I am a Lib Dem supporter (most of the time), who has been commenting below the line on Lib Dem Voice for a few years and I have suffered from severe anxiety and depression. I still have anxieties that affect me every day, but they are reducing and I find that doing something new, even a small act such as submitting an article on here, helps me to recover and move on.
It is hard to talk about mental health, but perhaps you will find that there are more people willing to listen than you think. Help is always available from the NHS or charities such as Mind, Rethink Mental Illness and Samaritans.
I am so used to commenting below the line that I feel ready to finish my article after only 150 words ☺. I will begin to wrap up, as I don’t want to try to do too much, but before I finish I just want to highlight the good work that Lib Dems such as Nick Clegg and Norman Lamb have been doing in this area.
Nick Clegg gets a lot of flak, sometimes including from me, but this recent policy announcement aimed at reducing suicides made me proud. I know it was controversial with some, but it is the spirit of practical support for those that need it most that I thought was important.
I haven’t even mentioned Norman Lamb yet, who I think has exceeded expectations as a Health Minister, but in the spirit of keeping it brief I will just leave you with this wonderful video from the Autumn Conference last year that I think demonstrates our collective support for those suffering with their mental health.
Feel free to comment below.
* Eddie Sammon is a member of the Lib Dems in France and a regular reader of and commenter on Liberal Democrat Voice.
Follow @LibDemVoice on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestend
Sue Gray: Beware of beat-sweeteners and source-greasers
Is Kemi Badenoch still in the lead? - The Week in Polls
Belljar
England urged to bring in minimum unit price on alcohol as deaths rise 10% a year
John Waller
Peter Martin
Katharine Pindar
Mary Reid
12 Comments
Good to see a piece from you Eddie. I don’t always agree with your comments but you make a valuable contribution to the LibDem Voice community, if there is such a thing (which I believe there is).
What Tony said
And good to be able to put a face to your ‘voice’.
Bill
I haven’t had time to contribute a lead on this topic so will add my voice to our colleague Eddie’s thread.
Looking back, I can see clear evidence of members of my father’s family suffering from anxiety-related disorders including deserting but not being caught (Ha!) during the First World War, one attempting to drown himself in Liverpool Docks and another, who died aged 92, still convinced that he was going to die young.
I have suffered for much of my life with low morning mood, anxiety and hypochondria. However unlike my great uncle, being only 57, I still have time for it to get me 🙂
Not having had time to read all the contributions, I don’t know if anyone has mentioned Churchill and his “Black Dog”
but I wonder where we might have been without him and by definition, ‘it’? Western civilisation and the liberties we enjoy today owe so very much to this fellow sufferer.
Yes, it is a very serious, life-debilitating illness that can make us sometimes feel like shit – and that sometimes this can stretch out for years – but we should also never forget that many of the greatest, most insightful, artistic, humorous, empathic and generous human beings that have ever lived have belonged to our huge but frequently very lonely club.
One day mental health will be understood and certain forms of it seen and treated as simple forms of chemical imbalance similar to diabetes and high cholesterol.
In the meantime I just have to make sure I don’t die too soon to enjoy it!
I wish everyone a restful night’s sleep … or relaxed, contented and productive night shift!
Best wishes
Stephen
P.S. Eddie, I agree with Bill – good to put a face to your Liberal Democratic ‘Voice’.
No, it isn’t just us!
An interesting list of well known people who have also come out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_major_depressive_disorder
“This is a list of notable people who have, or have had, major depressive disorder. A number of well-known people have suffered from the disorder. While depression was sometimes seen as a shameful secret until the 1970s, society has since begun discussing depression more openly. Earlier figures were often reluctant to discuss or seek treatment for depression due to social stigma about the condition, or due to ignorance of diagnosis or treatments. Some historical personalities are presumed to have suffered from depression based on analysis or interpretation of letters, journals, artwork, writings or statements of family and friends.”
Thanks guys. Stephen, I am grateful that you chose my article to put down your experiences. 😀
I know of someone with hypochondria too, but I don’t really understand it. However, raising awareness of these conditions is good and it is just another small example of what good can come from these talks.
Good to hear from you Eddie and looking forward to your next article. I edit Wellbeing, the newsletter of the Anxiety Alliance, and a few years ago reviewed a very good book by Dr Claire Weekes. She was a doctor working in the 1970s who suffered from anxiety and writes really convincingly about the subject. The title sounds a bit quaint today”Self Help for you Nerves” but it’s a sensitive and really insightful book which is still widely available.
Is it collective amnesia on the damage caused by the coalition to those with mental health problems? Ever been through the ATOS farce or sanctions? Black Triangle has a list of those who have committed suicide because of the Welfare cuts. The responsibility rests with the coalition. I am going to give that list to the LibDem and Tory who come to my door, I’ve already tackled Labour. For the last five years people have been living in fear and their mental and physical health impaired even more. First hand I can tell you of the fear and sleepless nights which have worsened my own condition. Months and months waiting for the brown envelope. I find this campaign hollow.
I think LDV did a really good job in trying to focus on mental health through their timetotalk theme yesterday, as shown by the number of people who contributed articles. Of course the way society operates cannot be ignored though. We cannot advocate more help for those with mental health problems and then adopt policies that make things worse.
Thanks Judy, I saw your comment earlier but forgot to reply. I will check out your newsletter and bear that book in mind.
Anne, I’m not well read on Atos, but I am not comfortable with the level of welfare sanctions. I don’t like the idea of sanctions full-stop, but we don’t live in a perfect world. You should contact your local MP and council and see what help is available. Keep talking to us too.
Judy again, I agree that we need to tackle the external factors that can lead to mental health problems and not just the internal ones. I have complained in the past that too much of mental health policy seems to be based around talking initiatives, but overall I think this was a good campaign.
@Eddie
Thanks . I am not sure there are back copies available, but I’m working on the next issue now! I hope to reformat the the last 14 issues so they will be downloadable from the website but I’ve got to work out how to do that first!.
Eddie, we do not live in a perfect world but it has been made worse for those with mental health issues by this coalition who because of their policies are responsible for people committing suicide and their conditions being made worse because of the stress and being made easy targets for sanctions. That has to be faced up to and admitted. No amount of campaigns from those who caused it can take away their guilt. Oh, the middle class bubble!
Eddie, please, please, please do not blame yourself.
We live in a cruel and insensitive society that our recent ancestors would have abhorred. Unfortunately, sensitivity to the feelings of others is seen as weakness by those currently empowered to ensure the well-being of our people. So be it, I, personally, have moved my allegiance to the Green Party. I, personally, live in hope.