That's a really tricky subject Smug, and whilst I agree to a point I wish more people had spoken about mental health 30 years ago as it might not have cost me a loved one. I know what you are saying - it's like everyone uses mental health as a fall back position - look at Pritchard the other week, didn't feel in the right place mentally to play - which was basically him downing tools until he got his move, but using a taboo subject (taboo in so much as you cannot challenge it) to avoid the fall out of refusing to play. It's not a subject with an easy answer. Another one is ADHD - my wife is a teacher and it appears 90% of parents are self-diagnosing their kids and using this "diagnosis" as a means to excuse a lack of parenting.
That one really gets me, My sons is 2 years into his route to an autism diagnosis, every test or meeting he / we have had adds more ticks to the boxes that he is on the autism spectrum, His current school have been brilliant with him and us helping to push it along, but the system is clogged up with self diagnosed ADHD "cases" I am just thankful of the help and support we are getting as we go along the path and hope soon to have a better understanding of whats facing my lad as he grows up. I will also forever hate with a passion his previous school, who just dismissed him as a troublemaker and gave not one bit of assistance despite us begging them for help when the possibilty of him being on the spectrum was raised by other people. Mind you i should have expected it, they struggled enough to understand the problems his absence epilepsy can cause him.
It's those who play on 'illness' for benefit you should be most annoyed at imo. They're the ones who clog up the system, eat up resources and, sadly, enrage people who see them for what they are. I have an in-law who's not worked for 30 years, picked up compo and a mystery back condition from the NCB and has his non-working wife as a paid carer. They bought a second home, at the coast that he's totally renovated, himself, including landscaping and a new roof. I could stab him if I thought I'd get away with it ... ... but he'd be straight onto the Criminal Injuries Board.
People who play the system are the worst. Having said that, how is it that the system can be "played"? You hear about people losing their benefits when they genuinely cannot work, then you have others like your in-law who is clearly cheating the system. It's just plain wrong
