Monday, 4 November 2019

Mental Health - Tesco remix

In which I attempt to explain the lived experience, at least mine, of mental health. Let us paint a picture using...black...black like the crows eyes mother!


Ahem...

So I was going to talk more broadly. But having just returned from Tesco I have more succinct example of living in capitalist society with stress, suitably mundane. I'm short £3.58 (taunted by a receipt and my own ineptitude) because, caught by the stress of shopping and dealing with those godforsaken self service machines, I forgot to collect my change. The staff couldn't help. Of course that can't: it's a fact of capitalism that would lead that person, not Mr Tesco, to take the blame if they refunded my the money - which Mr Tesco could easily afford -  and found I'd scammed them. So they have to assume I'm not being honest.

That's what capitalism does to people. People who aren't Mr Tesco. People like me and I'm sure thousands of others struggling every day with not enough of anything except stress. Those machines are a nightmare and of course the shop itself is large loud and full of equally stressed people.

Although I can afford this, it doesn't mean it isn't a loss. I'm lucky in that I've saved my income for the inevitable (yet still distant as of writing) cancellation of my ESA and the forced migration onto UC.

I was just buying food and yet it has, thanks to capitalism and stressed mental health  (as if the two aren't connected), become onerous and difficult. Automated checkouts rarely work leaving the user to impotently rage at its programmed (and thus false) politeness while the minimum wage staff are replaced. No one wins here (except the lucky fucker who walked off with my change no doubt unawares).

There is no forgiveness for your mistakes. This system and the society it has bred cannot tolerate mistakes. Instead it labels you as at fault - which is technically true but the emotional weight is unnecessary. You are thus seen as a failure. Society shouldn't divide people like this, we all make mistakes, it's just some of us can't afford to endure that.

That's what it is to live in crisis, and, thanks to the Tories and their reforms, increasing numbers are having to.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I'm Back!

Years and years ago, before anyone had ever heard of disease and pandemics, I started this blog. I gave it a stupid name from an Alan Partri...