This post is inspired by a tweet from
@Agnieszkasshoes, who wrote...
"Survivor bias is so potentially toxic through victim-blaming and gaslighting.
For those of us lucky enough to have "pulled through" anything it's so easy to tell others "I got through so will you". Some people will never get through: that experience is completely valid."
This tweet hit home because I've recently been asked to help facilitate some peer support workshops at the local Recovery College. On the face of it, this might seem like a welcome initiative; people with lived experience of mental health difficulties working alongside others who are struggling with their mental health. Surely this has to be a good thing?
Well. It certainly seems as though a lot of resources are being put into 'front line' mental health services. Up to a point I understand this, in the sense that if you catch people early and help them / give them the tools to help themselves, some of them might avoid having chronic problems or more severe mental health issues later.
Alongside this, in my experience, secondary mental health services now seem especially keen to discharge people back to their GPs.
In some areas, people are being referred to their local recovery college instead. I welcome the idea of people accessing mental health support and information within their community, but whether a recovery college is the right place for the most unwell, I remain unconvinced. Certainly being discharged into the hands of ineffectual or inappropriate services under the guise of 'promoting independence' is the ultimate kick in the teeth; a case of 'let's remove vital care and support, all the while telling you we are doing it for your own good, so you don't become dependent.' Not acceptable, surely.
Meanwhile, a relative told me that his employer, a university, are training 'mental health first aiders' to help people who are struggling with their mental health. At first glance, this might seem like another good idea. Yet it can be little more than a token gesture if they are not willing to change the way they treat their staff. So many people are on short term, insecure contracts. There's a culture of presenteeism, of people working ridiculous hours. All of which contributes to stress and poor mental health. How about making organisational changes to address these issues, rather than training staff to pick up the pieces when people inevitably struggle? No? Thought not....! And is there any additional funding for already overstretched mental health services, where many of these people will inevitably mturn? Or, I'm starting to wonder, is that where the recovery college comes in?
I feel that as peer support workers, we should resist the 'Survivor' narrative. For those of us fortunate enough to have regained a level of functioning where we are able to facilitate peer support groups, there's a huge temptation to use our own lived experience as an example. However, some people are never going to be 'better.' There will always be people who require ongoing support. What about these people? Where do they fit into the recovery jigsaw?
Some people call the obsession with overcoming our challenges as 'inspiration porn' and cite the example of the Paralympics being used as an inspirational example of what (some) disabled people can achieve. They point out that many disabled people cannot become athletes and cannot 'overcome' their challenges. Does this mean they've failed? Not tried hard enough? What does the survivor narrative offer them? Particularly when we have a spectacularly cruel government in power, who further oppress and victimise the most vulnerable by taking away basic financial support.
We are, I fear, a long way from levelling the playing field when it comes to disability of any kind. We kid ourselves when we make token gestures and trivial adjustments that we are being inclusive, but that's bullshit. People still can't get around in the built environment, they still can't use public transport reliably or access vital services and hate crimes against disabled people have never been higher in number.
I wonder whether our obsession with 'surviving' disability is really all about encouraging people to be as UNdisabled as possible, so as to make the abled feel more comfortable? I think that's why I feel so lukewarm about the recovery college, as well as certain methods of peer support. It's erasure of many mad people and disabled people's struggles and could be, if used inappropriately, incredibly toxic.
