They get paid shit-loadsā¦
That is not my experience with the NHS at all - I went to the GP and they immediatel referred me to a local place to get counselling.
Itās not great, but the help is there.
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I was stunned a while ago to learn that if you are male and work as an unskilled labourer in the building trade then you are 3x more likely to top yourself than the rest of the population. Just the group least likely to seek support and advice.
It took ages before Mrs SOG could get an appointment and then much of it was done over the phone rather than face to face. In my experience it is better to be sitting in the same room as the therapist. She was given 6 sessions which is nothing really. Sometimes therapy takes years. Itās a bit like sticking a band aid on. I donāt blame the NHS. It is not their fault that they donāt have the facilities to deal with their workload.
It is good to hear that some companies are providing decent mental health support. Surprisingly, The Guardian were poor (this is back in 2000) and dealt with my issues by making me redundant after 22 years! The Telegraph/Spectator HR wise were much better and provided proper support through The Priory. The management in my department were not so supportive or sympathetic though.
Piers Morgan certainly stirred up the pot. I can understand that he felt that Meghan was not being truthful and I get the whole freedom of speech thing, but to use his platform to basically call her a liar was the smartest thing to do. As an experienced journalist Iām sure that he could have found a form of words that expressed his point without actually calling her out so blatantly.
There will be people who will perhaps make more of a situation to forward their own agenda, but if someone says that they have experienced suicidal thoughts itās best if you take their word for it and deal with the situation appropriately. If he wanted to press the point, perhaps he could have asked why, when not given help from within, did they not seek their own help privately? Perhaps they did? But we donāt know that because the question wasnāt asked (from what I understand) and we were left with the impression that Meghan did not receive any support at all.
I was about to say just that. My ex-wife had long standing depression issues from long before we met, and she told me about an episode in Greece (where she was working) that left her hospitalised, and from what I can work out, sectioned. The NHS were unbelievable, from the GP onwards. It took over a year of tests, therapy, consultations and God knows what else, but they finally worked out that it was a specific disorder combined with an underactive thyroid. They got the meds sorted and she changed completely, almost overnight. It was quite amazing to see. Iād add that we had also tried several private consultants along the way, each of whom put forward a theory, tried it, and gave up. The NHS were like a dog with a bone.
Psychedelic therapy could āresetā depressed brain https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56373202
Back in 2004 I went on a trip to Peru with a group of people and we spent 4 days in a remote Amazonian village. A shame came along and concocted a batch of ayahuasca which we imbibed over two nights (one of the Nights was The Day of the Dead and the rain came down like stairrods and there was a massive storm - very freaky). It isnāt easy to keep this stuff down so first night I threw it up. I didnāt sleep at all as it seemed like the end of the world. Second night I managed to keep it down but slept like a baby and donāt remember a thing.
I spoke to the other members of the group and they had all kinds of mind expanding experiences and insights but sadly it didnāt work at all for me so I canāt say anything about it other than it seemed to do the job for others. It is commonly used in South America so it will be interesting to see how this pans out here.
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One of my Brazilian friends a d her hubby have done this. They were able until abut 15 years ago get it sent here! I have no idea how.
This is a cracking read, (like most of Burroughsā writing.) Itās all about ayahuasca and itās effects.
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Very good programme on BBC now by Roman Kemp about mental health/suicide