Published on 12, July, 2020
So i made a complaint regarding my care worker who for 2yrs has done very little to help me he visits me every 4 weeks and im lucky if he stops 15mins i know they probably have a lot of people to see in a day but 15mins it's hardly worth it ive been trying to get him to arrange me counselling to help with the abuse i suffered as a child and hes done nothing apparently until i accept and engage with social activity they can't help me, this is the same guy who referred me for my ASD assessment as he thought i was autistic and yet he wants me to do social activities i couldn't imagine anything worse today a woman from the mental health unit rang me regarding my complaint i had made about him and everyone of the points i made she had an answer for,... surprise surprise it's all my fault not theirs so i told her to F%&k Off and hung up the phone im just sick and tired of their constant stone walling and general bloody uselessness so im done last monday i had a horrible encounter with someone who should have some sympathy towards people on the spectrum and with documented mental health problems and he treated me like crap in this country if you suffer with any kind of mental health problem you really are frowned upon like you're just a waste of space i really do despair, im sick of begging for help im better off without them
My rant!
I share many of the experiences and frustrations of the people here.
I only got official help and support with mental health after I made three suicide attempts within a short period of time. This help has been reduced. The crisis team no longer visit in person. They left me with telephone numbers, information packs and web site addresses ( They first introduced me to NAS).
The job centre considers me perfectly employable. Employers consider me unemployable. I AM FALLING IN BETWEEN THE CRACKS IN THE SYSTEM.
I do not and have never received any disability benefits.
When I'm in my good periods I turn up for all appointments on time, washed, cleanly shaven in fresh clothes. Job centre thinks I am employable
When my mental health crashes I cut myself off completely. Turn phones off, do not open letters, don't go out, don't wash or shave, don't eat, I stay inside read books, watch DVDs, spend hours on the internet. Job centre sanctions me for missing appointments.
When I'm in employment. People quickly notice that I'm different and the kind ones call my behaviour quirky. Others call me bizarre. The management and HR just want to get rid off me as quickly as possible.
I don't qualify for PIP or ESA. Because I can travel independently,. I can shop, I can prepare food to eat ( hopeless cook). I can interact with people for short periods such as in shops, banks, buying tickets on buses and trains. I have successfully coped with higher education.
But in a social setting such as visiting people in homes, having people visiting me at home, being in pubs or clubs, parties. I am lost and cannot cope.
You've summed up my experience of the world of employment perfectly there!
The one that drives me most crazy is the assertion that "being in employment is good for your mental health and self-esteem". I don't give a monkey's whether psychologists can demonstrate this as a generalisation about the population at large; it has never been true for me, and I don't see why I should be insulted with the assertion that anyone else knows any better. Most of my mental health crashes, which are just the way you describe yours, have been brought about by the burn-out of being expected to perform like a non-autistic person at work, and it is how every job that wasn't just temporary has ended.
Of course, they then respond with; "but the disability laws protect you from unfair discrimination and assure you of reasonable accommodations." Then I just do my most cynical, maniacal laugh, and ignore whatever else they say. Much like the line from the Clash song Know Your Rights; "As long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it!".