'The MSE guide to Mental Health and debt... nearly there at last' blog discussion

MSE_Martin

PLEASE CAN WE GEt BACK ONTO THE TOPIC OF THE MENTAL HEALTH GUIDE

Ivespeedily scanned some of the more recent posts above - I've not read them in detail, but am distressed this thread has become so unproductive.

So let me clear up the forum's stance on mental health issues.

Everyone is welcome on MSE. The whole advent of this guide is because I am passionate about helping those with mental health issues and want this site to be a part of it

Yet the internet is a difficult place to control, and this is not a pre-modertated forum. We rely on people reporting abuse to deal with it - after all with substantially over 30 paperback books worth of info written on here every day it is simply impossible to read it. Never mind the legal implcations of trying to do so.

Unfortunately that does mean at times some people make nasty, inappropriate comments that can be unpleasant and upsetting, and yes sometimes even bullying. With 100,000s users that is sadly an inevitable consequence of a wide open forum.

Yet the way we must modertate means that leaves two problems for the vulnerable.

1. We don't have 24 hour coverage, we try and respond within two working days to abuse reports, though are often much quicker. Yet it means some nasty comments dont go immediately and that can be distressing for some

2. Deciding the subtle nuances of what is and what isn't appropriate is not easy and neither I nor my abuse team have Solomon's wisdom - though we do our best. Yet what could be deemed to be upsetting for someone who is particularly senstive, may not be by others.

These two factors combine mean that we cannot promise to protect those with mental health issues who may be sensitive to such issues (while of course there are many with mental health issues who are thick skinned and this isn't an issue for).

It also mean there needs to be some consideration of what board people are positing in - we are more stringest with abuse reports in debt free wannabee and the bankruptcy board for that reason, yet it will never be perfect.

That is something that has to be understood by users - and we have to rely on users who may be impacted by such things to protect themselves.

We do of course block users who break the rules or persistently abuse others from posting, though again the nature of the web means the determined can find ways round that.

I wish it was as simple as saying "please post nicely - there are sensitive people on here who may be impacted by your comments" yet in the real world, that doesn't work (though we always try , at the top of the page it says and always has "be nice to other moneysavers")

I hope that clears the situaiton up but would ask that there is no more discussion of it in this thread please.

Errata

Reading the blog, it's hoped that the guide will be ready for publication in January. Will this be hard copy only, or will it also be available as a PDF ? Both versions will be invaluable to healthcare workers.

MSE_Martin

Errata wrote: »

Reading the blog, it's hoped that the guide will be ready for publication in January. Will this be hard copy only, or will it also be available as a PDF ? Both versions will be invaluable to healthcare workers.

T'other way round - it'll only be available as PDF inititally - we'll see how it goes as to whether we do a hardcopy version (distribution of that is always the problem)

______________

Also I have deleted some posts that went off topic and crossed with my post above (and some posts saying they were off topic) hopefully we can carry on with discussing what this thread is here to do.

falc_2

As one whose relationship with life and money has always been slightly bipolar, may I say how heartened I am to hear of this project. Good luck Martin!

now

buttonbaby wrote: »

Please please please I passionately hope that Maritn has come across adult ADD/ADHD as this mental health (I hate using the word disorder) well it simply is sush a factor in many adults and simply not being able to handle money at all.
Will this be looked at in your book?

Many thanks

Dee

ADHD is not nice, I know a person who has had this condition since childhood. chip in pin has had a disastrous affect on this persons life as he can't remember how to put his pin in he asked a cashier to do it for him only to find out he had £200 not £20 taken from his bank

now

MSE_Martin wrote: »

T'other way round - it'll only be available as PDF inititally - we'll see how it goes as to whether we do a hardcopy version (distribution of that is always the problem)

______________

Also I have deleted some posts that went off topic and crossed with my post above (and some posts saying they were off topic) hopefully we can carry on with discussing what this thread is here to do.

May I say thank you for doing this mental health causes debt problems and debt causes mental health problems, this thread will help so many who are struggling to come to terms with issues they face

pipkin77

I am glad someone has raised the issue of add/adhd; I found myself back here today as a result of an increase in interest on my balance transfer from 16-26% which i could have stopped if i had contacted the company by last thursday; unfortunately i failed to realise exactly what the letter meant and the need to act in time in order to prevent the interest rise.

I no longer use credit cards for spending, only balance transfers.

At the age of 30 I have only today gained an understanding of interest and the way it works with credit cards.

Given the previously described situation with the increased rate of interest, which I knew meant I would end up paying more money, I looked over my previous statements online and could not understand why my bill stayed at the same amount. A colleague explained to me how it works and I was pretty shocked.

This may seem hard for some people to believe but as (reasonably) articulate as I am, I am attrocious with numbers and even struggle with coins; the concept of interest may as well be Einsteins theory of relativity. All I knew was that I was paying a lot of my monthly wage out and my credit card bill had stayed the same for months. I knew this because I looked at my statements today. I also knew I needed to do something about this, and set about finding out what.

Serious, if not chaotic, disorganization and overspending go hand in hand with adhd (and i am sure many other autistic spectrum disorders/ forms of mental health problem).

I am very grateful to Martin for raising the issue and keenly await the MSE guide. In the meantime I am going to try and sort myself out by shifting the balance on my virgin card which has gone up to 26% onto my hsbc card which is only 16%.

cit_k

For a guide on mental health and debt to be really useful, it should hopefully cover ways to show how you can easily fall into debt if you suffer from mental health problems.

For example, showing insurance policies that have exclusions from paying out for mental health issues.
Sharesave schemes (that people may be relying on to get them out of debt) not paying up if (and this was a clause in one) the person is sectioned under mental health act.
Banks not having any policy to help - even if you DO tell them you are suffering mental health problems, and you know debt is a likely possiblity (been there done that).
Benefits (ESA/IB) not properly assessing people with mental health issues a lot of the time, meaning you dont get what you expect from teh welfare system - or worse could even end up in debt by appealling (its a possiblity this latest appeal could leave me in debt with the dwp, not a common occurance, but can happen. Not to mention money suddenly stopping when turned down at medical etc).
Payments from the DWP stopping without warning - meaning no money in bank - leading to bank charges, inability to pay standing orders or other debts - leading to more interest and charges.

Then there are the common problems such as overspending due to the illness (in some cases), inability to deal with phone calls in some cases, not opening letters/bills in some cases etc due to mental health problems, all making the problem worse.

Perhaps coverage of how little time people are often allowed of ill before losing their job (and or ssp running out) - and how mental health problems can run for far far longer than these time periods.

How the proposed withdrawal of legal aid for benefit help and tribunals will likely make the problems people face even worse, and possible ways to mitigate this (name alternative sources of help, which sources to treat with extreme caution (for example jobcenter advice))

How the proposed workfare schemes and sanctions will likely hit many mentally ill people found fit for work via esa (as mental health is a known problem area with decision making and assessments) - leading to even more debt (bear in mind legal aid is propsed to be removed for the mentally ill fighting their corner in these cases).

How the poor are targetted by debt people - credit card companies sending them invitations for cards, even the housing association wrote to a younger family member (who is not the named tennant, and we dont recall giving any permission, and they do not know what health issues if any they face) telling them about credit unions for loans etc.

may think of more later..

hope something is of use in the above.

ok_go

Some of the resources I have used with clients are found here:

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/problems/debtandmentalhealth.aspx

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfo/debtmentalhealthcontents.aspx

AS always there is lots of information out there some good, some poor, and some outright wrong. My only plea would be that to booklet adds to, good existing materials by saying something new or saying it better than existing resources, rather than duplicating and tries to link up / make reference to these other resources.

Overall I think this is a great plan and one that should be encouraged. I would be happy to help if needed ... proof reading etc


Regards
GO

bundance

Thank you Martin, I look forward to reading it.
Although I am not in debt, I am on benefits and am worried due to all of this hype in the media about benefits being cut.

appreciatiavely (?sp) yours