Psychiatrists reject proposal

[bluecat*dancing]

I dread what this government has in store for those on DSP. They have such a lack of understanding of mental illness and I fear the consequences.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/psychiatrists-reject-plan-for-mental-health-cu...

The peak body representing Australian psychiatrists has rejected the proposal that only people with a ''permanent impairment'' should get the disability support pension, saying the plan fails to understand the nature of mental illness.

The interim report of the McClure welfare review suggested the disability pension should be reserved for people with a permanent impairment and no capacity to work, while other people with disabilities moved to a different working age payment.

The College of Psychiatrists said it was difficult to predict how mental health symptoms would manifest, ''making it problematic for people suffering from mental illness, even if it is 'episodic' in nature, to maintain steady employment''.

Even between episodes problems could occur, the college said, and people with mental health issues could have physical problems due to the side-effects of medication.

[karliandjacko]

clearly they just want anyone with mental health issues to either just get over it or suicide so they lean no more.

[lane-ends]

Too many people still think mental illness is a lifestyle choice.

[happyroo_bunji]

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@lane-ends wrote:

Too many people still think mental illness is a lifestyle choice.

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Best statement ever.

[bluecat*dancing]

Also, that you can choose when, how long and how severe episodes will be.

[bella_again]

I think too its very difficult to measure mental illness anyway. How do you get into someones head and heart and decide what's best for them or where their limits are.  We go by behavioural indicators and indicators from the client as to what is happening in their lives.  But to decide that they can work is crazy when many of them suffer from debilitating anxiety, depression and other disorders making it impossible for them to hold down steady work.  And even if symptoms are under control, put that same person in a different environment with pressure involved and it can change everything.

It just seems heartless 😞

[channys_mum]

There are two sides to this coin, but how can one determine which side is which.

The genuine, and the actors.

My daughter knew this rather large guy who was happy to stay at home and veg, or enjoy life without the inconvenience of working. He ate himself to a weight where he could go on to dsp because he was too fat. These are the people who make it difficult for others.

jmo

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

I think that people who do that must be depressed.

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/obesity-related-diseases/obes...

What researchers know, and most people assume, is that individuals with excess weight often suffer from depression.

What is less clear is which comes first. Could the effects of being seriously overweight directly lead to depression, or does depression

itself cause excess weight gain in the first place? Probably, the answers are “yes” and “yes,” and it may not matter in any practical

sense. Depression and weight gain go hand-in-hand.Certainly, increased appetite, reduced activity and weight gain can be symptoms

of depression, and people with depression are more likely to binge eat and less likely to exercise regularly. 

[bella_again]

Yeah anyone that does that clearly has a number of mental issues as it is actually self abuse.  If you sit there and ask why a person would start to eat themselves to death to avoid work, you would have to conclude that there is a huge level of anxiety and perhaps depression present. If people are faking mental illness, they generally have significant issues that would actually point to the fact they genuinely have something going on.

As I said unless you can get into someone's head and heart its so difficult to measure.  Those with episodic conditions are usually well and truly diagnosed so for example conditions where  people have episodic that make it extremely difficult to function. To hold down a job in would be difficult.  Most employers are not that understanding of mental illness.

Sure we can force people into work but do we have the capacity to support them in a work place environment, that's what the govt need to work on.