Depression, anxiety, stress and other related issues

[Leeds Ram]

12 minutes ago, David said:

Just scrapped a long post to write a more brief and to the point without all the gory details post.

Leanne, my fiancés brother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, we believe he's been off his meds now the all of this year. He's rapidly declined to the point where we are seriously concerned.

This is where I cut all the gory details out.

Leanne's mum and dad are old, not really capable of getting him the help he needs so I've stepped in. He's been sectioned before and I believe he needs to be sectioned again for his and others safety but it's so hard, reminds me of the trouble I had to get a doctor out to see me when I was really suffering with anxiety and couldn't leave the house, they all insisted I came into the surgery.

I've rang the mental health place where he was sectioned previously, couldn't discuss him with me, patient confidentiality, understandable, will you talk to his parents? No as he's an adult. Basically the only way they would section him is if he volunteers to come in, or is brought in by the police or ambulance service.

So I contact the non emergency police where I'm told they have to be called when he is in the middle of an act that is taking place, I should call the non emergency ambulance instead for general concerns.

I ring the non emergency ambulance where I'm told the same as the police, they don't do general welfare checks and need an incident to be active to be called out.  

In fairness she bent the rules slightly, made a telephone appointment with his GP and directed the call to me, the GP could either decline or accept the request.

This morning his GP did ring me, initially asking for him but I explained what had happened, he wouldn't discuss him or his medical records, again understandable, but would listen to my concerns. He did and after a lengthy call of pouring out all the gory details was told he will try and organise a mental health crisis team to go and assess him, but this could take a week and would only take place if he lets them in. They can't force their way in.

Now this is unlikely to happen, he thinks he's perfectly normal but he's not. Quick example, went to Hull, wanted to experience homelessness, ended up throwing lateral flow tests round the city centre shouting you're all going to die, before at 2am getting a taxi home for £120. 

Anyway, I get a call this morning from his mum, his neighbour has rang her to say he's banging and screaming and put a notice on his door saying don't knock, funeral taking place. I ask if this is taking place right now, it is, so I've got him.

Rang the police, sorry no can do, doesn't sound like there is any immediate threat to his or others life. Call the council to make a noise complaint or ring the non emergency ambulance if you think he needs an assessment.

Getting frustrated by this point I ring the non emergency ambulance and they are despatching an ambulance with police assistance, filing it as potential suicide and threat of violence saying she has made it impossible for the police not to break in if he refuses to open the door and be assessed.

Also made sure the neighbour was told of what's about to happen, please stay in as they may want to talk to you. The neighbour lives downstairs, it's a terraced house split into 2 flats, he's upstairs.

Maybe it's because I'm close to the situation, I feel more can be done, and they are following the correct procedure, but I can't agree that we need to get to a stage where his or another person's life is at risk before they will respond.

Spend 10 minutes with him wearing a jumper as trousers, boxers on his head as a bandana and you will realise that he's not mentally stable and having been beat up a couple of times in the last few weeks, is it going to take a stabbing or something worse to actually get help.

This still turned out to be a lengthy post cutting out all the details. Needs to be more support and easier for someone to get help out to someone with mental health issues. Really pisses me off that they don't appear to be taken seriously yet when it's 2021.

That sounds very very challenging David and I hope he gets the support he needs. It feels like there is a gap that exists between getting assessments sorted and being able to respond adequately to people who need immediate help and cannot offer true consent because their health is in such a way when they're not necessarily wanting help. 

Your case sounds much more challenging but I had a similar issue with my housemate last year who I suspect had some kind of breakdown.  She thought we were poisoning her by tampering with her food, started sleeping and living in my bathroom and thought the neighbours were conspiring against her. Services wouldn't come out and assess her until things got worse by which point she'd left the house in the middle of the night and when they finally did a well being check didn't assess her because she said she was fine.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Leeds Ram

[Day]

3 minutes ago, Leeds Ram said:

That sounds very very challenging David and I hope he gets the support he needs. There is currently a breakdown that exists between getting assessments sorted and being able to respond adequately to people who need immediate help and cannot offer true consent because their health is in such a way. From what I've heard, there is an issue with some people not having adequate training or having sufficient knowledge of both mental healthcare but also the law when it comes down to crisis care and capacity especially in the first stages of recognising someone needs help. 

Your case sounds much more challenging but I had a similar issue with my housemate last year who I suspect had some kind of breakdown.  She thought we were poisoning her by tampering with her food, started sleeping and living in my bathroom and thought the neighbours were conspiring against her. Services wouldn't come out and assess her until things got worse by which point she'd left the house in the middle of the night and when they finally did a well being check didn't assess her because she said she was fine. 

I can imagine some issues are harder to diagnose than others, like myself I could appear to be perfectly normal at my worst, laugh any issues of and pass an assessment in flying colours. 

But he wouldn't and I'm very surprised he's still allowed to walk the streets having been recently arrested for punching a barmaid. 10 minutes with him is all you need, I just can't understand how he made it through a police interview. Less paperwork maybe but he accepted a caution and was on his way.

I wasn't going to do this, but here goes.

- He believes his mum is not his real mum, she lives out in America.

- He believes his brother and sister in law are both dead, doesn't believe it's them when he sees them.

- He believes his deceased uncle is Marc Jacobs.

- He says he's off to live in America to be a fashion designer.

- With his fashion designer aspirations he's wearing outfits that in his words, make him stand out, be different. He's nailed that as he's going out in a woman's ball gown one day, jumpers as trousers the next with boxer shorts on his head. We saw him walking the other day and he was in a bright green 70s outfit, flares, platforms, flowery shirt the lot. 

- He's punched his downstairs neighbour in the face, banging on the floor at all hours shouting profanity at her. She's getting on a bit and so nice that she hasn't reported him to the Police as understands he has issues, but we've now told her this isn't helping.

- His mum and dad brought him a washing machine for Christmas that he wanted, claimed someone had broke in and stole it but his neighbour has told us he took it out on the street, left a note on saying free to a good home. His neighbour downstairs tried to bring it back in for him, that's when he punched her as they had a bit of a altercation. 

- Got rid of his internet as he believed the whole street was using it, when he turned it off he could hear kids screaming because they couldn't get online.

- He believes someone has been breaking in and taking his clothes and medication, ended up dropping bags of clothes off at ours to protect.

- Turned up at 5.30am Sunday morninng at his mums, the mum he doesn't even believe is his, as claimed his handbag had been stolen, inside was his keys, phone and wallet. His mum had to bail him out £260 to get a locksmith out to change the locks.

There is probably tons more that we don't know of, but as you can see he needs help to get back on his meds. 

Whilst typing this the ambulance service rang to say he's not in, neighbour said he had just gone out. Police didn't show to assist and they can't break in to his flat as he's not there. Kinda back to square one again, waiting for an incident to happen at home where we can call the non emergency ambulance again, but 111 right now are so busy, I had to wait 20 minutes to get through, then you're on the phone for another 20 minutes before they despatch an ambulance which takes time to get there. All in all you're looking between an hour and half and two hours but he could be long gone by then. He's in and out apparently all hours. 

 

 

[Tyler Durden]

2 hours ago, David said:

Just scrapped a long post to write a more brief and to the point without all the gory details post.

Leanne, my fiancés brother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, we believe he's been off his meds now the all of this year. He's rapidly declined to the point where we are seriously concerned.

This is where I cut all the gory details out.

Leanne's mum and dad are old, not really capable of getting him the help he needs so I've stepped in. He's been sectioned before and I believe he needs to be sectioned again for his and others safety but it's so hard, reminds me of the trouble I had to get a doctor out to see me when I was really suffering with anxiety and couldn't leave the house, they all insisted I came into the surgery.

I've rang the mental health place where he was sectioned previously, couldn't discuss him with me, patient confidentiality, understandable, will you talk to his parents? No as he's an adult. Basically the only way they would section him is if he volunteers to come in, or is brought in by the police or ambulance service.

So I contact the non emergency police where I'm told they have to be called when he is in the middle of an act that is taking place, I should call the non emergency ambulance instead for general concerns.

I ring the non emergency ambulance where I'm told the same as the police, they don't do general welfare checks and need an incident to be active to be called out.  

In fairness she bent the rules slightly, made a telephone appointment with his GP and directed the call to me, the GP could either decline or accept the request.

This morning his GP did ring me, initially asking for him but I explained what had happened, he wouldn't discuss him or his medical records, again understandable, but would listen to my concerns. He did and after a lengthy call of pouring out all the gory details was told he will try and organise a mental health crisis team to go and assess him, but this could take a week and would only take place if he lets them in. They can't force their way in.

Now this is unlikely to happen, he thinks he's perfectly normal but he's not. Quick example, went to Hull, wanted to experience homelessness, ended up throwing lateral flow tests round the city centre shouting you're all going to die, before at 2am getting a taxi home for £120. 

Anyway, I get a call this morning from his mum, his neighbour has rang her to say he's banging and screaming and put a notice on his door saying don't knock, funeral taking place. I ask if this is taking place right now, it is, so I've got him.

Rang the police, sorry no can do, doesn't sound like there is any immediate threat to his or others life. Call the council to make a noise complaint or ring the non emergency ambulance if you think he needs an assessment.

Getting frustrated by this point I ring the non emergency ambulance and they are despatching an ambulance with police assistance, filing it as potential suicide and threat of violence saying she has made it impossible for the police not to break in if he refuses to open the door and be assessed.

Also made sure the neighbour was told of what's about to happen, please stay in as they may want to talk to you. The neighbour lives downstairs, it's a terraced house split into 2 flats, he's upstairs.

Maybe it's because I'm close to the situation, I feel more can be done, and they are following the correct procedure, but I can't agree that we need to get to a stage where his or another person's life is at risk before they will respond.

Spend 10 minutes with him wearing a jumper as trousers, boxers on his head as a bandana and you will realise that he's not mentally stable and having been beat up a couple of times in the last few weeks, is it going to take a stabbing or something worse to actually get help.

This still turned out to be a lengthy post cutting out all the details. Needs to be more support and easier for someone to get help out to someone with mental health issues. Really pisses me off that they don't appear to be taken seriously yet when it's 2021.

It's quite saddening I agree the level of support available for people with mental health issues so very sorry to hear about this story about your fiance's brother.

The classic triage question when I've tried to get help is do you think that you are likely to harm yourself - if the answer is no then that seems to remove all urgency from the situation and it seems then it's ok to allow things to progress as the speed it takes by the NHS.

It took me over a week to get a GPs appointment (over the phone would have been far longer if face to face) to raise my personal issues then when I described where I was it was do you want to try some medication, and when I said I didn't was told that I should phone the doctors back in a months time to see how I was getting on.

I was given some links for self referring which I found very bizarre as I had assumed my GP would refer myself which I've done anyway. 

[sage]

We are in need of another emergency service, and emergency mental health service. Working independently and with the police. Issues like this and the Dalian Atkinson case would benefit from it.  

[Day]

3 minutes ago, Tyler Durden said:

It's quite saddening I agree the level of support available for people with mental health issues so very sorry to hear about this story about your fiance's brother.

The classic triage question when I've tried to get help is do you think that you are likely to harm yourself - if the answer is no then that seems to remove all urgency from the situation and it seems then it's ok to allow things to progress as the speed it takes by the NHS.

It took me over a week to get a GPs appointment (over the phone would have been far longer if face to face) to raise my personal issues then when I described where I was it was do you want to try some medication, and when I said I didn't was told that I should phone the doctors back in a months time to see how I was getting on.

I was given some links for self referring which I found very bizarre as I had assumed my GP would refer myself which I've done anyway. 

I guess this would probably go political if we was to question why the long waits for those that need help that are not suicidal.

Not enough staff, facilities, why…..

I’m sure there is an element of not truly understanding, for years mental health hasn’t been openly discussed, could argue it’s the internet that has allowed those conversations to happen and less hidden, but I don’t think we’re quite at the point where it’s truly understood.

I was eventually referred to a place to go and talk about my anxiety, I walked away being told it sounds like I knew more about anxiety than him. I read a ton on it, but knowing and putting into action when an attack comes on are completely different. 

Asked him if he had suffered from any mental health issues, he hadn’t, just passed a few exams at Uni and now considered to be an expert.

You don’t have to have heart surgery to be a heart surgeon, but I’m sure these support staff would be a lot better at their jobs if they had some real understanding of how it feels.

I’m sure things will improve as years go by, but right now you see these don’t struggle in silence posters and think well that’s what you’re letting people do.

[Day]

4 minutes ago, sage said:

We are in need of another emergency service, and emergency mental health service. Working independently and with the police. Issues like this and the Dalian Atkinson case would benefit from it.  

Would be great, but I’m looking at Leanne’s brother and thinking, why are the Police not made aware that he’s a paranoid schizophrenic, shouldn’t the databases be merged somehow so they know what they are dealing with.

Are you locking up a drunken woman that suffers from seizures during the night, too pissed to tell the Police. 

Must be hundreds of scenarios where this would be helpful.

How is it, he’s been able to go so long without medication, hasn’t that raised any flags to investigate. Another measure that could be put in place to avoid emergencies such as this. 

Being paranoid schizophrenic isn’t like having tennis elbow, there’s a bloke now out there on the streets that has created a different world in his head where there’s no telling what he will think next.

Thats the guy there who killed my brother, some innocent person walking the streets gets smacked, whacked head on the curb dead.

Just frustrating, really is

[BucksRam]

2 hours ago, David said:

Just scrapped a long post to write a more brief and to the point without all the gory details post.

Leanne, my fiancés brother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, we believe he's been off his meds now the all of this year. He's rapidly declined to the point where we are seriously concerned.

This is where I cut all the gory details out.

Leanne's mum and dad are old, not really capable of getting him the help he needs so I've stepped in. He's been sectioned before and I believe he needs to be sectioned again for his and others safety but it's so hard, reminds me of the trouble I had to get a doctor out to see me when I was really suffering with anxiety and couldn't leave the house, they all insisted I came into the surgery.

I've rang the mental health place where he was sectioned previously, couldn't discuss him with me, patient confidentiality, understandable, will you talk to his parents? No as he's an adult. Basically the only way they would section him is if he volunteers to come in, or is brought in by the police or ambulance service.

So I contact the non emergency police where I'm told they have to be called when he is in the middle of an act that is taking place, I should call the non emergency ambulance instead for general concerns.

I ring the non emergency ambulance where I'm told the same as the police, they don't do general welfare checks and need an incident to be active to be called out.  

In fairness she bent the rules slightly, made a telephone appointment with his GP and directed the call to me, the GP could either decline or accept the request.

This morning his GP did ring me, initially asking for him but I explained what had happened, he wouldn't discuss him or his medical records, again understandable, but would listen to my concerns. He did and after a lengthy call of pouring out all the gory details was told he will try and organise a mental health crisis team to go and assess him, but this could take a week and would only take place if he lets them in. They can't force their way in.

Now this is unlikely to happen, he thinks he's perfectly normal but he's not. Quick example, went to Hull, wanted to experience homelessness, ended up throwing lateral flow tests round the city centre shouting you're all going to die, before at 2am getting a taxi home for £120. 

Anyway, I get a call this morning from his mum, his neighbour has rang her to say he's banging and screaming and put a notice on his door saying don't knock, funeral taking place. I ask if this is taking place right now, it is, so I've got him.

Rang the police, sorry no can do, doesn't sound like there is any immediate threat to his or others life. Call the council to make a noise complaint or ring the non emergency ambulance if you think he needs an assessment.

Getting frustrated by this point I ring the non emergency ambulance and they are despatching an ambulance with police assistance, filing it as potential suicide and threat of violence saying she has made it impossible for the police not to break in if he refuses to open the door and be assessed.

Also made sure the neighbour was told of what's about to happen, please stay in as they may want to talk to you. The neighbour lives downstairs, it's a terraced house split into 2 flats, he's upstairs.

Maybe it's because I'm close to the situation, I feel more can be done, and they are following the correct procedure, but I can't agree that we need to get to a stage where his or another person's life is at risk before they will respond.

Spend 10 minutes with him wearing a jumper as trousers, boxers on his head as a bandana and you will realise that he's not mentally stable and having been beat up a couple of times in the last few weeks, is it going to take a stabbing or something worse to actually get help.

This still turned out to be a lengthy post cutting out all the details. Needs to be more support and easier for someone to get help out to someone with mental health issues. Really pisses me off that they don't appear to be taken seriously yet when it's 2021.

Tough read @David - must be so hard for all involved, including yourself.  Kudos for stepping in.  

I can empathise with everything you're saying.  Exactly the same with my next door neighbour.  I'm not sure of her official diagnosis but she's had several breakdowns, 3 of which resulted in her being sectioned, one of which was off the back of her attacking my wife because she apparently "didn't believe in God and had been talking to the devil, spreading rumours and lies".  Sad, as my wife was the main person to reach out and try and help and support her. 

Each time she was sectioned she was out again in days.  Despite attacking and punching my wife (and me forcibly removing the woman from our house) we've never borne her a grudge as we know it's a result of mental illness that the powers that be simply have done little to help her manage. Her marriage broke down as a result (her ex simply couldn't cope with it) and her sons suffered hugely, struggling at school, and losing most, if not all of their friends. 

She seems to be far better these days, is on and, importantly, continues to take her meds, has had a boyfriend for 18 months and is now moving to start afresh.  I hope everything works out for her but if anything the whole situation over the past few years has made me extremely angry at the authorities and the process as a whole.  Mental illness is so serious and affects not only those suffering, but many of those around them, most of whom want to help but whose hands are tied by bureaucratic processes. 

[Day]

11 minutes ago, BucksRam said:

Tough read @David - must be so hard for all involved, including yourself.  Kudos for stepping in.  

I can empathise with everything you're saying.  Exactly the same with my next door neighbour.  I'm not sure of her official diagnosis but she's had several breakdowns, 3 of which resulted in her being sectioned, one of which was off the back of her attacking my wife because she apparently "didn't believe in God and had been talking to the devil, spreading rumours and lies".  Sad, as my wife was the main person to reach out and try and help and support her. 

Each time she was sectioned she was out again in days.  Despite attacking and punching my wife (and me forcibly removing the woman from our house) we've never borne her a grudge as we know it's a result of mental illness that the powers that be simply have done little to help her manage. Her marriage broke down as a result (her ex simply couldn't cope with it) and her sons suffered hugely, struggling at school, and losing most, if not all of their friends. 

She seems to be far better these days, is on and, importantly, continues to take her meds, has had a boyfriend for 18 months and is now moving to start afresh.  I hope everything works out for her but if anything the whole situation over the past few years has made me extremely angry at the authorities and the process as a whole.  Mental illness is so serious and affects not only those suffering, but many of those around them, most of whom want to help but whose hands are tied by bureaucratic processes. 

Great to hear your neighbour is back on her feet, as with your story innocent people can also be affected so it’s vital that people are responded to much quicker.

Not sure how long the future brother in law was sectioned last time, but a couple of days doesn’t sound a lot at all. 

We fear he’s been off his meds this year, no idea how long it will take to get back in his system and turn things back around.

[BucksRam]

13 minutes ago, David said:

Great to hear your neighbour is back on her feet, as with your story innocent people can also be affected so it’s vital that people are responded to much quicker.

Not sure how long the future brother in law was sectioned last time, but a couple of days doesn’t sound a lot at all. 

We fear he’s been off his meds this year, no idea how long it will take to get back in his system and turn things back around.

Fingers crossed for you all.  One of the problems with my neighbour was each time, she stopped taking her meds when she thought she was better (and on one occasion that I'm aware of was pretending to take them).  Bit of a vicious circle sadly.  

Not exactly the same as what you're going through with your future brother-in-law, but one good thing that's come out of sport recently with the like of Simone Biles is highlighting mental health - a brave step.  Tyrone Mings has followed suit.  Adam Peaty has announced he's taking a break, as is Ben Stokes.  Maybe it'll act as a bit of a catalyst but will still need a big improvement in the availability of, and access to, effective support before things begin to improve. 

[DarkFruitsRam7]

Edited.

Edited August 2, 2021 by DarkFruitsRam7

[Norman]

It's absolute ********. 

I have left the job I love because I couldn't handle the mental illness epidemic behind closed doors. 

I'm not saying this will happen @Davidbut, it sounds to me like you know pretty much where this could lead. Prison.

Like so many others. Even then they can refuse the meds. It is left to untrained officers (in mental health) to try and deal with someone who is dangerous and violent. And cannot be reasoned with. 

I've been punched in the face by a murderer who was in the midst of a pshycotic episode.. He fixated on me. This was after 2 hours of me sat watching him behind perspex tearing stitches out of his neck wounds. 4 weeks later, he is moved to the unit I worked on. No care by anyone for my safety. They thought it was funny. I'm a big lad, and he wasn't, that's why it was funny apparently. Not going to stop me being stabbed though is it? 

Such a sad state of affairs. But what can you do when so many people suffering severe mental illness end up in a world where the public do not see them or have to deal with them. And it really isn't the best place for them. At all. 

[Rev]

This might seem harsh @David, and the neighbour may not agree anyway, but could she not report the assault?

That way the police would have no choice but to interview him, after he'd been seen by the duty doctor, who if he's as ill as you say should section him.

[Day]

4 hours ago, Rev said:

This might seem harsh @David, and the neighbour may not agree anyway, but could she not report the assault?

That way the police would have no choice but to interview him, after he'd been seen by the duty doctor, who if he's as ill as you say should section him.

He’s already been arrested recently, managed to get out with a caution. I have no idea how he got through that at all.

It’s definitely not harsh, we’ve been in touch with the neighbour to explain she’s not helping him by not reporting him. 

We do now have a needs medical assessment on his file if he gets arrested again. 

[1967Ram]

On 02/08/2021 at 17:29, Norman said:

It's absolute ********. 

I have left the job I love because I couldn't handle the mental illness epidemic behind closed doors. 

I'm not saying this will happen @Davidbut, it sounds to me like you know pretty much where this could lead. Prison.

Like so many others. Even then they can refuse the meds. It is left to untrained officers (in mental health) to try and deal with someone who is dangerous and violent. And cannot be reasoned with. 

I've been punched in the face by a murderer who was in the midst of a pshycotic episode.. He fixated on me. This was after 2 hours of me sat watching him behind perspex tearing stitches out of his neck wounds. 4 weeks later, he is moved to the unit I worked on. No care by anyone for my safety. They thought it was funny. I'm a big lad, and he wasn't, that's why it was funny apparently. Not going to stop me being stabbed though is it? 

Such a sad state of affairs. But what can you do when so many people suffering severe mental illness end up in a world where the public do not see them or have to deal with them. And it really isn't the best place for them. At all. 

Really sorry to hear you've had to leave a job you really enjoyed Norman. All the best.

[Norman]

3 hours ago, 1967Ram said:

Really sorry to hear you've had to leave a job you really enjoyed Norman. All the best.

Appreciate the thoughts, mate. 

Tbh, I could use force or had other powers to alleviate some of the behaviours. Legally, obviously (threat to others or an immediate threat to themselves  etc) 

But think for people like @David. He can only stand and watch the spiral and deterioration of behaviour until it reaches the inevitable end point. That's far harder imo. 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Norman

[WhiteHorseRam]

On 02/08/2021 at 17:29, Norman said:

It's absolute ********. 

I have left the job I love because I couldn't handle the mental illness epidemic behind closed doors. 

I'm not saying this will happen @Davidbut, it sounds to me like you know pretty much where this could lead. Prison.

Like so many others. Even then they can refuse the meds. It is left to untrained officers (in mental health) to try and deal with someone who is dangerous and violent. And cannot be reasoned with. 

I've been punched in the face by a murderer who was in the midst of a pshycotic episode.. He fixated on me. This was after 2 hours of me sat watching him behind perspex tearing stitches out of his neck wounds. 4 weeks later, he is moved to the unit I worked on. No care by anyone for my safety. They thought it was funny. I'm a big lad, and he wasn't, that's why it was funny apparently. Not going to stop me being stabbed though is it? 

Such a sad state of affairs. But what can you do when so many people suffering severe mental illness end up in a world where the public do not see them or have to deal with them. And it really isn't the best place for them. At all. 

Good luck - I am sure you have a ton of transferable skills and will get snapped up fast ?

[SSD]

Becoming the mental health support POC for my team at work has really helped me understand how people outside of my social circles are coping at the moment. Coming from the corporate world, the vast major of people have been very comfortable working from home. The general consensus was they were more motivated and their work rate had increased, sickness leave had dropped significantly over the last 18 months. Overall they felt better about their work life. 

Of course, senior director level people in many large businesses still want people to pollute the roads and drive into work every day. I've asked a number of times now to people higher up than me on the ladder, please give me a list of reasons why you feel it is an importance to bring staff back into the office when everything we need to carry out the job is online. The main message I've received is to do with "team building." In reality, they don't want their precious office space being wasted. 

Having listened to interviews, the pro back to the office crew tend to be the senior level people in business. I think they fail to realise many people aren't motivated by screwing people over to make their way to the top. Many people out there have no ambition to keep gaining promotions and are not motivated by money. They would rather have a happier work life and get paid every month to enjoy time with family and friends. I feel many up the chain are still completely oblivious with the wellbeing of staff. They need to make flexible work environment a choice. 

The major downside I see with working from home is many big businesses have already looked at recruitment from outside the UK for virtual location roles. You guessed, because they're cheaper. I don't think we should be fooled by the big corporations letting people have the freedom to work from wherever they like. They will try and lower overheads even more. I think a few people in my workplace have clocked onto how we seemed to be having more support from outside the UK, before we've even returned back to work.

I do believe we should go back into a office space again but not full time. Purely to build social skills again and gain confidence in speaking to new people. This pandemic has demonstrated that the old corporate way of working is outdated and only benefits the senior level people who want to sit around a table and have endless meetings. If a company has good investment in its IT software, you can work from wherever. I just hope they don't take these jobs out of country and outsource them global purely to save a few quid.

[Miggins]

Absolutely understand all the posts on this thread and sympathize with you all. My sister has an adopted son who is now 31. As well as issues with being adopted he also has all sorts of problems connected with his cerebral palsy and not all problems are physical. He has especially low self esteem. He is only about 5'2 and now weighs about 13 stone. He is pretty much immobile won't go out of the house. He has a job but works from home and never goes out and meets anyone. He won't use a wheelchair. I know that all he desperately wants is to be normal and to have a wife and children, which I guess he knows he is unlikely to ever have. He went to university but had to come home after a year because of mental health problems and serious self harming. He is an alcoholic and has been diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder. I think that sometimes cerebral palsy affects mental as well as physical disability. You just don't know which part of the brain has been affected. My sister is on anti depressants to take the edge off her anxiety. For a while we were trying to find answers to help him, but eventually you have to confront the fact that there are no answers and you are faced with a damage limitation situation and you have to find a way of dealing with the situation calmly and pragmatically so it doesn't impact your own mental health.

I appreciate all the brave folk who have posted on this thread. We are not alone. ?

[Archied]

On 02/08/2021 at 15:22, David said:

Would be great, but I’m looking at Leanne’s brother and thinking, why are the Police not made aware that he’s a paranoid schizophrenic, shouldn’t the databases be merged somehow so they know what they are dealing with.

Are you locking up a drunken woman that suffers from seizures during the night, too pissed to tell the Police. 

Must be hundreds of scenarios where this would be helpful.

How is it, he’s been able to go so long without medication, hasn’t that raised any flags to investigate. Another measure that could be put in place to avoid emergencies such as this. 

Being paranoid schizophrenic isn’t like having tennis elbow, there’s a bloke now out there on the streets that has created a different world in his head where there’s no telling what he will think next.

Thats the guy there who killed my brother, some innocent person walking the streets gets smacked, whacked head on the curb dead.

Just frustrating, really is

Does he have any drug issues? This is another very misunderstood area where people are self medicating which then worsens the problem for them but they are easily passed off as scuzzers not worthy of help,

long story short , my brother suffered for years , was on methadone , we helped as much as we could but he would go off grid for long periods we would contact police to go round and check ,, after Christmas we chased the police again to check , turns out he had died 1 and a half years ago , they never contacted us or family , buried him in a paupers grave ,,, 

disgusting from police Scotland , tried official complaints route , waste of time , managed to get a piece in the papers in Scotland to show the way drugs issues are being handled in Scotland 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Archied

[Bob The Badger]

On 02/08/2021 at 21:58, David said:

He’s already been arrested recently, managed to get out with a caution. I have no idea how he got through that at all.

It’s definitely not harsh, we’ve been in touch with the neighbour to explain she’s not helping him by not reporting him. 

We do now have a needs medical assessment on his file if he gets arrested again. 

Surely if he's been recently cautioned and there is another complaint then the Police will take it more seriously?

I'd go further than telling her she isn't helping, by going to see her and saying if she doesn't complain he could end up seriously hurting himself, her or somebody else.

But as @Norman pointed out, you then have the spectre of prison and that is the last place he needs to be for his own mental health.

This is an impossible situation for literally everybody.

I feel bad for you, him, the Police who are working within strict parameters, the Ambulance service, mental health teams and anybody who he may harm.

In Florida he'd be immediately locked up under a provision called The Baker Act that makes it relatively easy to section relatives, but he'd probably never get out.

And I had to laugh (ironically) regarding your situation with a therapist.

I had one tell me once back in the 90s',  'you clearly know more about this than I do'.

I'm not sure if he was complimenting me, or was just an idiot because he was by no means young, but he did destroy my confidence in him.

Then my doctor said to try propranolol and within a few months I was good to go.

I still get it occasionally, but it's a lot less random and more situation specific, such as being told Frankfurt airport had just closed down literally as we were getting our dogs in their crate to fly there on our way home.