Hard work and mental health

Is better awareness of mental illness a good thing - or encouraging people out of work?

A newspaper columnist questioned whether a rise in people out of work because of bad mental health might include some who could have “soldiered on”? It reignited a discussion online about the benefits of work and the importance of emotional wellbeing. On one side are those who think a better understanding of mental health is a necessary correction following decades of neglect. On the other, people who say all the talk of conditions like depression and anxiety has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. What’s the evidence?

Guests: Dr Jay Watts, Consultant clinal psychologist Gillian Bridge, author and former addiction counsellor Andy Bell, CEO of Centre for Mental Health Ann John, professor of public health and psychiatry, Swansea University Darren Morgan, Director of Economic Statistics Production & Analysis at the Office for National Statistics