“As a culture, we seem to have forgotten that work is good for our mental health,” Stride warned, suggesting that people are being made redundant too easily.
“While we appreciate today’s more open approach to mental health, there is a danger that this has gone too far,” the Work and Pensions Secretary said.
“There is now a real risk that labeling the normal ups and downs of human life as medical conditions will actually discourage people from taking action and ultimately drive up benefit claims. .”
Mr Stride said the change in attitude was positive and meant people who had previously “suffered in silence” were now “getting the help they need”.
But he wondered if the debate had gone too far in the opposite direction, with some people “assuming they have some type of serious mental health condition as opposed to normal life anxiety.” expressed concern.
“When they go to the doctor and say, ‘I’m feeling really depressed and blue,’ the doctor gives them about seven minutes on average, and then 94 percent of the time they’re diagnosed as unfit to carry. ‘We’ll solve any job,’ he added.
Mr Stride acknowledged the topic was sensitive, but said it should not become a “no-go zone” and was “an issue that needs to start an honest, adult discussion”.
“It’s too important for people and their future, for the welfare system and for the economy, to be ignored,” he said.
The number of Brits classified as economically inactive, meaning not employed or looking for work, has increased by 700,000 since the pandemic.
