Boris Johnson's idea that hard work cures mental illness is totally absurd - and a worrying [View all]

[Celerity]

indication of things to come

As someone who lost a loved one to depression, the idea of strong-arming sufferers back to their desks rather than to therapy is offensive

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/boris-johnsons-idea-hard-work-cures-mental-illness-total-madness-telegraph-column/

Boris Johnson’s latest column for The Telegraph puts forward the idea that the UK can “improve mental health, save money and boost the economy all in one go”. In it, he suggests that what helped Winston Churchill cope with his depression wasn’t his alleged dependence on alcohol, but the fact that he worked hard.

“It was with work that he pitchforked off his depression; and what was true for Churchill is basically true for all of us: that to a very large extent we derive our self-esteem from what we do,” he writes. “It is often from our jobs – from being engrossed in our daily tasks – that we get that all-important sense of satisfaction.” Using a genial tone, Johnson goes on to acknowledge that work may be the thing that “stresses us out” but says it can also be the cure. He even refers to it as “therapy”.

‘Irresponsible and distasteful’

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it shares traits with a speech made by Harry Potter’s Dolores Umbridge – the Ministry of Magic bureaucrat. When she first arrives at Hogwarts, she performs a long address about the role the ministry will play which everyone writes off as harmless waffle. But hidden between the lines lies her true intention – that the ministry will become more controlling to everyone’s detriment.

As the frontrunner for Prime Minister, Johnson’s column is similarly sinister, and a worrying precursor for the future of mental health in this nation, should he – and it looks very likely he will – come to power.

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