Sometimes We Need To Remind Ourselves......

Yeah I watched that also. Sad story and a real shame he thought he couldn't talk to his mum etc. You got to talk in these situations and not bottle it up.

 

True, but it is apparent in all walks of life, on here as well as anywhere else. We need our eyes open and be aware when it is or might be. It is a very difficult subject. Nice to point it out though

 

Taking your own life can never be an easy decision. I’m sure this poor man must have been dealing with bigger demons than traffic fines.

 

Agree. I know nothing about this lad's story but his sad demise doesn't necessarily mean he was "ill" and could have been medicated or counselled away from his decision. There is immense pressure in modern life with peace, space, time and stability under constant attack in a super-heated, logged-on, acquisitive and consumption driven society that is highly toxic to the human spirit. It is lethal to some people.

 

It reminds us how fortunate we are not to be seriously affected by such pressures, which is what I think the OP’s original point was.

 

Thats how I ended up doing stir in the 80's. Amassed over £900 in costs and fines over non payment, re-appearances in courts etc. All for riding my Lambretta uninsured etc. Banged me up in Pentonville for 2wks. My cell mate was on remand for murder and my only other distraction was Graeme Gooch's autobiography. As if being banged up wasnt enough for an immature and niaive 22 yr old. Only by the good grace of the Prison Officers was I moved to work on the servery and amongst other low risk prisoners.

I read that sad story and thought how little has changed.

btw £900 in 1984ish was a lot for someone on a yts on £25/wk. Cheers Thatcher you slag.

 

I know that if I had been given mental health help seven years ago when I was diagnosed with an untreatable illness that I would have for life-I would have been able to have coped so much better.
I am paying privately now for mental help and I can already see some slow but positive improvement in my situation.

 

So true Ducbird.Just a bit of help at the right time would stop so many of us beating ourselves up over the years.

 

So true Ducbird.Just a bit of help at the right time would stop so many of us beating ourselves up over the years.

 

Glad you made through Bootsam. Those prison guards were obviously good blokes.

How the fork did any judge expected you to get on with your life whilst setting costs & fining you 9 months gross income? Its no better now since legal aid is all but ended. For example this means that employees are fired, not paid wages and who can only seek redress by paying £300 for a hearing. People on minimum wage have no access to justice with that system.

 

Magistrates are so far removed from the realities of life for some people. On the whole, theyre middle class and have had stable, comfortable and normal upbringing. Which is fine. But 'normal' for a lot of families isnt stable. Its full of ups and down, twists and turns, disasters and bad luck. They do not have any understanding of the difficulties some people have. That poor lad for instance, where was his support? Yet, a scumbag can mug an old lady and get a fucking community service or suspended sentence. It makes no fucking sense.

 

It’s still full of stigma. No way I’d admit too, or ask for help. Not officially. It can restrict you life cover, restrict your job opportunities, and restrict other opportunities to travel. And do friends want to hear it? What if you don’t have friends, just lots of acquaintances? You are stuck. Like being knee deep in Morcombe sands with the tide coming in. The water gets closer, the mud grip gets strionger, you sink further.

Until that is fixed (stigma and judgement), it will continue.

It’s made worse since the internet. Forums, and this is a good example sometimes, ‘banter’ can push people over the edge. Knobheads who follow others around, all the time, constantly sniping regardless of subject. If you are feeling low, or bad about yourself, it just heaps more and more on.

 

What worries me is through this "safe space" insistence and the dumbing down of a nation through smart phones, we seem to have removed the young uns ability to cope with diversity and difficulty. Be honest, had the poor soul simply typed into their smart phone, "advice with debt" they would have seen an abundance of help available and in the simplest of terms.

This poor soul would have had many issues long before a debt arrived and it's sad so many of our youth seem to be struggling with this

 

It should never have gotten to £1,000 in the first place. The magistrates placed that burden on him. When you are young and niaive, you dont comprehend whats what. Not everyone when reaching 18 is suddenly mature and grounded. A simple telling off would probably have served that guy. Instead, the magistrate kept piling more and more debt onto him. Its a disgrace.

In a sense I was lucky as I have a very strong mental health. My downs are merely a grump. Im very flat line but we all have friends for whom the world ends when life throws them a googly. I just shrug a meh.

My wife suffered depression when her father died. Its a very dark place and difficult for flat liners like me to understand, but I can see how emotionally desperate mental health can be for some. I sympathise with you all, even if Ive never experienced it.

An acquantance I knew as a student tried to commit suicide by throwing himself under a train. He survived, albeit minus his legs and an arm. needless to say he completed his task at a later date. I mean, what terrors must someone be under to do that? Why are we not helping these people? What have we become, to ignore the plight of these people?

 

I get that I do, what I'm saying is, I think most would agree, compared to my youth, there are zillions and zillions of support services now, more than there has ever been and more awareness that they exist and it's just a shame given those massive resources, it's a shame some of the young can't find a way to use them

I get your point on debt boots, last week I had a debt recovery letter from Marstons. It was to my address but not for me. I open these things in case someone is doing identity fraud against my address and it was explained to me as this

The debt was a £2.50 Dartford tunnel charge not paid. After trying to find the lady (who doesn't live here and is unknown to me, for a car I have never seen), each attempt to find her by the debt recovery part of the tunnel group adds a charge. When it gets to £113, the tunnel group then sells the debt to a debt recovery agency. By the time that debt, not mine, had hit my doorstep, it was at £195. £2.50 to £195 is a fair old shunt by any means

 

Three issues here. One is the state of mental health support. Two is categorisation of everything nowadays that overloads the support (people can be unhappy without having depression or ‘mental illnes’). And three the continual bombardment of stealth taxes on all U.K. citizens