Meeting of the Parliament 02 April 2014
As my niece is a psychologist for NHS Borders, I know that mental health is a major issue, but I was not aware of the magnitude of the problem. As Neil Findlay pointed out, more than a third of Europeans will be affected by mental illness this year, and depression is the leading chronic condition in Europe. I was astounded when I found out that the World Health Organization predicts that depression will be the second-biggest health burden by 2030—second only to HIV/AIDS.
Depression is perhaps the problem that I have seen most closely in my family. My father suffered from a degenerative illness in later life and ended up with depression in a big way. That is one example of how people can move into being depressives, but there are many others. At the Health and Sport Committee last week, Lexi Parfitt of SAMH said:
“We know from decades of research about the complex interaction between poverty and mental health, and we know that poverty is both a cause and a symptom of poor mental health. ... If a person is mentally unwell, it can be quite difficult for them to deal with bills and so on, which makes them more vulnerable. For example, bipolar is characterised by extreme highs followed by extreme lows. When people are in their high period, it is not uncommon for them to give money away and spend money left, right and centre, which leaves them quite vulnerable.”—[Official Report, Health and Sport Committee, 25 March 2014; c 5117.]
Taken with all the experiences through life, that vulnerability can be overwhelming to someone who is suffering with mental health difficulties. If we add the difficulties of making claims in a complex welfare system, the sense of being overwhelmed can prevail.
It is perhaps only now that I really appreciate the “Mental Health Strategy for Scotland: 2012-2015”. It is essential that a system is in place for family and carer support, because without it the pressures of living and working with a sufferer can be extremely damaging. I am proud that Scotland is the only country to have introduced a waiting time target for access to psychological therapies. I understand that there are problems, however.
There is focus on increasing support for self management and self-help approaches, and there is work being done on the anti-stigma and anti-discrimination agendas, focusing on the rights of people with mental illnesses and developing the outcomes approach to include personal, social and clinical outcomes.
I was surprised that some issues to do with GPs’ surgeries were also raised last week, because I had not thought about them before. Many sufferers of mental health conditions find going to the doctor’s surgery difficult. As well as the problem of arranging the appointment with the receptionist, which can be overwhelming, people have to deal with doctors who do not know them, so they may feel that they are being passed around. All the pressures add up and can engulf people who suffer from mental health issues.
I am running out of time. I end by paying tribute to those who work within the see me campaign and SAMH’s campaigns. Each and every one of us should fight the stigma of mental health difficulties. I am sure that the £4.3 million that came from the Scottish Government and Comic Relief will be well used and appreciated, but we can all do more to bring the issue into the mainstream and to get people talking about it. We should not be scared to talk about it. People should hear the idea that they are not unusual if they are sufferers, and the more help that we can give people, the better.
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