Reading the Mail I come away with the view that the Mail don't believe that Mental Illness exists or is that just me?

That's pretty much the case, I'd say. If you have a mental illness that doesn't physically affect you, then you're just a benefit scrounger and what have you.

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Changin' avatars like there's no tomorrow

The only mental illness that really exists is Middle Class Depression (MCD). This is a debilitating illness that can be triggered by any number of traumatic circumstances, such as:
- your neighbours buying an Audi that is bigger than yours.
- your kitchen refurbishment not working out quite how you wanted.
- over stretching your finances in an attempt to live an aspirational lifestyle that you can't really afford.
- seeing some brown people walking past your house. This used to be a nice area!!!11!!

More than that. They believe that mental illness is a sign of weakness. And what do you do to the weak? That's right, you give them a kicking.

You may want to add that to The Code of the Mailite. It only mentions imaginary physical illness and disability so far.

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Sick Left-wing Zealot.

Mental illness (especially forms such as depression, OCD etc) put Mailites in a quandry. On the one hand is the urge to 'keep buggering on', stand up straight and stop being such a big girl's blouse over it.

On the other hand, the Mailite will never pass up the opportuunity to do their dying swan act.

So, in summary:

MY mental illness is genuine, doesn't get taken seriously, is a terrible blight on my life, if only people understood etc. YOU on the other hand just need to pull yourself together and think happy thoughts. THEY are taking the piss.

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Ten seconds... the pain begins.

Fifteen seconds... you can't breathe.

Twenty seconds... you give up and turn off the Jeremy Vine show.

There are two types of mental illness in the Mailite mind: that which makes people totally insane so that they should be safely locked away for the rest of their lives or, preferably, humanely put down to save hard working middle class taxpayers' money; and that which is largely imaginary and which people could get over if they just Pull Themselves Together. My mother (staunch Mail reader) was always like that, which made for some tense moments when my brother started working as a psychotherapist. She doesn't really believe in most learning difficulties either - when my youngest was assessed as dyslexic, she realised that she'd probably better leave off all suggestions that it's an excuse for thick kids, but compromised by pretending that it was an obscure difficult-to-pronounce word, and always called it "dys-clec-clexia". There's a horrible black humour in the fact that, since having a stroke, she genuinely can't say it. Mind you, I'm not too sure that she believes that strokes are genuine either.

I know where you are coming from Fozzy my Dad is a Mail reader and he doesn't think that Mental Illness exists and Iam 100% sure that he gets that Idea from the Mail's reporting on the subject about 8 years ago my mum's sister went down with depression so couldn't work and had to go on the dole my dad said in 'She's just faking it so she can claim dole money'. I wanted to kill him for that.

This is a trend from the US right as well.

In part there is a need to, ironically, rationalize away mental illness as this would reduce healthcare costs. In part there is a kick to be gotten out of kicking some of the most vulnerable people in society and that suffering is a good thing.

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You may say I'm a dreamer.... but I'm not the only one....

*coughs*

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Blog...http://itsjustahobby.wordpress.com/

Soon, if we are not prudent, millions of people will be watching each other starve to death through expensive television sets. Nye Bevan

OK... if this is the right thread....

UK addicted to sleeping pills: Stress-related insomnia on rise since start of the economic crunch


So a better economic system would be one that did not involve infant school politics supported by an emotionally manipulative media?

Ohhhhhhhhh the free press....

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You may say I'm a dreamer.... but I'm not the only one....

Now you know. MIND may as well pack up and go home...

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"...now, with a most inhuman cruelty, they who have put out the people’s eyes, reproach them of their blindness..."

He's back! And commenting at the Mail! You have no idea how happy this makes me.

If by any chance you're reading this, Andy, my hat is tipped to a great artist.

The living legend returns.
Better look over your shoulder Mayor Boris.

Has anyone else here read Pratchett's 'Monstrous Regiment'?
Do you think it might apply to Mail comments?