29th April - Weaponising Mental Health

This is a bit of a controversial one, but important nonetheless, and something that needs discussing, debating, and ultimately, addressing. I'll start by adding that I'm a true advocate for all forms of mental health awareness, therapy, treatment, so on and so on. I myself have suffered - at various points in my life - from depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, OCD, and probably even (undiagnosed) elements of BiPolar disorder, particularly in my University days. However, I am not a 'victim', I am not a 'special case', I am not a 'rarity'. 

Of those closest to me, I've seen mental health disorders in various family members and friends, and of my absolute inner-circle, many partake in weekly therapy sessions, whilst many more have confided in me over concerns over their own mental state at various points, particularly in the past 18-24 months. However, I listened to a podcast earlier this week, in which the host and his guest debated the topic of if we are now 'weaponising' mental health in the modern age. The guest, quite rightly argued that everyone has 'mental health' but not everybody has a 'mental illness', and remarked that - at time of writing - 33 million people in the U.K are diagnosed with the latter. 

He argued that this simply ginormous increase in diagnosed cases over the past decade, is due to the 'woke' nature of a 'snowflake society' who now see everyday life problems as 'mental illness'. For example, feeling stressed with work, or relationship, or money troubles, all things many experience as part of the struggles and strains of everyday living. He argued that 10 years ago, people would have rolled their sleeves up and got on with it, but now people are using these stresses to diagnose themselves, or in his words, "Even worse, trouble doctors with diagnosing them, which is taking away valuable time and resources from doctors diagnosing people who are really ill".

He used the example that people now use these diagnosed terms to get their own way in life, whether in work, or in personal settings, and - controversially, perhaps - I partly agree. Firstly, I think that if you compare the link between the rise of the smart-phone, and the introduction of soaring mental illness rates, both lines on a graph correlate almost perfectly. This is no coincidence and when you're connected to the internet 24/7, whether that's notifications, or emails, or anything else, it's hard to relax the mind into a full state of 'down-time' which is needed to combat exhaustion, burnout, and ultimately, mental breakdown(s). So I disagree that it's simply a case of 'snowflakery', but I have also - unfortunately - witnessed people using mental disorders as a 'weapon' for their own gain. 

Just a few month back, my partner and I discussed the truly abhorrent behaviour of man who would regularly declare his relationship struggles and 'mental disorders' such as feelings of depression, helplessness, and ultimately, suicidal tendencies, in order to gain sympathy from females, leading towards sexual advances to (and sometimes from) said females. Using this 'vulnerability', despite his actions proving otherwise, is commonly regarded as the 'lowest of the low' and 'the sympathy shag' has proved a highly effective technique for men throughout the ages, though ask every other man his thoughts on such behaviour, and he'll agree that no male is deserving of the title of 'man' through such actions. Likewise, this week, I've witnessed the mother of a (very mildly) autistic boy use the child's 'disability' as an excuse for her own agendas, and personal gain. Not everybody on this Earth 'weaponises' mental illness, but unfortunately...

... The spiteful folk who do, are still far too commonplace.