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Looking after ourselves

kristin
Senior Contributor

Speaking out about MI stigma

Dear all,

I've just written to the editor of Tha Daily Telegraph in response to this horribly stigmatising article  from yesterday.

Below is a copy of my letter, no prizes for guessing whether publication of the letter or an apology will be forthcoming.

Time to weed out the disability rorters: Crackdown on $16 billion welfare scheme

I'm appalled at the stigmatising language and placement of "information" in this article. The most offensive part:
"More than 30 per cent of DSP recipients are claiming handouts on the scheme because they have a psychological or psychiatric condition.
Mr Andrews said weeding rorters out of the system would be a win for people who have a genuine disability that stops them from working."

The first sentence's wording implies those claiming DSP for psychological or psychiatric illness aren't eligible for them and are receiving "handouts". Having the second sentence following on immediately after implies all who are on DSP for psychiatric illness are rorters, rather than suffering genuine disability.

Disability (permanent or no, physical or psychological) does not necessarily equal inability to work. When employers, including government, are unwilling to employ people with disability - this in itself is disabling! Many on DSP would love to work, but can't find suitable ongoing employment. Some cannot work.

Many people with psychiatric illnesses are as severely impaired as people with obvious physical disability. It is not unusual to find a significant proportion of those with psychiatric disabilities are survivors of childhood abuse, including sexual abuse. This can lead to long term conditions such as PTSD. Finding appropriate help for such conditions is terribly difficult and requires long-term help.

I'm sure there are a few people who do rort the system. However to suggest, deliberately or inadvertently, all claimants do is plain ignorance or at least laziness. An apology would be appreciated.

 

Cheers, K

15 REPLIES 15

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

PS I also found this article from The Guardian which mentions that The Telegraph got a slap on the wrist for a similarly stigmatising article on 22nd of May. Obviously the editor didn't learn anything, or cares less.

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Did anyone read the associated comments?

Some are fair and some are just so ignorant.

This is an appalling use of lanuage. I've no doubt Andrews and the rest actually do hold MI and disabilities in general in low esteem.

This is the thing I try to get across to people who work in the sector and those who don't;

Mental illness cripples people. Every day it is a day of symptoms of one kind or another. This in and of itself is traumatic to the central nervous system of the body. It is one of the reasons why MI sufferers die on average 20 years before the general population.

It is an invisible killer.

This disease is something that needs study, major research dollars, and effective treatments. Cures for cancer exist because of the impact the illness made on the community. It got funded. 

People don't want to care. Not until it touches them. Either through themselves or someone they are close to. Then, I've noticed they take a different tune. 

 

rant over, preaching to the choir I know.  But if you have the chance share the perspective with anyone you can. Change begins slowly and locally. If you are able to write to members of parliament, do so. Educate your support workers into what living with MI actually entails.

Educate the ignorance. 

 

Sorry

rant  really over now...............

 

 

Rick 

 

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Hey @Rick 

I just found this time to change campaign and thought others might like to have a go at running one here - what do you think @NikNik ? Would SANE sponsor one of the campaigns?

Hope, for changeing attitudes, endures!

Kind regards, Kristin

PS Thinking of you Rick - I really hope you are ok. Please just send us a Like or something. The complete silence is unlike you.

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

@kristin 

Hi Kristin, 

I'm ok again. was well on my way to Ga Ga land before this happened. I just tipped and aint psychosis and dissociation fun?

It thinks it was 3 maybe 4 days. But I felt it starting before Christmas. That's the problem when you live alone, things can blindside you and you don't really notice properly until it's over.

i am sorry if I upset you or anyone else for that matter. I'm a little vague as to what happened but to be frank I don't really want to find out.

 

I have gone back to writing my book. It's a biography of a boy. That's actually what it's called. It's a year by year account of abuse. So it does'nt get bogged down i've written it with 1 incident of abuse per year. It's starts in 1973 and at the moment I'm working on 1977. It continues through to 1989. so a bit of work to go yet.

Have been editing yesterday and today and even to me it's a bit nasty. The strange thing is that the writing of this experience is very grounding. It's not enjoyable at all but the wrriting style is challenging and I'm enjoying the Steinbeck type prose of it.

My doc and my friends suggested about a year ago that I try a book. As a published songwriter they thought I might have an interesting take on the subject matter. So far it's flowing well. I don't know of the therapeutic benefits but as I've never spoken in specific terms about any of it it might just be good to try this method.

I read back what's written and I have to say it's truly horrible stuff. Even condensed and a singular instance per year I find just appalling on reflection. I had forgotten the horror and fear I felt as a boy. I jst never wanted to examine it. I knew the consequences of it. CMI is a bitch. But the recollection is worse than the simple memory. 

The worst part? Is that it's all true. But I guess if I can't disclose verbally it is provbably best to do so in prose. In a flashback  you only catch a glimpse but it is primed in emotion and that's what you remember. The actually remember details and specific actions and responses is very weird but strangley it does'nt carry the same hurt as a flashback.

So change of subject

 

How are you?

 

 

Hope persistently endures, dammit!

 

Rick

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Dear @Rick 

Thanks so much for this. I am so relieved you are ok again, I was concerned.Heart

If it's ok with you I'd like to pick something up because I think it might be helpful for you to take and discuss with George . You said "i am sorry if I upset you or anyone else for that matter. I'm a little vague as to what happened but to be frank I don't really want to find out."

First up please be very clear: you did not upset me. Nor do I think you upset anyone else (other than yourself) greatly. 

Second: you responded in your usual gracious and caring fashion to a post (with a couple of relatively mild profanities in yours). The person you responded to mentioned that she found the use of profanities triggering. Your reply was incredibly gracious, apologetic, and non-defensive. 

Third: this is from my perspective from what I saw - you seemed extremely distressed by the idea you may have upset someone else inadvertently, posting to that effect elsewhere (on one of your threads) and then went "quiet" for several days.

Fourth: I'm not sure whether you have seen this but I think you might find it helpful

- a query from me to the mods "if Rick or anyone else feels they have really stuffed up big time on the forum that they can send you an email asking for another opinion".

- in response from cherry "Sure members can email us if they have any concerns about the Forums and/or if they're feeling triggered. That's what we're here for! We want to create a space where everyone feels safe and respected. So please feel free to drop us an email" (if need be you can just hit reply on your latest forum digest to do this)

My sense is that the feeeling that you had hurt someone you were trying to help triggered (or helped to trigger) a huge backlash of self-hatred. But I don't have the whole picture - just a few of the pieces from the forum including what you've said here. It struck me that these pieces would be worth examining in the safety of George's presence to see what you can put together. And whether these might help you to build a reality-check together for future use when you feel intensely triggered in such a way. Something which will be vital for you and those you seek to help if you work in MH again.

I'm going to post this now and respond to the rest of your post separately.

Hope endures my friend, for a path through the triggers minefield to healing

Kindest regards,

Kristin

 

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Dear @Rick 

Response to your post - part 2.

I love the idea of the biography, I think it is excellent - something I believe can potentially be very healing. (I intend to write one too, but am not there yet - struggling even to write a bio for my website ATM.) The title is great too. Very bald - no frills. It's terrific that you find writing it grounding. Editing can be hard work tho, especially with your own work.

I understand how appalling it is looking back and facing how truly horrific things that "just were" are upon re-examination with an adult's eyes. We know it was terrifying and damaging, yet somehow we tend to minimise it - until we face the reality again. Looking evil in the face is always acutely painful I believe - having been faced with it frequently as a child makes surviving all the more miraculous and grace-filled in my view.

The difference between the intensity of the flashback is that it is a consciousness overwhelm (a hijacking), the remembering is a conscious decision. But part of why it doesn't carry the same hurt may be because one of the things we automatically do to survive that stuff is to dissect these things - and keep them separated. The continued separation can (as I understand it) fuel the flashbacks, because the intensity of emotion cannot integrate fully with the memory. 

I'm on shaky ground here, as the stuff I tend to have flashbacks about are the things I have no conscious memeory of. I have memory "matches" of related events/themes, white-outs/blanks, somatic memories, and grief which feels like it would sink the Titanic.

The worst part - all true. Is it any wonder some of us hide these memories from ourselves, or never allow our adult consciousness to look at them? I have discovered that I did both these things. There was lots of emotional abuse that I did remember (and a bit of "minor" sexual abuse, if it can ever be that), but even that I tended/tend to minimise.

How am I? Better since last Friday thanks, I hope you have seen my good news elsewhere - I start receiving counselling at EasternCASA this Friday. I see Sue, my psych, tomorrow for the first time in a month. I'm travelling a lot better than I was.Woman Happy

But even when stumbling blind, hope endures...

Take care of you my friend.

Kindest regards,

Kristin

 

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

Hi all,

I found this interesting research excerpt about how renaming a condition can affect the stigma attached. What do you think? @Alessandra1992 @Rick @kenny66 @Ellie @kato 

For example do you think renaming BPD might be helpful? - as it also is still highly stigmatised, even within parts of the medical & psych profession.

kind regards, 

Kristin

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

This is a debate going on right now amongst academics. The ICD 10, which is a European manual of mental illness diagnosis, calls BPD "Emotional Dysregulation Disorder"  but I'm not sure in my case that it would help to change it to that. I probably believe that some of the stigma would be removed at least as far as the public eye goes in the same way that Manic Depression became much more acceptable when it was changed to Bipolar Disorder. The change for the DSM 5 was supposed to happen when the 2014 version came out, but in the end they decided to leave it as BPD.

So, EDD or BPD? Does it really matter to Jonnie Public? Someone recently told me about an incident where they told a stranger that they suffered BPD. The stranger looked sympathetic and replied.......... I'm not sure what that is, but it must be painful." Obviously they had no idea that in one way they were right on the money. Yes, it is painful, but not in the way they were thinking.

My line of thought (and only in relation to BPD) is that as new psychs and nursing staff enter the field of mental health, good things will happen and with much more understanding, but at the moment we have a lot of old dinosaurs still working in the mental health system and it doesn't really matter if we call it BPD or EDD. In their minds they're still going to see us as trouble.

Ellie

Re: Speaking out about MI stigma

I think naming schizophrenia integration disorder doesn't do anything. The problem is with education. Irrespective of the name BP or schizophrenia, I don't believe the name change does anything other than call an apple an orange.  People soon work out what is an apple and what is an orange. 

The concept of schizophrenia being dangerous or scary is out of misinformation or ignorance. I still meet GPs and others in the medical profession who are genuinely scared of the disorder. My last Dr used to leave the door open because he was worried about how I would behave.

One of the chemists I go to, who is a really nice person, always calls over a male co-worker to serve me, because she has that view about schizophrenia.

Most medicos and pharmacists (and people for that matter) categorise SchizoA as Schizophrenia, which is very irritating as they are quite different.

So you have to explain to people that it has it has a schizophrenia element to it. That is when they treat you quite differently, because to most people SchizoA doesn't mean anything and they are scared of Schizophrenics.

I think calling SchizoA or Schizophrenia integration disorder would be exactly the same. When you had to explain it to anyone you would still have to use the word schizophrenia, which would defeat the purpose.

If the general population somehow was educated to replace one term for the other, I think people would just make the mental calculation like my flatmates grandma does from pints to litres or inches to centimetres. . So the same adverse label would apply after a while.

Anyway labels aren't the issue. otherwise we could just call everything MI but us humans have to pigeon hole everything and give it a name.

Just as an aside my new Dr keeps on saying to me I have got thew really bad schizophrenia, so what hope has the general public got in de-stigmatizing our MI.

@kristin always has such interesting topics to comment on.

 

 

 

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