Thursday, September 30, 2010

Threats and Fear.

It's impossible to overstate how terrified some disabled people are, in Britain right now.

The fear of benefit cuts is so high, and so real, and attitudes like those of Nadine Dorries add to the climate of terror.

Already people are scared to leave their house for fear of being reported to the DWP for faking their illness, now those who find networks like twitter to be a lifeline are becoming frightened to post.

If you are stuck in bed, and you've found a way to use your laptop lying down, or you can use a phone or iPad, sites like twitter are perhaps the only way for many to actually communicate with others. It may be the only conversation someone has for a week.

One purpose that these threats serve is, I suspect, to keep us all quiet. We can't complain about the process of reapplying for DLA, or of the ATOS assessments, if the very complaints we type will be used as an additional stick to beat us with. Even if typing those 140 characters used up so much energy that we then had to sleep for an hour to recover. Or hurt our eyes so much that we have a migraine for 3 days.

On days that I can't leave the house, and can't use the phone, the internet is the only tool I have to communicate with the outside world. I don't want to lose that. But the fear affects me as much as anyone, and right now so many of my outlets feel threatening.

This is what the threats to disability benefits are doing to me. It is worsening my madness significantly, which, ironically, will make me less and less able to work, not more.

(cross-posted at Where's the Benefit?)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is how i feel, nobody i talk to understands, they say 'oh no the system is not like that, it is there for those that need it, no one is spying on innocent people,' but in reality alot of people have hate campaigns (well it feels like it anyway) against people who are in need of help for mental disabilities, labeling people with serious mental health problems, as lazy when they have not the first idea what is actually like to be a human being with a disease of the mind that is mis understood by not only general public but in many cases GP's and I do dare say it, the NHS Mental Health Primary Care Trusts. Vunerable people, who have asked for help or been whisked into hospital had all their rights taken away from them, how are they ever supposed to get better when our communities are too busy lashing out, blaming and bullying them, for the simple reason that they have no understanding of the disabilities we have been unwillingly been labled with. Many people do not have the strength to fight to force themselves to open their front door for weeks, months and years at a time, and when they do open the door,, when they do fight their anxious minds and try to help themselves, there is always someone waiting to smack them back down in an instant. id like to say thanks to my community who ridiculed me, in the depths of my illness which was bought on from being attacked and strangled and death threats. Thanks for helping me realise just what a waste of space YOU all were, and how you are happy to spread your unjust anger, beat down and shame as many people as you can as loudly as you can, thanks for the judgment, thanks for making me feel like i should kill myself like my mind was telling me, you had a chance to save a life but instead you handed it the noose. Most mentally ill people are too ill to leave their houses, too scared, too ashamed, those that do venture out have so many bad experiences they head strait back to solitude, but many, many people who are living with a dysfunctional mind and body (yes the mind does cause serious physical diabilities) you will find us in charitys, you will find us volunteering in our community, you will find us on our good days (there are not many as we are so crippled) HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED. we will help where others will turn their backs. and that is why we should not die, that is why we should not give in to our illnesses, because out there are other people, just like us who can help bring light back into your life, but dont expect it to be thy neighbour!

Anonymous said...

this is how i feel, nobody i talk to understands, they say 'oh no the system is not like that, it is there for those that need it, no one is spying on innocent people,' but in reality alot of people have hate campaigns (well it feels like it anyway) against people who are in need of help for mental disabilities, labeling people with serious mental health problems, as lazy when they have not the first idea what is actually like to be a human being with a disease of the mind that is mis understood by not only general public but in many cases GP's and I do dare say it, the NHS Mental Health Primary Care Trusts. Vunerable people, who have asked for help or been whisked into hospital had all their rights taken away from them, how are they ever supposed to get better when our communities are too busy lashing out, blaming and bullying them, for the simple reason that they have no understanding of the disabilities we have been unwillingly been labled with. Many people do not have the strength to fight to force themselves to open their front door for weeks, months and years at a time, and when they do open the door,, when they do fight their anxious minds and try to help themselves, there is always someone waiting to smack them back down in an instant. id like to say thanks to my community who ridiculed me, in the depths of my illness which was bought on from being attacked and strangled and death threats. Thanks for helping me realise just what a waste of space YOU all were, and how you are happy to spread your unjust anger, beat down and shame as many people as you can as loudly as you can, thanks for the judgment, thanks for making me feel like i should kill myself like my mind was telling me, you had a chance to save a life but instead you handed it the noose. Most mentally ill people are too ill to leave their houses, too scared, too ashamed, those that do venture out have so many bad experiences they head strait back to solitude, but many, many people who are living with a dysfunctional mind and body (yes the mind does cause serious physical diabilities) you will find us in charitys, you will find us volunteering in our community, you will find us on our good days (there are not many as we are so crippled) HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED. we will help where others will turn their backs. and that is why we should not die, that is why we should not give in to our illnesses, because out there are other people, just like us who can help bring light back into your life, but dont expect it to be thy neighbour!