The Tories have made life intolerable for people with severe mental health conditions

It is no good telling people ‘to reach out’ when they’re struggling because, in many cases, help just isn’t readily available

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Cue well-meaning or, if you’re a cynic like me, wildly disingenuous tweets from brands and public figures urging us to be kind, to reach out for help and to talk about mental health.

There’s probably nothing wrong with the sentiment. The world would undoubtedly be a better place if we were kinder to one another. But there’s something very topsy turvy about telling people to reach out when they’re struggling because, in many cases, help just isn’t readily available.

On the NHS, waiting lists for mental health treatment are life-threateningly long. In 2020, the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that those living with severe mental illness including bipolar, eating disorders and PTSD, were waiting up to two years for treatment, while 38 per cent of patients ended up contacting emergency or crisis services while waiting. One in nine ended up in A&E.

There is a growing crisis of mental health in Britain, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the shoddy, cruel and unfit-for-purpose benefits system. Over the past decade of Tory and coalition rule, the NHS has been systematically underfunded, and there is still no parity of esteem between mental and physical health conditions.

Through 10 years of austerity, the Tories have made life intolerable for people with the most severe and debilitating mental health conditions, through cuts to benefits, traumatising repeat assessments and unfair sanctions. The charity Mind is, as of today, calling on the government to create a new, independent regulator to hold the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to account over their treatment of mentally ill claimants.

The Conservatives have much to answer for when it comes to the mental health of the UK as a nation. It’s crucial that we begin to recognise the political element of mental health care and where the power lies in order to actually change the way services work in terms of response and treatment times.

“It’s time to talk” is a popular buzz phrase when it comes to mental health awareness, but talking isn’t going to cut it anymore. We need properly-funded, appropriate and timely mental health services that catch people before they reach crisis point.

From my diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in 2010, it took eight years before I was offered appropriate treatment on the NHS. Eight years of suffering, hospital visits, unhealthy coping strategies, broken relationships and utter confusion as to why I was feeling and behaving in a certain way. I reached out, I talked about mental health and nothing changed until the specific therapy I needed was made available.

Telling people to talk about mental health also puts the onus on to sufferers to open up about their struggles. It’s not the responsibility of people diagnosed with mental health conditions to provide education and relive the potential trauma of their experiences.

We can talk until we’re collectively blue in the face, but unless mental health services on the NHS are adequately funded, we’re shouting into a void. Not everyone has the option of choosing private therapy because they’re frustrated with long waiting lists, or indulging in expensive self-care strategies. It’s absolutely vital that we fight for a National Health Service that can give people the support they desperately need.

The longer people have to wait for treatment, the worse their mental health often becomes. For eating disorders particularly, the earlier the problem is addressed, the more chance someone has of making a full recovery. Mental health problems can become more entrenched and destructive the more time that someone spends without appropriate care.

This Mental Health Awareness Week and beyond, we don’t need more words, more pretty squares on Instagram grids that bear slogans about strength and kindness or more empty platitudes. We need action.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. The average response time is 24 hours

If you are based in the US, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week