Save The Whale
HoS on Whale
HoS appears to have been reading the sad plight of my mate and the mate of many bloggers, Whaleoil aka Cameron Slater.
Today is probably the most truthful article yet on Whaleoil because it was written with cut and pasted words from his wife and best mate aka Spanish Bride from his blog.
I've only known Cameron for a few years and all the time I have known him has been under the mantra of Whaleoil. Unlike SB, I have not known him as Cameron, before his spiral into depression.
I don't know all the background of his fight with Fidelity and what led up to his depressive state, because I wasn't there. SB was. She remarks that he was a different man before the events leading to his illness. I believe that now totally.
There is no one else I have ever met quite like Cameron as Whaleoil. His behaviour is outrageous. Friends compared notes and said that this is just him. It is not. What makes me astonished though with Fidelity's conduct is that they do not seem to have at any stage lead him to get help. That is medical help and counselling for rehabilitation. It used to be humourous watching Whaleoil be outrageous. It is now not so fun anymore once everyone has worked out he has a genuine problem.
The answer with Doctors has always been to prescribe more bloody pills. Whaleoil is on more pills than patients at mental homes. I know this because unknown to him I checked his dosage on his pillpackets and asked someone I know who works at an actual mental hospital. He is sedated by a cocktail of these pills which leave him tired, moody and disconnected with the world. When I realised his dosage, I knew the seriousness of the black hole he had fallen into. He's tried to come off the pills, that too has had bad consequences.
I hate pills as a solution for depression. They are not and they are over-prescribed. I hate watching all too many friends zombie around on them. They are not real people while sedated under the latest and greatest profit minded cure to make everyone "happy". The underlying problem still remains and I can't see any joy on being reliant on a pill to be happy, or even stable enough to get out of bed. It takes away the human nature of being happy and sad and managing both states.
Whaleoil does not think consequences, SB has highlighted that all too clearly. He will be fine sitting with you in a bar watching you drink (contrary to popular opinion he does not drink regularly and I've only seen him drunk once) then the slightest irritant across the bar and he will be talking about smacking another person's head in. Change the topic and his attention away and he's forgotten five minutes later of even being angry.
While medicated and unassisted emotionally with any form of therapy, he simply cannot work. The easiest question for doubters that he can be integrated into the workforce for a 40 hour week is this: would you want Whaleoil working in your office? Five minutes with him and any HR representative would instantly dismiss his job application. Fidelity's treatment has turned an otherwise creative, intelligent mind into a zombie who now firmly believes he cannot work. At the moment I am on the side of stating that he cannot.
Whaleoil is a great friend because he cares about his friends, but an unreliable one. That is, even the slightest task you know he may not do it on time. As the reliable party in the relationship you have to organise everything around Whaleoil not being able to perform his part. This frustrates him when he realises what has happened.
Insurance companies are not paid to care. I feel however they are paid to follow contracts and assist their clients back into the workforce so they are not made to rely on payouts. There's no doubt in my mind that Cameron Slater as Whaleoil is one of the most clinically depressed people I have ever met. While the original event leading to this depression may have been minor in the scheme of things Fidelity and the medical professionals who treated him from that point in time have failed miserably and created Whaleoil as we all read him today on his blog.
Fidelity created the monster that is Whaleoil. There is no doubt about that after watching him the past few months. Even when Fidelity were still paying him, the posts were written when he wasn't actually getting better. On a few good days, a Whaleoil post can be brilliantly coherent, well-reasoned and rational. On a bad day a Whaleoil post can be the most offensive thing on the internet.
There is only so much that friends and family can do for Whaleoil. The frustrating thing is that no one can wave a magic wand and make him better. It has gone past that and I've seen everyone try. His close family we can see have tried everything. His wife and kids are amazing in the circumstance, their love is unconditional.
Whaleoil needs serious medical attention from medics without a conflict of interest from working for an insurance company or more medics who border on being criminals in my view - the depression script writers. They should be given Oscars for their script writing abilities. He needs a time out, away from the stresses of modern life getting back to basics of routine and normality. But most of all he needs help and therapy to re-connect with himself, his old self. The one that his wife speaks of but most bloggers would never have seen.
Cameron Slater.
Heard that he is a fucking great bloke.
If Fidelity Insurance found that bloke, I'm sure they would have a case closed and not look like the bunch of cunts they will be made to look like when it is disclosed they haven't done a single thing, other than medication, to try and find him.
Links
Keeping Stock
Kiwiblog
Roarprawn 1
Roarprawn 2
HoS appears to have been reading the sad plight of my mate and the mate of many bloggers, Whaleoil aka Cameron Slater.
Today is probably the most truthful article yet on Whaleoil because it was written with cut and pasted words from his wife and best mate aka Spanish Bride from his blog.
I've only known Cameron for a few years and all the time I have known him has been under the mantra of Whaleoil. Unlike SB, I have not known him as Cameron, before his spiral into depression.
I don't know all the background of his fight with Fidelity and what led up to his depressive state, because I wasn't there. SB was. She remarks that he was a different man before the events leading to his illness. I believe that now totally.
There is no one else I have ever met quite like Cameron as Whaleoil. His behaviour is outrageous. Friends compared notes and said that this is just him. It is not. What makes me astonished though with Fidelity's conduct is that they do not seem to have at any stage lead him to get help. That is medical help and counselling for rehabilitation. It used to be humourous watching Whaleoil be outrageous. It is now not so fun anymore once everyone has worked out he has a genuine problem.
The answer with Doctors has always been to prescribe more bloody pills. Whaleoil is on more pills than patients at mental homes. I know this because unknown to him I checked his dosage on his pillpackets and asked someone I know who works at an actual mental hospital. He is sedated by a cocktail of these pills which leave him tired, moody and disconnected with the world. When I realised his dosage, I knew the seriousness of the black hole he had fallen into. He's tried to come off the pills, that too has had bad consequences.
I hate pills as a solution for depression. They are not and they are over-prescribed. I hate watching all too many friends zombie around on them. They are not real people while sedated under the latest and greatest profit minded cure to make everyone "happy". The underlying problem still remains and I can't see any joy on being reliant on a pill to be happy, or even stable enough to get out of bed. It takes away the human nature of being happy and sad and managing both states.
Whaleoil does not think consequences, SB has highlighted that all too clearly. He will be fine sitting with you in a bar watching you drink (contrary to popular opinion he does not drink regularly and I've only seen him drunk once) then the slightest irritant across the bar and he will be talking about smacking another person's head in. Change the topic and his attention away and he's forgotten five minutes later of even being angry.
While medicated and unassisted emotionally with any form of therapy, he simply cannot work. The easiest question for doubters that he can be integrated into the workforce for a 40 hour week is this: would you want Whaleoil working in your office? Five minutes with him and any HR representative would instantly dismiss his job application. Fidelity's treatment has turned an otherwise creative, intelligent mind into a zombie who now firmly believes he cannot work. At the moment I am on the side of stating that he cannot.
Whaleoil is a great friend because he cares about his friends, but an unreliable one. That is, even the slightest task you know he may not do it on time. As the reliable party in the relationship you have to organise everything around Whaleoil not being able to perform his part. This frustrates him when he realises what has happened.
Insurance companies are not paid to care. I feel however they are paid to follow contracts and assist their clients back into the workforce so they are not made to rely on payouts. There's no doubt in my mind that Cameron Slater as Whaleoil is one of the most clinically depressed people I have ever met. While the original event leading to this depression may have been minor in the scheme of things Fidelity and the medical professionals who treated him from that point in time have failed miserably and created Whaleoil as we all read him today on his blog.
Fidelity created the monster that is Whaleoil. There is no doubt about that after watching him the past few months. Even when Fidelity were still paying him, the posts were written when he wasn't actually getting better. On a few good days, a Whaleoil post can be brilliantly coherent, well-reasoned and rational. On a bad day a Whaleoil post can be the most offensive thing on the internet.
There is only so much that friends and family can do for Whaleoil. The frustrating thing is that no one can wave a magic wand and make him better. It has gone past that and I've seen everyone try. His close family we can see have tried everything. His wife and kids are amazing in the circumstance, their love is unconditional.
Whaleoil needs serious medical attention from medics without a conflict of interest from working for an insurance company or more medics who border on being criminals in my view - the depression script writers. They should be given Oscars for their script writing abilities. He needs a time out, away from the stresses of modern life getting back to basics of routine and normality. But most of all he needs help and therapy to re-connect with himself, his old self. The one that his wife speaks of but most bloggers would never have seen.
Cameron Slater.
Heard that he is a fucking great bloke.
If Fidelity Insurance found that bloke, I'm sure they would have a case closed and not look like the bunch of cunts they will be made to look like when it is disclosed they haven't done a single thing, other than medication, to try and find him.
Links
Keeping Stock
Kiwiblog
Roarprawn 1
Roarprawn 2
posted by Cactus Kate at 5:07 PM
36 Comments:
TV interview here:
http://www.3news.co.nz/WhaleOil-bloggers-wife-says-mental-illness-fuels-erratic-behaviour/tabid/370/articleID/158328/Default.aspx
The bloke is a gutless flea.
The photo is apt - the sooner he is carted off on the back of a truck the better.
No posts from the vile prick since Friday... here's hoping that's the last we hear of him for a while.
The words "personal responsibility" spring to mind.....quickly followed by lol, which I did.
Vaughn
He's been at the northern division conference of National Party at Barnsley's place with no internet.
Anon 7.21pm - yes he was personally responsible for income protection and bought an insurance policy. One that Fidelity are not honouring after he was diagnosed with depression, hasn't assisted his rehabilitation and made the depression worse.
That makes him more responsible as a person than most NZ'ers who would go straight on to a sickness benefit all paid for by the taxpayer.
"Anon 7.21pm - yes he was personally responsible for income protection and bought an insurance policy. One that Fidelity are not honouring after he was diagnosed with depression, hasn't assisted his rehabilitation and made the depression worse."
No, when I said personal responsibility, I was not referring to insurance, I was referring to his behavior that got him in trouble.
*The braking of the law*.
I couldn't give a shit if he went on a sickness benefit, I'd actually encourage him to do that. He should kick back, get his life sorted, take time to do things that he enjoys and spend time with his family - while on the benefit.
The benefit is there for the good of society so when this happens, people can get sorted and they don't fuck everything up.
His breaking of the law caused him to get into this mess, yet his wife blames the psychologist? Thats where I was referring to personal responsibility. The psychologist gave him a good suggestion, he never thought WO would go breaking the law, what if his blog was posting up child porn? Would it still be the psychologist's fault?
Thats the personal responsibility.
CK - very moving. I've watched (i.e. read) WO / CS on a downward spiral for months. It's good he's got friends.
Vaughn & Anon. You silly arrogant thoughtless twats.
Vaughn - if you think that Cameron is a "gutless flea" you are uncharitable & misguided. I think Cameron's campaign to fight name suppression by committing contempt of court and risking prison is foolish but shows a level of commitment to his beliefs that is very rare. I certainly wouldn't.
Oh dear, looking at the TV3 interview with his wife, I would say she has caught the madness too.
Anonymous the whole idea behind mental illness and depression is that you have a limited amount of ability to practice personal responsibility because well......... you are actually ill.
Spanish Bride isn't blaming anyone in her interview, she's done anything but which only adds to her dignity in the situation.
9.21pm - I didn't think that at all watching her. She was very composed in the circumstances and only wants to try to get their lives back into order.
Well.... To get a sickness benefit for depression, you have to submit to the public heath services. To be signed up, you need to be under the treatment of a psychiatrist, and be on the same drugs as Mr Slater. If you don't take your drugs, you don't get your benefit.
If by some miracle you can afford an insurance policy that covers mental health issues, you will be under the care of the exact same psychiatrist, who will be wearing his private practice hat...
There is something very wrong with the whole mental health industry. The most qualified, and thus most trusted are those who have been trained to prescribe drugs. At best these are powerful and debilitating drugs with a side effect of treating mental health issues.
"Vaughn & Anon. You silly arrogant thoughtless twats."
I'd rather think of us (and anyone else with a cheap shot)as karma, the guy is a perpetual fuck up, he did nothing but point the finger for a long time. He had this coming.
I've got no respect for him...i do have a little sympathy for his wife and kids, but no more then I had before hearing about this. I also have sympathy for anyone who knows the guy.
You can label me as a sadistic wanker or whatever....I am kicking him when is down....its rude and disgraceful behavior....exactly what he does.
So don't anyone try to defend this guy, statements like "You silly arrogant thoughtless twats" are an attack on Whale Oil as much as me or any poster here, cause we are one in the same :)
Anonymous. The point is WO is suffering serious depression when he writes such overly offensive comments about others.
So what is your excuse for being such a random cunt especially considering his wife and kids?
At the risk of being a bit callous, Fidelity is simply being an insurance company. All insurance companies are major-league pricks.
I had an argument with Southern Cross because they refused to pay for an X-ray. They said it wasn't explicitly mentioned in the schedule, and that it wasn't covered under 'diagnostic tests'. I went from the call centre rule-book-quoter, to the call centre manager (i.e. older rule-book quoter) and eventually to the regional manager who tried to frighten me off with suggesting that we let the insurance and banking ombudsman settle it. When I told her the only reason I was talking to her was so that I could show the ombudsman I had followed Southern Cross's complaints procedure she suddenly backed off and paid it.
Having had some experience with people who have had varying levels of depression I know how relatively little stress can send someone into a flaming rage, and how depression prevents you from being able to consider what seem to be obvious consequences.
I totally agree about the medical industry. Time and again I see GP's missing diagnoses and leaving people to struggle on for years until they finally see a medical professional who actually gets it.
Most of the time now when I see a GP I tell them what I want.
I don't know whether Fidelity had any right to stop paying CS, but it would seem that if he applied his fury to them, he'd probably start getting paid again. And I do wonder why SB hasn't taken a bigger role in his dealings with the medical profession and getting adequate treatment
Cactus - being a pedant I suspect Cam's depression isn't the driver of his arseholic periods: I suspect it is one of his other other mental health disorders.
I know from personal experience of bipolar that I was obnoxious when I was manic and in an ostensibly good mood. I also know that I often had no recollection of anything I had said or its effect on others.
Dear Prickles,
Be a friend to Slater - encourage/distract him away from blogging. Heck - tell his wife to cut the internet connection! The initial advice from the shrink may have been well intentioned (and useful for some patients), but is clearly not working for Slater.
The elephant in the room (and it's a pink Jumbo for the tories ;) ) is what help has Slater sought from our public health system? I know mental health gets swept aside a bit in our public health sector, but surely they could assist with some treatment? If no help is available for Kiwis, get Ryall on the blower and ask him what he is going to do to fix that...
Fidelity Life may - or may not (Slater admitted not going to a follow-up meeting with their doctors) - have breached their contract, but nothing stops Slater from seeking help from his GP and the DHB.
Hope he gets better/rejoins the human race, but it is beholden on his tory political mates not to use him for anything political, or it looks bad (like he/Nats are using his illness as an excuse for vile behaviour & political attacks). It may be hard (especially for ex-pats) to stop Slater getting into politics, but that's what friends are for, right?
Good luck with that,
Mad Marxist.
Rouppe
If you read SB's comments over the years (and I give you the benefit of the doubt that you have not) she has tried dealing with the medical professionals. She's not Wonder bloody Woman, there's only so much she can do in the meantime trying to hold her own shit together and bring up the 2 kids.
Mad Marxist
We tried to get him to stop blogging for Movember last year.
Go back to the archives and see what happened.
CK, this post shows the loyalty of a true friend to someone going through an unbelievably hard time. The links-through to Kiwiblog, Keeping Stock and Roar Prawn (I and II) show they also think this. It also shows the high regard in which Cameron (if not necessarily Cameron as Whale) is held.
Busted Blonde calls what Cameron is currently going through a "life and death" struggle. I know this to be true from personal experience. Many of my family (including my spouse) are afflicted with mental illness of varying degrees, ranging from full-blown bi-polar disorder down to a "relatively benign" depressive condition. My spouse suffers from the "relatively benign" depressive condition, which (through being very poorly treated and monitored by her doctors) has seen my spouse attempt suicide a number of times. Most of the time, things are fine but when the black dog catches up, things can go from fine to completely fucked in about 10 minutes flat.
Cameron needs the support of his friends right now. He has deliberately made himself a big, public target and has on occasion been deeply offensive (although I suspect that is more Whale than Cameron), and I suspect there will be a number of (mostly) anonymous cowards only too happy to put the boot in. The show of support from you and other bloggers will mean much to him.
I can also see how blogging would be cathartic for Cameron. I don't have the wit, commitment or eloquence to write my own blog, and I would take it very personally if I wrote a blog-post and nobody commented. That said, I do enjoy following and occasionally commenting on you, Cameron, Inv II (and DPF on occasion) and one or 2 others. I thank you all for giving me a voice.
Finally, Fidelity, like all insurance companies, are soulless arseholes, and I can do little but wish Cameron the very best in his fight with them.
Mental health is simply a matter of rejecting unhealthy thoughts.
Whale would soon discover how to become mentally healthier if he got genuinely hungry and had a will to live.
I know that from personal experience.
Psychology and psychiatry are garbage and so are the crap drugs.
I like Whales blog and most of what he says. All the best to him and his.
Vaughn, you are the gutless flea. why don't you send me a little email message so we can get together and discuss your need to say shit like that anonymously. I am in Auckland all week and am more than happy to spend some time dishing out some corrective instruction to you.
A nice post Cathy, I have spent the weekend with the big fella and can tell you why he has not been online.
I switched off the internet at my house so we could go and spend some time in the real world.
Whale is a good bloke. I only met him perahsp 3 times over the last few years in bloggers drinks. I hope that he gets well soon and continue to do the good fights (on idiotic court name suppression).
Cameron needs to do some physical work - anyone that f'ked in the head shdn't be blogging their vitriol all over others.
It's all very well for the Spanish Bride to please CS' diminised responsbilty. Maybe she should exert some herself and cut the internet link instead of enabling an obsession that will being the whole family down.
The Nats could also help by stopping using him as a conduit for stuff they don"t want to run under their own names.
Basic really.
Strange how this sort of illness affects thousands of New Zealanders.
I hope you show the same compassion to other Sickness Beneficiaries as you have done to Slater.
Or are they different ?
One of the symptoms/problems for people in WO's condition is that, unable to change themselves, and over-sensitive to the world's macro-problems than their own personal ones, they want to change the world - which they can't do, of course, any more (and maybe less) than any other otherwise average Joe (though massive talent can help: Spike Milligan managed to make a career out of his similar situation).
But for the average Joe, no matter how well-intentioned, it's a huge hassle - and not just for him, for others as well. In the end, an (ahem) intervention of some kind is needed.
Not that I would defend the insurance company, but is it not likely that it would have put a termination date on its employment insurance payouts at the moment the contract was signed? It seems improbable that the insurer would have entered into an open-ended payout schedule at 100K/year.
Could this simply be a case of the contract expiring and the insurer refusing to renew it?
"So what is your excuse for being such a random cunt especially considering his wife and kids?"
Cunt eh?....
"So don't anyone try to defend this guy, statements like "You silly arrogant thoughtless twats" are an attack on Whale Oil as much as me or any poster here, cause we are one in the same :)"
He's been a cunt for years, I posted one cunty post with my tongue in my cheek, thanks for pointing that out.
I'm assuming the way he often treats others is his way of dealing with what he's going through - but I have a feeling it would also go a long way to making someone feel like shit.
It's probably easier said than done but taking time out from his blog and finding a way to deal with things that's not hurting other people could help him a lot. I'd say it's up to his friends to help him do that.
The Cam I know is an awesome guy with a big heart. While he is clearly depressed he remains an awesome guy with a big heart. I've only known him since he was ill yet those qualities have managed to shine through regardless of the cloud that is depression. Love ya Cam, you will get better, you will get through this.
10.05am - welfare is for the genuinely sick and needy. I can't recall a time when I have said otherwise.
There are a lot of sickness beneficiaries who are not actually sick however they have been shuffled sideways when they are merely unemployed.
Bomber's father - deleted because your allegations are simply not true. Raise them on Gotcha with Cameron and he will tell you what has happened.
So many issues here...
DIAGNOSIS
---------
Someone mentioned bipolar. I've always thought whale's behaviour is more typical of bipolar or borderline personality disorder, or both. I've never met him so my impression is from what I've read and others have said about him. If he is only being treated for depression then it may not be addressing the real problems.
PILLS
-----
Yes pills can lead to zombie behaviour and lots of people find them not much better than placebos but for some people they are magical and incredibly helpful. He may be on the wrong pills or the wrong combination of pills. A different pill(s) may help.
However the biggest improvements come from attitude adjustment aka talk therapy and lifestyle changes such as eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting adequate sleep.
INSURANCE
---------
Yes insurance companies can be pricks and without knowing all the ins and outs I don't know why they refuse to pay but he is entitled to a second opinion. They will have had their psychiatrist assess him and they will have come to the conclusion he can work. The term is usually 85% fit for work. You don't need to be fit to work 40 hours a week to be kicked off insurance - it depends on the policy
HOW FRIENDS CAN HELP
--------------------
There's not much you can do when people don't want to help themselves or aren't aware of their behaviour but the best thing his wife and mates could do for him is close down the blog. It's keeping him stuck in negative and unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. It used to be clever. Now it's hateful rantings of a disturbed mind. A psychiatrist only need read it to see he needs help.
Back to quitting blogging. The blog is keeping him stuck in negative situations. He is constantly angry, creating situations of conflict and indulging in petty arguments and generally keeping him stuck in a negative frame of mind.
CK is right. He needs a break from all stresses and as much as the blog is an outlet for him it's also incredibly unhealthy for his mental health. He's no longer laughing at and poking fun at people in a light-hearted manner. He's ranting and raving and digging himself into a deeper hole. By encouraging him to blog and writing posts and making comments on his blog his friends are "enabling" him in negative behaviours. An enforced holiday would be the best thing for him.
Good luck Whale and to his friends who unlike Whale can see how much this is damaging him.
Thank you for such thoughtful constructive comment there.
@ one who has been there - you raise some very pertinent issues. I'm also one who has been there; a four-month break from blogging at the end of last year was of enormous benefit for me then, as I believe it would be to Cam now. But it has to be at his initation, and I don't believe that he would do that at the moment.
The condition is still so challenging to tame that 90 percent of marriages involving a partner with bipolar disorder end in divorce. Researchers estimate that more than 40 percent of persons with bipolar disorder abuse alcohol or drugs; 15 to 25 percent die by suicide, accident, or are killed in altercations triggered in a manic phase. Most attempted and completed suicides occur during depressive or mixed phases.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200311/managing-bipolar-disorder
Good post CK and some good responses To those who mock WO remember you never know when you or someone close to you will suffer the same as WO. Only then will you have any idea of what he is going thru. Just say to yoursel There by the grace of God go I
gd
Cactus, there's a field I've heard of called orthomolecular psychiatry which you may want to look up and pass on to SB. I don't know if it'd help but it sounds like nothing else has worked.
Two words:
PROFESSIONAL MALINGERER
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