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Gareth Oliver

Gareth Oliver

Writer
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Join date: Jan 5, 2026

About

Gareth Oliver is a welfare benefits caseworker and writer whose work has appeared in NSUN, Inspire the Mind and Red Pepper. He was shortlisted for the 2026 Creative Futures Writers’ Award. He has a particular interest in mental health, welfare, social policy and the experiences of people navigating public services. His writing often draws on both his professional experience supporting people through the benefits system and his own experiences of mental health. Gareth graduated from The Open University with a First-Class Honors degree in Combined Social Sciences. He currently works as a Welfare Benefits Caseworker in London. You can read more of their work on Medium.

Overview

First Name
Gareth
Last Name
Oliver

Posts (1)

Jan 13, 2026 ∙ 5 min
Naming the Pain: The Power and Problem of Diagnosis
A diagnosis can feel like a key — unlocking understanding and access to help — or like a label that locks you into something you can’t escape. I was 35 when a psychiatrist gave me a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD)/ Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD). I am now 43, and I still have an ambivalent relationship with the diagnosis.
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