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Depression and the benefits system
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I don't usually venture in here but I was talking to my friend, who's on long term sick and what he suggested to me I thought might be an interesting topic for debate.
He told me that when he went to his doctor he was told a balanced diet and exercise would be very beneficial to helping him cure his depression. He thinks there should be a government scheme for depressed people to get free gym memberships and a slightly increased benefit to buy healthier food, as he can barely afford to live on the amount he's given and especially gym memberships tend to be expensive. As far as I know there isn't any schemes like this - do you think it would be a good idea, rather than pumping everyone with anti-depressants? It seems one of the main ways to tackle depression that doctors often recommend is taking tablets - and indeed he's not allowed to be referred to a psychologist as he refuses to take anti-depressants. He said if he was forced to take a pill for six months that he doesn't want to it's not going to help him cure his depression at all, and would probably make him feel even worse.
I thought it might be an interesting topic of debate, as depression is now the largest cause of people not working through illness now what sort of things do you think the government should look at to turn the problem around?
Not sure that was worded that well but whatever!
He told me that when he went to his doctor he was told a balanced diet and exercise would be very beneficial to helping him cure his depression. He thinks there should be a government scheme for depressed people to get free gym memberships and a slightly increased benefit to buy healthier food, as he can barely afford to live on the amount he's given and especially gym memberships tend to be expensive. As far as I know there isn't any schemes like this - do you think it would be a good idea, rather than pumping everyone with anti-depressants? It seems one of the main ways to tackle depression that doctors often recommend is taking tablets - and indeed he's not allowed to be referred to a psychologist as he refuses to take anti-depressants. He said if he was forced to take a pill for six months that he doesn't want to it's not going to help him cure his depression at all, and would probably make him feel even worse.
I thought it might be an interesting topic of debate, as depression is now the largest cause of people not working through illness now what sort of things do you think the government should look at to turn the problem around?
Not sure that was worded that well but whatever!
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Comments
Thing is, depressed people and often others who suffer from mental illnesses tend not to have much motivation, so actually going to a gym might be a difficult task. I do think exercise helps a lot with anxiety/depression, I think some sort of scheme is a great idea, just going for a walk or a jog or something. Slowly building yourself.
There is very little help for people who suffer from anxiety/depression and I think there needs be an all round effort to improve treatments available for such conditions! Not only is that the right thing to do, but it'll save a shed load of cash being paid on benefits once people get better.
I manage my depression with my diet and exercise, as I get many vitamins. It has got a lot lighter since I went vegan, so the highs and the lows are less extreme. However, this could be partly to do with cutting out processed foods a fair bit.
Maybe as a part of group therapy, people could cook together as well. There was a therapist and he would invite his patients around to his house and they would cook together. Apparently this helped the patients open up because they felt useful whilst they were talking, rather than wasting his time.
I think that a more holistic approach needs to be taken rather than "here, have some drugs". I don't know if 5htp is available on the NHS, but I've found it really useful.
I am not sure what's available these days...
I think though, equipping people with the skills to survive and manage their own illness would be the most cost effective. That's my opinion. Every time I used to go back to the doctors, they'd give me the candy and tell me there's a six month waiting list for CBT or councilling. 6 months might not be long to be working, but when you're isolated, it's hell.
The sessions are all 'supervised' and have people on hand to give advice etc. Seems to work quite well.
That sort of thing sounds good, but after my friend has deducted all his bills and bought food, he's only left with £6 in his pocket...it's really bad for him really cause the best thing to do is obviously get out and socialise, but he's stuck in because he has no money to do anything.
Maybe you could go with him. You dont need a prescription or money for that.
Its all very well saying you dont have the money, but really all you need is time and inclination
Yeah that's kind of true. I'll put that one to him actually, I could do with the exercise!
The suggestions above work believe me, walking is free and requires no expenditure on kit. If poss tell him to get out to the country or a park. Perhaps you could go with him the first few times, walking and talking about his problems at the same time would be a great combination. In fact I find a few days without a long walk makes me low these days.
Also as Namaste says 5-HTP is useful and can be obtained from Holland&Barrett. :thumb:
I do think more money needs to be spent on the treatment of depression, or certainly spent better. Fucking everybody off with unprooven drugs is far from helpful.
Exactly.
Thankfully, I have never been offered anti-deppresants.
Agreed.
Make use of market stalls and local greengrocers are often a lot cheaper than supermarkets. You can also buy economy/value fruit and veg if you do use supermarkets, most of its fine
I've just completed an 'exercise on prescription' programme via a referal from my NHS pyschiatrist, the programme was the 'Pathway to Healthy Living' at the YMCA and I was doing the 'mind matters' stream of the programme for mental health patients. I was refered as I have lots of quite complicated mental health problems but it was mostly the depression that I suffer from that the exercise is hoped to help. I found the programme to be really good, it was supervised in the gym and very tailored to my needs, I especially found it useful that they helped me find myway around so to speak a lot at first for example they gave me a tour of the changing room and showed me how to use the lockers and that sort of thing about three times which was so useful for me as I get lost so easily and I don't remember a lot of what I'm told due to the depression and when I can't do something I can't ask as I get too paranoid with strangers. And the programme was good to but I think it was the 'extras' like being expected to each session at a certain time and the instructor saying hello and asking what help you wanted for the session and that sort of thing that made it so much better than other attempts at exercise that I've tried. I paid £1.50 a session for this and now I paid £21 for a year of healthy living membership as I completed the programme which is very good value.
The local council gyms do discounts, and it can be big discounts or smaller discounts, for people on different types of benefit. When I was just getting Income Support (and Housing Benefit) it was a couple of quid to use the council gyms or swimming pools plus about £2 for the card for the year, then once I started getting Disability Living Allowance as well it became £5 for a wellness card and it's free for me to use it although I almost never did as without the extra support provided by the programme at the YMCA I found it almost impossible to get to the gym and do exercise.
Also, I think I saw that someone had mentioned exercise buddies in this thread? I just wanted to mention that the charity 'Mind' has some type of scheme in some parts of the country that offer exercise buddies to people with mental health issues, I know that in Islington Mind do some gym buddy scheme where someone comes to the gym with you regularly for three months, I've not tried this scheme as they don't have it in my borough but maybe it's work looking into for some people.
Although the issues mentioned in the OP seem to be primarily to do with financial problems associated with depression, I certainly found this was very difficult when I first went on the benefits before I got DLA and various other disability premiums and bonuses. The thing with DLA is that is is based on what care someone needs and help with mobility/ getting around rather than how ill someone is or other factors. I think the hardest thing for me when my income was so low was that I couldn't afford to socialise hardly at all so I couldn't go out even on one of my better days as I had no money to go to a friends birthday meal, to be able to afford the bus fare or tube fair so I got used to staying in and then I started not being able to go out and by the time I got the extra money and a freedom pass for travelling about I was so agorophobic that it seemed a bit of a waste anyway. Has your friend looked into DLA? He may be able to get it although it does really vary on circumstances but some people do get it for depression. The forms are long and complicated and sort of sem more to do with physical health than mental health but you can answer the questions refering back to mental health problems too. But lots of depressed people can't get this and without it then the income is so low it is really hard to get better as mentioned there is so little that you can afford to do and so much of your usual routine you have to miss out on.
Healthy eating, well I'm not too sure about the financial side of things but I think there should be a lot more information made available. In fact in many areas there are already some helpful schemes in place but more needs to be done to promote them and the benefits of healthy eating to mental health should definately get more emphasise. As should the benefits of exercising. In my area there is now a 'books on prescription' scheme where the doctor can write a 'prescription' for a particular book title and then you get it from a special collection at any of the local librarys in the borough. The cover a range of health issues.
I really hope your friend gets the help he needs soon, depression sucks
I don't know specifically if 5htp is available on the NHS but a psychiatrist at a talk I went to on 'dealing with depression' through one of the local mental health service user group meetings recommended Omega-3 suppliments and then when someone asked if you could get them on the NHS he said no because it's just classed as a food stuff (although I know some people get 'special' foods on the NHS if they need wheat free bread etc).
I think the NHS is really varied and the quality and what's available really varys in different areas but it is improving and getting more holistic. I've had for example reflexology sessions in an NHS psychiatric day hospital and also Shiatsu massages in an NHS Mental Health crisis project which is all nice and holistic but it would be good if it were more widely available.
All these things should be offered where appropriate in addition to talking therapies and medications, I would hate to be fobbed off with 'go away and exercise' as THE treatment for depression, it should be a good combination of things that are offered with patient preferance being fully considered.
Some people are really helped by anti-depressant drugs and other medications for psychiatic problems so it's good to keep an open mind about the various options.
And some people get completely fucked up by them.
Prozac got me into a position where I could access psychotherapy and be stable enough to work through it without it making me worse. It didn't make me happy and it didn't cure my illness (borderline personality disorder- like in Girl Interrupted- for those that care). But it did save my life as I would have probably committed suicide without the stability it gave me.
Can your friend not just pretend to take the ADs? It's not like they'd know the difference and it might get him access to the therapy he clearly needs.
And just to make it a bit of a debate, I think that there should be more physical wellness provided for on the NHS. There should be guidance and supervision provided for. It's all well and good telling someone to go to the gym but without support they won't go. I know that, even now, the thought of joining a gym daunts me because I'm not exactly svelte; when I was very poorly mentally the thought would have left me with a panic attack and probably a self-harming episode.
More really needs to be done to speed up the whole process. I got referred for consuellng and a shrink which took about 5 months before my first session, i was referred for CBT but that also has about a 3 month waiting list If people are having to wait lengthy times for help they will just become worse and less motivated and there fore less likely to get better.
I only waited about two months from referral to actually getting on to an intensive therapy course but I am well aware that I was bumped to the top of the queue because of my need.
Well said!
If only all of us who suffered from severe mental health difficulties just got out of bed and stopped eating cake we'd have been cured straight away! Eating a sprig of broccoli, or maybe pushing the boat out and having some runner beans, is definitely the way to cure suicidal feelings.
:rolleyes:
It won't be the cure, however it can only help.
I cook healthy food and cook to a higher standard than a lot of people. yet I was still very ill.
What certaionly doesn't bloody help is the attitude from the above poster that says "oh, if you're depressed, get off your arse, that'll cure it." Like fuck it will.
My wife goes running with a small group from work, she doesn't pay anything for it and gets a lot more out of it fitness wise and mentally than she does from the gym