Was this week always #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek too?

[Keela Too]

I ask because I don't remember seeing this #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek tag in May before:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/862569776295628800

After seeing this one I searched for a similar tag in 2016 and it seems last year their week was in October!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/785121667081183234

Do they have two such weeks a year?
Sceptic in me can't help think this move to May is not a coincidence.

Please understand I have every sympathy for mental health issues, and I honestly think some will later be found to be physiologically based illnesses labelled as mental health.

BUT this week becoming #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek now just feels a bit like it was arranged to suggest ME is also in the Mental Health bracket!

Meh!

 

[Keela Too]

Okay a further search and I find references to this week in June, and August as well as this one from May last year:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/734028489976741888

 

[Keela Too]

It seems like there is a big campaign to make everything part of Mental Health.
???

 

[arewenearlythereyet]

It seems like there is a big campaign to make everything part of Mental Health.
???

I thought exactly the same thing this morning. The timing seems "unfortunate". I am unsure wether this is just coincidence or opportunistic PR. It's probably part of a wider softening of future NHS cost cutting. Part of a a campaign to make relatives care for the "time wasters" in the community and get them out of NHS care. The current MUS activity is probably just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the number of people the GPs will soon be able to ship away and off their books.

I guess the current awareness campaign needs to ensure they have compliant carers to pick up the slack. Much cheaper than treating the mentally ill as patients. I suspect lumping pwme/CFS as mentally ill just makes for cheaper PR costs ...the net result is the same for all, so why not just change the condition to suit...we are all MUS people now after all?

Perhaps I'm too cynical?

 

[SamanthaJ]

I asked about Mental Health Week in another thread, and @AndyPR was good enough to respond -
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/europe-gears-up-for-its-third-millionsmissing-day-of-action-may-2017.49990/#post-847191
(Sorry, not sure how to quote from a different thread)

Basically it seems to have been going for years (though not as long as ME awareness day), but seems to be getting a big push this year, which is unfortunate for us when we need a big push too! And very much a separate push! It is frustrating, and you can imagine certain people are pretty pleased about this clash.

 

[Keela Too]

I asked about Mental Health Week in another thread,.

Thanks... I must have missed it in previous years. Still frustrating.