landlord was in excess of £1m wasted money that should (as the appeal judge noted) have been spent on social housing.

The same people remain in control.

It may seem good to report a successful court action against people responsible for Disability Discrimination, but my experience was dreadful and having gone through this process I am not convinced that most private individuals could possibly secure success or even protection through the legal remedies available.

I have suffered all my life with anxiety and depression, but it was only a few years ago, in middle age, that I began to understand what the root cause was. It was that I had been emotionally abused as a child by a close relative, and had never developed any confidence in myself. As a result, I had until that point been bullied and abused by all and sundry, whilst assuming that it was all my fault, because, as my abuser had told me in so many ways, I was inadequate.

On top of having to cope with all this, on top of being made the scapegoat for a family dispute and rejected by my relatives, on top of the regrets and the anger and the practical problems that this has left me with, I have had to deal with the stigma of “mental health problems”, a label I feel is totally undeserved. If I had not been abused, would I not have been perfectly normal?

It occurred to me recently that even the term “mental health issues” is discriminatory. It sounds almost like a term of abuse (“You’re mental!”), comparable to calling someone with cerebral palsy, “spastic”. It’s a kind of umbrella term that covers a wide range of conditions, too diverse to be regarded, as they often are by the uninitiated and/or ignorant, as all same thing. The ignorance and the fear is perpetuated by sufferers like me continuing to hide their problems as we feel compelled to do, because of the prejudices of society. It’s a vicious circle.

Hi All

Well where do I start! I have always known from a very early age that there was something different about me, compared with other around. I have always felt somewhat detached! Just over 5 years ago I finally plucked up the courage to go to my G.P. to discuss the fact that I felt depressed. I was prescribed 20mg of Prozac and I can tell you that after a few weeks of this, without any alcohol I felt absolutely fantastic and began a new career with a major airline, where I did really well! I vowed never to come off the prozac but my G.P. began to wean me off. Since then I have had ups and downs, highs and lows and have been to see a shrink. The diagnosis was bipolar disorder and have tried Sodium Valporate, Mirtazapine, and am now on Citalopram 30mg as the Prozac made me too wired!
Its soo frustrating as it seems everyone else can lead a normal life but I have to be constantly monitoring my meds, and mental stabilty! Wouldn't mind but I hit the gym 5 days a week, take vitamins, don't smoke etc but its driving me nuts!!!!!! Anyone else??????

Hi everyone. I'm all for this campaign as even though i work in a hospital i am very wary of mentioning my mental health. Some people know that i suffer from depression but ive had it so long (since a small child-i am now 36) that i am very good at 'hiding' it. The only person i dont hide it from is my husband who is very good except he admits himself that he hasn't experienced depression. I have hardly had time off with depression over the 19 years i have worked there. I am now part-time since having my daughter (she's nearly 4) so its easier to hide it...plus you have to 'just get on with it' when you have a child! I've stopped drinking alcohol and cut down caffeine (i drunk a lot of diet coke) and have asked for a referal to psychiatry as i believe i am bipolar. there are family members with this condition and my mother also agrees and she is a psychiatry nurse. Its the first time ive thought about 'helping myself' and feel that mood stabilisers would be my best bet! I do get hypermania and I feel that i 'rapid cycle'. I have only just spoken out to my mother about this. (there are a lot of childhood issues including my mother not being able to look after me as a child and loosing me to my father) she has noticed the mania in the past as my moods can change from high energy, obsession with an interest in eveything, very creative and spending money to suddenly changing to depression and lack of interest in anything at all and no energy. I have been on antidepressants on and off since i was 16 and i could take myself to the gp's! I am hoping to 'balance' my moods and have talking therapy and maybe join a support group. Hope everyone here is able to manage their mental health and that this campaign will help people to understand that we are not 'nutters!' xxx

An Account of Social Exclusion NHS-style

Dentists can be choosers. In a situation where there is a shortage of Dental Practices, and Practices are able to have concurrent Private as well as NHS Practitioners, the Dentists can themselves manipulate, for Financial considerations or other objectives, the nature of their work-load and intake.

The front is that the Dentist who takes on all-comers is somehow fulfilling a social obligation towards his less fortunate NHS ‘cousins’. The reality is that he is ‘cherry-picking’ his clients for his own advantage, with NHS Patients filling his spare capacity where needed. Those with means will have the full benefits of the prestigious, modern High-Tech treatments of cosmetic surgery reputation.

Unusually for Professionals, Dentists do not then operate on the basis of service to a Clientele, or even needs-led services on NHS principles. Now this is not even 2-tier, because the Second Tier can be decimated to order, to prioritise the Big-Spenders.

And this goes further: NHS Patients themselves qualify for free Dentistry on a discriminatory basis. It is not the ability to pay, since the charges are too high to even pretend that this is the criterion. So you have in-built Exemptions, one of which is if you are pregnant or have a Baby in arms. We hear much about disadvantage in connection with Female Emancipation but discrimination on the basis of a physical inability to gestate is something of a novelty. Vive la difference!

Then there is Confidentiality. It is essential that I divulge to the Dentist what medications I am taking, and for what reason. Ostensibly, this is confidential. In practice it appears on your file in the database along with all the personal and Dental data so stored. So anyone who wants my phone number can also learn that I have Schizophrenia. With the increasing trend for non English-speaking Health Practitioners, including Dentists, in circulation, the above data is readily interpreted with a multi-culturally diverse set of reflectors based on the diverse cultural precepts of such Practitioners. I am talking young female Spanish Dentists with little English and little interest or scope for social engagement with anyone already here.

So, suddenly the word Schizophrenia on my file has spread like wild-fire throughout the Practice which has otherwise no dealings with anyone with Mental Health needs and has the capacity to believe absolutely anything that is said about any of us.

Half-way through my treatment, I am disputing with the Receptionist because she is demanding payment up-front, while I am insisting upon payment on completion. Yes, she has looked at my confidential file; I am an NHS Patient, and I am not working. My next Appointment depends on my paying an Instalment, which I finally pay, but still without a follow-up Appointment!
My Dentist is expecting me the next week sometime. So I phone the Practice for this elusive Appointment.

Meanwhile, tongues have been wagging and when I attend for treatment my Dentist informs me that My Behaviour has caused a break-down in the Client-Practitioner relationship and that I am required to leave there and then, and not to return! I knew my payment had gone through and was honoured, so I continued to hold out for a follow-up Appointment which, if I did not leave, would be forth-coming. Not so. Despite an undertaking under Guarantee to renew work already done if it did not last a year, and that I had signed for treatment which had yet to be delivered, the whole Practice agree this Break-down is irretrievable, I am a persona non grata and I must leave at once! The Police are called and I am removed.

The prospect is that I have never been on and shall never be on a Dentist’s list again because of the word Schizophrenia exposed on my file. Now, you may not have much to smile about, but does your smile have teeth?

It's over 6 years since I recovered from my severe depression and OCD, for which I was medically retired. I had to fight for my pension rights and continue to be "loaded" on my life insurance, because I am considered to be "prone to depressive illness". My argument is that due to my painful experience and the use of CBT as an aid to staying well, I am more acutely aware of the triggers that might cause me problems in the future and less likely to slip into a depressive illness.

Does anybody know of an insurance company that is likely to look favourably on somebody who has fully recovered and who is no more likely than anybody else to suffr depression in the future?

Joe Chapman - 07907 696693
joe@joechapman.org.uk

Sometimes it's not what is said, but what isn't said that can do the damage. This is the fourth bout of depression I've had in my life. I'm 32 and have accrued 10 years of normal working life with pride, before being pushed to the edge of the abyss again.

It's difficult to talk about discrimination when you feel at least partially responsible for the fix you're in, but I noticed some discrepancies between the handling of my illness at work, compared to a 'normal' illness. I had my first month off work back in August 2008 and on the face of it my employer was supportive - 'How could they help?', 'What would make things better?'. Though valid questions, they are difficult to answer when you feel the fault is all your own and you're scared of making a suggestion that you then fail to make work. In the end, the request I did make - to change working groups temporarily - was declined.

What I would class as discrimination though was more subtle - it wasn't what the company tried to do...it was what they didn't. Anyone off for a month or more with sickness or injury - something like a broken leg or appendicitis would be sent a card, and maybe flowers. I got nothing. On my return I found that most people had no idea why I'd been away, some thought I'd found another job, a few may have believed I'd been suspended. The workload I'd left behind was still there waiting for me...I was told not to worry about it, but that just made me feel that my work was unimportant and my value to the company non-existent.

I had a couple more periods off sick with the same results as before, people began to give me a wide berth and to be honest I did nothing to change that, I was ashamed and guilty, and when the company announced that redundancies would have to be made I volunteered to go. I'd never have coped with being selected. I'd hoped that it would help, that I'd become involved again as loose ends were tied up before I left, but if anything I was marginalised even more and my work left unfinished due to lack of support ( my boss never got round to signing the work off, though it was completed weeks before I left). On my last day my boss wasn't present at my send off and I still believe no one knew why I'd elected to go - although I'd made it clear I was leaving on medical grounds.

A small part of me wonders if my depression had been treated as openly and easily as a broken bone or known illness like diabetes or asthma whether I might have salvaged my job - the one that was meant to be my lifes career.
I have a very supportive other half and more help from my GP than I ever deserve, but right at the moment with no job and no future I hate opening my eyes in the morning, hate having to face another hour, let alone another day. I just want to sleep until I can wake up and be a useful member of society again. I know I've got through this before, and each time I do I'm a bit stronger, but I'd give anything for a break from my own head right now.

Two songs I could recommend for lending strength in hard times though: Metallica - Broken, Beat and Scarred (could be a good Time to Change theme) and Levellers - Fight or Flight (about failures in the mental health system)

so pleased I found this this fantastic site validating the suffering of so many of us. i am in so much pain right now and can't articulate my thing right now but want to express more... may be ina day or two I hope to say more... right now, keep true and authentic to ourselves..thank you for writing your experiences.. it makes me realise I am not alone.. xx

I am from the United States and am a severe depression sufferer. My depression was brought on after suffering severe loss. I lost my boyfriend when he suddenly passed 12 years ago. I was young and told that I would meet someone else but I had fallen in love and no one seemed to understand the pain I was feeling and so I hid the pain and did my best to go on life as usual then in 2006 I lost my mom, 2007 I lost my dad and also in 2007 I lost my writing manager/ agent (I am a screenwriter) and so I went online to find help and support and also a great prayer group and I found what I thought was a wonderful prayer group on the message board oakridgeboys.com. I posted my prayers need and people were faithful to pray for me but then last August I for whatever reason became overwhelmingly depressed and some of my thoughts and feelings spilled out onto the board so to speak. Thoughts, feelings and words that I couldn't seem to control and I was severely mistreated after that and then once my physician diagnosed me with a serious form of depression that brought on a mental condition I was asked to leave the board. Not one on the prayer list checked up on me after that or asked even what caused the problems. I know of a gentleman on the board still with A.L.S. I know of individuals with heart conditions on the board, I know of individuals with diabetes on the board and as far as I know they are still there but because I have a brain condition that maybe they didn't understand I was asked to leave. People with cancer, heart disease, diabetes they have bouts with their illness and are loved and nurtured because of their situation but a person with a brain disease is looked upon as a leper and it's not fair. It is really not fair. I am intelligent, I have a master's degree and I am just a person who suffered severe losses. That is what triggered my health condition and I can't seem to understand why I am discriminated against so and I am especially hurt over the Oak Ridge Boys as I for years looked up to them as role models and positive influeances and now I just see them in such an incredibly different light and it hurts! It hurts alot!,

C.S.

Since I was young teen, I have struggled with mental health problems, nobody understood me, and doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. I was misdiagnosed for 8 years, during this time my relationship with my family had completely broken down and I was living in a hostel, jobless, and using drugs to make things better.

I wanted my life to change when I was 18 so the next job interview I went on, I lied and got the job, within a year the firm realised that their was something wrong with me due to the amount of sick days that I was taking and offered me some support. During this time I realised that I needed to get better and took up the offer of going to see a new phsyciatrist that had been recomended to me.

The new phsyciatrist worked and for the first time in years I was starting to understand what was wrong with me and able to take a medication that actually helped and not hindered my newly diagnosed personality disorder. From this point on my mind has been stable and I have grown as a person, I can have relationships with people and family, I can hold down a job well, I have my own business, I own my own house, I am getting married this year, I should be really happy

But all my success is built on lies, if I have an accident at work I am not covered, If I have an accident in my car I am not covered, If I become ill my mortgage repayments will not be covered

I feel like a bubble that is going to burst. all the pressure and the lies built up inside me needs to come out

Wouldn't it be so simple if this could be possible in everyday life;

'Hi my name is Amy and I have a personality disorder' 'Pleased to meet you, my names x'

I haven't been diagnosed with any specific mental illness. I'm 45 years old, I've suffered with my nerves/anxiety and I've experienced mild depression. I've also experienced mild learning difficulties as well.

When I was aged 16 I got involved in a youth group at a Baptist church. I was told that people who are not Christians are condemned to hell which scared me at the time. I was told at this church that my anxiety, low moods and confidence and self-esteem issues were caused by the Devil attacking me and that I was expected to 'snap out of it' to stop the Devil. I was also told that it was because God was rebuking me for not being a committed Christian. I was told that if I turned my back on this form of Christianity, that I would be open to attacks from the Devil, rebuked by God and that I would never feel peaceful. This is an appalling mix of 'British stiff upper lip' and religious fundamentalism and definite discrimination of me as person - and as a vulnerable 16-year-old at the time I felt this was taking advantage of me. Religious fundamentals prey on young people and see them as 'easy converts'. God or mother nature created me to be the person I am and yet I was being told to totally change myself as a person and told it was wrong to be me. I was only in this religious group for six months and left because I found it too intense. The people preaching in the religious group had no understanding of psychological or mental health issues. I now have the wisdom to challenge such people.

Throughout my adult life I've been told the following by the occasional person:

"You're too sensitive and should be less sensitive." [I think I should be allowed to be human.]

"It's weak if you cry." [I think I should be allowed to cry.]

"Pull yourself together."
"Snap out of it."
"Get a grip."
[I think these 3 above sayings should be banned as they're unhelpful and irritating.]

Other people have been supportive to me but, as I have described above, a few people need to be educated to change their attitude and to challenge their ignorance of mental health and psychological problems. There are also Christian/church people who have had more sensible and down to earth ideas and who have been more caring and supportive.

I hope this makes sense. I haven't gone into detail about my own personal issues. I've spent most of my life feeling confused about who I am as a person because of religious and society attitudes but now understand that people's views can be down to lack of understanding of mental and psychological issues.

I have suffered from bipolar disorder since 2001, and in my case I get crippling depression with occasional bouts of hypomania where I act very recklessly. In my last job I became depressed, triggered by anxiety caused by lack of support in my working environment, and found it harder and harder to work. I eventually took two weeks off with a doctors certificate after trying to tell my psychiatrist I was feeling bad with no result. I had decided to inform my employer that I have a mental health problem & their first question was "will you act funny in front of clients". I told them I wouldn't and just needed some support. The day I came back off sick leave they took me aside and said that they would like me to leave "not because of my illness" but because I was incompetent - but they had never mentioned this before in any form. So I "resigned" and went into hospital. Took me a year to recover & not getting interviews because I had been off too long/told the truth about why I was off so long.
I've just managed to get a job with the NHS as a HCA and so far, so good. I had to go through occupational health but a letter from my psychiatrist was all they wanted. Now I am a bit worried because they have a "bare below the elbows" policy - and I have self harm scars all down one arm. I also got two wrist tattoos while hypomanic and don't know how to deal with this. Fingers crossed though.

I have had depression for some years - initially, I didn't even realise, and it was generally put down to tiredness, not enough vitamins, too sensitive, etc.

I have "come out" about it, at my last job, to mixed responses, but felt I had to leave in the end for several reasons, this included.

Now, I am finding things harder as I "temp", and am also looking for a permanent job. When I don't receive any work, and may be unemployed for a few weeks or more, like at present, I find my "positivity" seems to go downhill, along with my "brighter personality", and along comes the irritability, tiredness, loss of appetite, etc.

What I find the hardest to deal with, though, is that I have found for 90% of applications for jobs,and/or registrations with Recruitment Agencies, I have to fill in an in-depth "health form".

Unless I lie, which I haven't done to date, I have to answer to the medication that I am on, and what for, when I last saw a Dr, and why, when I was last off work for sickness, and the reason, etc, etc. Quite recently, this amounted to a visit to their "Occupational Health Nurse", followed by agreement for them to contact my Dr for a "reference", followed by revisiting their Occupational Health to see their Dr, and then being cleared to perform the work. THIS ORGANISATION IS PART OF THE NHS. Also, as I glanced at some of the paperwork - during my final visit to their OH Dept - I noticed that the "details from my Dr" didn't just cover the last few months or a year, but back to other Doctors, previous jobs, therapists, Occupational Health, etc, for many years! That was not what I was signing the agreement for, when I agreed for further information to be sought from my Dr...

There is still much too much discrimination about anyone with any kind of mental illness, particularly when applying for jobs. This should be combatted, and also brought to the attention of the associated people, such as the JobCentres (-"patronising" seems to be the only word that springs to mind.

Perhaps we could have the equivalent of COMIC RELIEF or LIVE AID solely dedicated to this kind of thing. If some people realised that their "hero", "star" or "favourite celebrity" suffered from something, they may just then realise that they ARE "normal".

If things don't change soon, I am unlikely to gain a decent permanent job before my retirement age...

Hi to all...
I’m new to all this. but i would just like to expression my feelings and experiences, i was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder after i lost my father in ’97. at the time i felt alone, as i couldn’t understand why i felt like i was! I started drinking to block out the day-to-day life, my family didn’t understand , i couldn’t talk to anybody outside of the health service because as soon as i mentioned mental health illness everybody was suddenly too busy to listen!!!...
After many years of finding out the hard way, which has included; self-harm, many stays in hospitals, overdoses, i think ‘I AM ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY’, but there i still discrimination, stigma and prejudice, is this because people are too scared to admit that they don’t understand or are they just ignorant? personally i think that they are scared to admit that they might be labelled with the illness if they get too close to us or try to help us. after all the press label us as ‘nutters’, ‘schizo’s ‘ psychopaths’, people after remember “WE ARE STILL PEOPLE”
Keep up the good work, we need to get the message across
rikki

i suffer from depression and it inspires me and fills me with a relief that others have had problems with employers. i have just had my locum comtract ended as i had taken too much time off work and they had applied for another more senior person to do my job.maybe i should have been more open to start with, but i was afraid they would see me for my illness and not my professionality.

the day i had just taken another day off(due to crying nonstop and feeling wretched) i was called in by my boss who said that she had fought for my job in the past and she had turned down another position as she thought i would no longer be ill( i did not know she had done this ) and then she said beacuse of this, she now felt a fool because i had been off ill again. she said she would be on holiday for a week and then see how things were. if i had been ok that week, she would consider my contract.

Me, I moved onto the hospital site , worked my a*** off and not only worked on my ward but took on work from 2 two other wards as well. i was told earlier this week that my contract was being terminated as they had got funding for a senior ( of which i knew nothing about-maybe if i had i wouldnt have busted my a*** in the hope of keeping my contract)

I was OK about it and after wards the shock hit me. i felt numb, in disbelief and astounded that i was in this position, but worst of all i felt, and sometimes still feel that it s my fault that this happened. i should have done this, that and the other to cope, when i probably couldnt have done. and reading some examples has made me think-another staff memeber has had many days off because her child was unexpectantly ill-obviously she needs to, but under the same ruling-i didnt expect to be depressed, why is that not acceptable?

Thank goodness, i can take something positive- i have remained working hard this week and when my contract comes to an end i shall look to go into mental health as i feel us health professionals who can empathise are well needed in this field. it has also made me realise that whilst i have many strategies for depression due to stress, bad days and seasonal events etc, i dont have one when it comes to bombshells being dropped on me in my family and relationship life. thus i have to get something in place and i am looking for arts and support in the comminity which is not a bad thing. Winston Churchill said 'when youre going through hell,keep going' and thats what i intend to do!

My husband has suffered with panic attacks and depression for the last 3 yrs he has had various treatments, counseling, and medication to try and help him through this plus treatments from different hypnotherapists ,reki and eft people nothing seems to work. he has been off work for the last 2 yrs so i work full time to support the house and my husband has too go to his grandmothers while i am at work please can anyone give me advice on what to do next or where to get help