WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY 10/10/23

World Mental Health Day is a day to raise awareness of mental health problems.

I just want to acknowledge this day in light of my last post on a fellow parent blogger’s death MY TRIBUTE TO DOOCE  as a reminder of those that are suffering with their mental health, as well as those who work tirelessly to support them.

The gap in the middle which has meant people are not being treated and supported in the way they should be and has resulted in Mental Health hospitals being broken is clearly due to the severe underfunding from our Government.  It’s a disgrace for those suffering with their mental health and impossible for those working in the area to do their jobs properly.

I’m sure we all personally know people who are suffering with their mental health and how long the waiting lists are for treatment, with seemingly no joined up thinking available from start to finish.  I’ve also become acutely aware of key issues now that my daughter is working for the NHS and I’m proud of her for the area she’s chosen to work in.  However, naturally, as a concerned mother I want her to be safe and have asked about the safety systems they have in place to ensure all their staff are protected.  Currently she’s on a waiting list for an alarm she can wear around her neck when seeing patients.  WTF????  A WAITING LIST FOR ALARMS??  I’ve offered to buy her one myself, but that doesn’t appear to be an option.  Surely an unacceptable situation that causes unnecessary issues?

It’s all an absolute shit show.

Anyway, I don’t really know what we can do to help.  I’m quite sure our collective mental health is all over the place with the news of what is happening in Israel and the Gaza Strip right now – every parent’s nightmare to hear about the massacre at the Supernova music festival and the whole escalation just doesn’t bear thinking about.

So I’m resorting to my Buddhist Offering for today, 10/10/23 – wishful thinking I know, but it’s in the hope that we can find a way to walk in other people’s shoes more readily:-

If we think about the vast majority of human problems,
both on a personal and on a worldwide scale, it seems that they stem from
an inability to feel sincerely involved with others, and to put ourselves in their place.
Violence is inconceivable if everyone is genuinely concerned with the happiness of others.