In the book Pathogenesis, the author Jonathan Kennedy refers to the phrase ‘Shit Life Syndrome’ being coined by local doctors in Blackpool, one of the poorest areas in the UK. the health conditions they see most frequently are the cause of destitution and hopelessness.
The cause for the destitution and hopelessness cited by Jonathan Kennedy is deindustrialisation where the well-paying jobs in manufacturing and mining have gone and nothing has replaced those employment opportunities manifest in health outcomes which include unhealthy eating and obesity, drug overdoses, alcohol abuse and suicide.
Using just about any means of calculating, Australia is one of the wealthiest nations on earth, having about 138 billionaires and over 2 million millionaires, or about 11.2% of the population, measured in US dollars. and yet we see a rising number of people homeless, we see all the symptoms of a Shit Life Syndrome.
While we here in Australia do not have a Blackpool, we do have a health crisis brought about through destitution and hopelessness. We have areas of deindustrialisation, we have a population who live well below the ‘poverty line’, where it is impossible to scrape together a healthy meal let alone a safe place to sleep. Many in this wealthy country suffer a shit life syndrome, and we do not need to travel far to see it with our own eyes.
There is a small art gallery and local meeting place in a beachside suburb north of Perth where I attend a weekly gathering, and over several months I noticed a Land Cruiser with roof top sleeper parked there, and New Year’s Eve, a number of friends met at the picnic area there to see the sunset, enjoy some tasty snacks and see the new year in when we saw a young couple by that vehicle. We invited them to join us, but they declined, and when asked admitted to being homeless and fearful of the ranger who asks them to move on. Body language and a reluctance to engage were indicators that this couple were not in a good place. This couple is not alone, up and down the coast car parks are occupied most nights with people sleeping in cars, using the beachside amenities for their ablutions but forever fearful of their vulnerability.
Homelessness and the sense of isolation and insecurity is just one manifestation of Shit Life Syndrome. The need to find a sense of feel good somewhere, anywhere leads to drug and alcohol abuse, dare I call it addiction?
Visit the emergency department in any public hospital and there will more often than not be not only security personnel, but also police officers as drug and alcohol fuelled violence threatens the wellbeing of those dedicated to helping the people suffering from their overdoses, facing at times the real prospect of not surviving the crisis they find themselves in. Too many don’t make it, the deaths reported as a result of suicide, drug and alcohol abuse are staggeringly high among adults, with the highest in the latest figures from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre reported for aged 25 to 34 year. the greatest proportion of deaths for people aged 25 to 84 occurred in the most disadvantaged areas, interestingly, deaths for those aged 15 to 24 tended to be from more advantaged areas, possibly indicating a willingness to experiment with drug taking and binge drinking rather than as a dependency to deal with the sense of destitution and hopelessness.
The most common drug of concern is alcohol with drug related ambulance attendance, 59% were for alcohol intoxication. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.)
Another factor in Shit Life Syndrome is the prevalence of obesity and the various health issues related to inadequate diets. The proportion of overweight or obese adults in Australian 2022 was 65.8%, an increase from 62.8% in 2011-12 with the category defined as obese rising from 27.5% to 31.7%. The rate of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents is about 25%, higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the principle cause is an imbalance between energy consumed through food and drink and activity to burn off that energy. The addictive nature of high sugar and fatty foods and high sugar content drinks combined with a lack of physical activity combine to create a serious health crisis. Those foods and drinks are also the most affordable quick hunger fixes from the local kid friendly fast-food outlet.
Poverty plays a significant role in the Shit Life Syndrome. The frustrations of not having enough for food and clothing let alone accommodation leads to anger and domestic violence, children suffer abuse and neglect as parenting skills are clouded in the haze of a sense of uselessness.
The Shit Life Syndrome is evident all around us but probably most reported on when it deals with aboriginal issues such as in Alice Springs or Broome and occasionally reports about remote communities where the cost of fresh produce is exorbitant, housing inadequate but the problem is so remote that it flies under the radar, seems to go unchecked until there is some kind of trouble, like a young man being shot by a police officer.
But what can be done to ease the crisis of the Shit Life Syndrome?
In remote communities, the cost of providing basic essentials, like fresh produce for the general store can be subsidised, where the freight component of cost is borne by the government. so that a healthy diet is actually affordable, and yes, I have travelled through some remote parts of western Australia and am shocked by the supermarket prices of basic food items, but I am privileged enough to be able to afford them while on holiday but would find it difficult if that were everyday prices.
The continued refusal to increase the Job Seeker allowance to reflect something like addressing the cost of living to provide help and dignity for those who really are the forgotten ones in our communities. Get over the dole bludger mentality, I really don’t believe anyone enjoys being unemployed and poor to the extent that they cannot even afford a decent shirt to go to a job interview let alone the cost of the train or bus fare to get there.
So much of the syndrome is marked by a sense of inadequacy, and with it a seeking of solace or some degree of feel good through substance abuse.
We are a wealthy nation, but too much wealth is concentrated on those who already have more than enough, and we should surely be moving to a more equal society instead of continuing with the stage 3 tax cuts which will increase the gap between the haves and have nots, look to using that tax take to level out the peaks and troughs increasing inequality bring about. That the cost of living crisis we hear so much about is to some extent redressed through a more equitable income tax regime, and pay for the freight to remote communities for food and other essential supplies so that the tyranny of distance is not a barrier to affordable healthy living, to increase the Jobseeker payments so that those recipients too can enjoy a decent meal and have the self-confidence to look and dress appropriately for the job interview so they too can have the dignity of a job. Increase funding for Medicare so that bulk billing is more readily available, so the adequate health care is available even for the most disadvantaged.
Reduce the ability for those with the most to avoid paying taxes, measures like income sharing, tax deductibility for car use and so many other loopholes which exist to minimise paying taxes.
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