Mental health and CoVid-19

sideswipe

Why is it so bad of some?

From a personal perspective-

Home schooling is very tough. It changes the relationship between parent and kid, Theres ructions in our house during the week. They miss their friends badly. I have a daughter turning 10 on Wednesday, had to obviously cancel her party way back which she’d been planning for ages. There is no end date to this and we all know the school year is done, it’s not like ‘just 3 more weeks and we’ll get back to normal’. Everything has changed.

Myself and my wife a self employed, the financial worry that the economy will be a waste land for us after this is real.

Elderly parents who are scared and shut away. Effectively have a chunk of their twilight years with their families taken away. We were supposed to be in Spain with my folks for a landmark birthday, it’s hard not to think of that when you’re using anti-bac wipes on their shopping while they stand looking through the window without being able to give them a hug and reassurance. My mother is in the early stages of dementia, I’m literally missing time with her before the horror of seeing her mentally diminish, that’s tough to take especially because there is no silver bullet in 3 weeks- we are talking many months before a vaccine that would allow us to be together without the fear of putting them at risk. Standing 10 feet from your dad who is trying to tell you where his savings and house deeds are while keeping his voice down so the neighbours don’t hear is troubling and tough mentally.

I can understand why some people are happy with this. I know people that were in jobs they hated and now are getting paid to do nothing but catch up on reading and box sets. Of all my friends and family I’ve spoken to- the ones who were happy and content before this seem to be the ones struggling most others who weren’t so content seem to have been more accepting.

In short it isn’t the extra three weeks specifically
It’s the real lack of real end game to this. People saying relax and enjoy doesn’t take the worries and struggles people have into account.

Bottom line is we are all different and at different stages in life, I can remember a stage in life I would have found this easier, a lot of it is in the timing.

Everyone will have their own unique experience of lockdown because we all have different circumstances. To not be able to understand this shows a staggering lack of empathy in my opinion.

never_mind

Finding it particularly rough today. Feel trapped in the flat I share and just need to get out. Panic attacks fair bad today. Went to shop and then panicked again so just in bed worrying about the virus, about my job, about my family, about everything

ShineOn7

sideswipe wrote: »

Why is it so bad of some?

From a personal perspective-...........

Your circumstances look particularily tough. But you realise what'll happen without a lockdown while this bástard is surging right?

ShineOn7

never_mind wrote: »

Finding it particularly rough today. Feel trapped in the flat I share and just need to get out. Panic attacks fair bad today. Went to shop and then panicked again so just in bed worrying about the virus, about my job, about my family, about everything

• Is there a great friend you can FaceTime with?
• Is there a book you always picks you up in tough times that you can revisit? There's many great positive thinking non fiction books out there
• Do you like stand up comedy? Pick your fav comedian and watch your fav performance of them
• Is there some very self indulgent food that you love that you have on hand or you can order? Fúck it, it's Easter Sunday
• Do you have any creative hobbies that are very immersive? Is there something you always wanted to learn or upskill to? Your laptop/PC is your friend
• Have you spare cash for a second hand compact threadmill? And the space for it in the flat?
• Make up a playlist of your favourite feel good songs on YouTube or Spotify

Those are some ideas i've used so far and some I'm keeping in reserve when needed

The key here - for us all - (after we vigilantly protect ourselves from this bástard*) is distraction



(*I've tried so, so much to protect certain family members and get them to be as vigilant as me, but they refuse to take as seriously)

ShineOn7

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Your circumstances look particularily tough. But you realise what'll happen without a lockdown while this bástard is surging right?

We can know the reality of what will happen without this lockdown, we can know it is for the best and we can also find it tough, all at the same time.

ShineOn7

Deleted User wrote: »

We can know the reality of what will happen without this lockdown, we can know it is for the best and we can also find it tough, all at the same time.

Yes I'm aware. I'm feeling all three things too

never_mind

ShineOn7 wrote: »

• Is there a great friend you can FaceTime with?
• Is there a book you always picks you up in tough times that you can revisit? There's many great positive thinking non fiction books out there
• Do you like stand up comedy? Pick your fav comedian and watch your fav performance of them
• Is there some very self indulgent food that you love that you have on hand or you can order? Fúck it, it's Easter Sunday
• Do you have any creative hobbies that are very immersive? Is there something you always wanted to learn or upskill to? Your laptop/PC is your friend
• Have you spare cash for a second hand compact threadmill? And the space for it in the flat?
• Make up a playlist of your favourite feel good songs on YouTube or Spotify

Those are some ideas i've used so far and some I'm keeping in reserve when needed

The key here - for us all - (after we vigilantly protect ourselves from this bástard*) is distraction



(*I've tried so, so much to protect certain family members and get them to be as vigilant as me, but they refuse to take as seriously)

Aw thanks for this message! This forum is full of people fighting and it actually made me teary reading it... that someone would go to the effort to write out such a post full of helpful tips!!

I took a Xanax and am just after eating a lovely dinner cooked by my OH. As much as I love my OH I also really need alone time and finding that that can be hard at min.

Going to hunker down, eat chocolate and watch a stupid film on Disney plus!! Great ideas all round xxx

ShineOn7

never_mind wrote: »

Aw thanks for this message! This forum is full of people fighting

Yes it's my fav thread in this Subforum. It's the most positive.

Many of the other threads in this Covid subforum are simply Sky News in discussion board form. Or, as I've come to call it, Gloom Porn

You mentioned an OH, be thankful you have one in these times and don't push them away too much once you've had some alone time. Many would love to have an OH to lean on in these times

Enjoy the chocolate and check back with us here when you feel upto it

sideswipe

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Your circumstances look particularily tough. But you realise what'll happen without a lockdown while this bástard is surging right?

Of course, I wasn’t suggesting the actions being taken were unnecessary!!! Just that the rolling nature of the lockdown can be harder on some people than others. I only contributed to the thread because there seemed to be some struggling to understand why some people were finding it hard.

fin12

On a lighter note anyone having Covid 19 dreams? I’m spending a lot more time now in bed so have had two Covid 19 type dreams, more funny than anything. One dream actually had joe exotic in it a-swell, very strange.

never_mind

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Yes it's my fav thread in this Subforum. It's the most positive.

Many of the other threads in this Covid subforum are simply Sky News in discussion board form. Or, as I've come to call it, Gloom Porn

You mentioned an OH, be thankful you have one in these times and don't push them away too much once you've had some alone time. Many would love to have an OH to lean on in these times

Enjoy the chocolate and check back with us here when you feel upto it

You’re dead right! I need to remind myself how lucky I am... just down! Worried about parents mostly and about the future.

I’ll pop back in tomorrow. Thanks a mil, you’re a great help x

Away With The Fairies

This whole thing has really affected me, it's so damn depressing. Stayed of the main thread here today and switched off the news as soon as it came on. I just don't want to know anymore.

It seems like it's the only thing to talk about, would I be rude if I asked someone not to talk about it? I just want to block the whole thing out.

freshpopcorn

In my personal opinion if you’d finding this difficult don’t listen to the news to much.
If there’s something big to be announced ask somebody to let you know about these announcements or we can do it in this thread.
Personally I mute the ads about this now because I know what they say and I don’t really bother watching prime time which is essentially a repeat of the news.
Now if you do this you’ve to remember to wash your hands etc but swamping yourself in 24/7 news coverage of this isn’t good for some.

Away With The Fairies

freshpopcorn wrote: »

In my personal opinion if you’d finding this difficult don’t listen to the news to much.
If there’s something big to be announced ask somebody to let you know about these announcements or we can do it in this thread.
Personally I mute the ads about this now because I know what they say and I don’t really bother watching prime time which is essentially a repeat of the news.
Now if you do this you’ve to remember to wash your hands etc but swamping yourself in 24/7 news coverage of this isn’t good for some.

I'm taking the precautions, hand washing, not touching face, wearing a face mask in public. I know the symptoms to look out for, there's not much more I can do. I still have to go into work, so can I ask for people not to talk about it.

ShineOn7

Away With The Fairies wrote: »

This whole thing has really affected me, it's so damn depressing. Stayed of the main thread here today and switched off the news as soon as it came on. I just don't want to know anymore.

It seems like it's the only thing to talk about, would I be rude if I asked someone not to talk about it? I just want to block the whole thing out.

I've a friend in the UK who suffers from anxiety and they're now simply not listening to the crazy British figures in the news, but they're still being vigilant

I think this is a good approach. If I lived in Britain or - say - New York right now I think I'd need proper anxiety medicine from my GP

dePeatrick

ShineOn7 wrote: »

I've a friend in the UK who suffers from anxiety and they're now simply not listening to the crazy British figures in the news, but they're still being vigilant

I think this is a good approach. If I lived in Britain or - say - New York right now I think I'd need proper anxiety medicine from my GP

I can relate to this and usually I am the one who keeps a cool head in extreme circumstances and trust me, have been quite a few...it seems the people who are anxiety ridden most times are coolest about this and those of us who normally are on an even keel are very concerned. It works to keep away from social media but like a moth to a flame I return, but...at this stage I am desensitised to it, I've stopped caring...as in I am no longer terrified, I have just got used to it as the new normal, f*ck it now...I am getting loads done around the house and am no longer as scared of it as I was.

I don't know if this helps you at all, but I read your post some time ago and I did not forget it, I'm of a mind now that it is impossible to kill an old basta*d like me...I am due a way more undignified death...probably choking on a chicken bone...:D Face the fear...it stops being so fearful, it does become the new norm, like taxes and death...pun absolutely intended...:)

PTH2009

Anyone a bit anxious when they discover they have a runny/blocked nose and/or a small cough ??

ShineOn7

PTH2009 wrote: »

Anyone a bit anxious when they discover they have a runny/blocked nose and/or a small cough ??

Runny nose isn't a symptom

A dry cough is but not on it's own. You need to have two of the main symptoms before you call anyone as far I'm aware

Look out for psychosomatic symptoms too. I've had these myself once since this began

Strumms

PTH2009 wrote: »

Anyone a bit anxious when they discover they have a runny/blocked nose and/or a small cough ??

I have one or two allergies, they can be prevalent especially this time of the year, late spring...about a week ago I had a blocked nose and a very mild cough/tickling in my throat , went in about 48 hours, the same symptoms as I always get, exact same time of year but for a heartbeat despite isolating to the max and following every guideline I went to bed one night slightly fearful I’d wake not being able to breathe... woke the next morning feeling great, non symptomatic but took a while to get to sleep that night...

I’m being rather Hitleresque to any family member ( my old man especially ) who might look like they are ‘thinking’ about so much as bending the regs...this ain’t fun.

PTH2009

How would this current issue pair against living through the war ?

The blitzs I imagine were another level to this

DisneyLover

PTH2009 wrote: »

How would this current issue pair against living through the war ?

The blitzs I imagine were another level to this

Anxiety and mental health issues weren't taken seriously then sure look how long it took them to look into ptsd.

DisneyLover

ShineOn7 wrote: »

I've a friend in the UK who suffers from anxiety and they're now simply not listening to the crazy British figures in the news, but they're still being vigilant

I think this is a good approach. If I lived in Britain or - say - New York right now I think I'd need proper anxiety medicine from my GP

When I'm in London or NY I find my anxiety halves because I don't know anyone. I got help in hospital for the tube/trains etc and my anxiety is a billion times worse walking down a street with say 5 or 6 people on it than in NY etc where it's jammed lol

Sky news ! Avoid anyway with their big yellow signs that's sets anyone's anxiety off ! And half the time the big sign is something about a celeb being sick

leahyl

Strumms wrote: »

I have one or two allergies, they can be prevalent especially this time of the year, late spring...about a week ago I had a blocked nose and a very mild cough/tickling in my throat , went in about 48 hours, the same symptoms as I always get, exact same time of year but for a heartbeat despite isolating to the max and following every guideline I went to bed one night slightly fearful I’d wake not being able to breathe... woke the next morning feeling great, non symptomatic but took a while to get to sleep that night...

I’m being rather Hitleresque to any family member ( my old man especially ) who might look like they are ‘thinking’ about so much as bending the regs...this ain’t fun.

I definitely have sinus issues that I've never really done anything about (as in, go to doctor to get proper diagnosis) and with all this going on I've become terribly anxious and so it's making my sinuses worse - tickly throat, having to clear it constantly, sort of muffled in my head, tired, shortness of breath (I've had all this before, it's not covid)....I know it's all the anxiety is making it worse.....if anything this pandemic has made me realise that I have fairly moderate anxiety nearly all the time and it has become way worse since all this started. I think I'll have to go to GP once all this has died down to see if something could be prescribed for it. I also had to take half a diazepam last week (which I had left over from a prescription for a back problem) to relax me because I just couldn't sleep and I think I was having a panic attack of sorts.

I live at home with my parents, both over 70 so I think that's what's the main source of my anxiety.

Phoenix Wright

Anyone else finding it impossible to get work done and feeling even more down as a result? My PhD work has gone down the gutter these last five weeks. Worried I'll get in trouble when I email my supervisor even though I've been trying my best to deal with things. There's just too much going on at home and across the country to focus fully and the constant anxiety does not help

Away With The Fairies

Phoenix Wright wrote: »

Anyone else finding it impossible to get work done and feeling even more down as a result? My PhD work has gone down the gutter these last five weeks. Worried I'll get in trouble when I email my supervisor even though I've been trying my best to deal with things. There's just too much going on at home and across the country to focus fully and the constant anxiety does not help

I was very down and done very little work with the course I was doing. I have alot to catch up on. Hoping I'll catch up this week since I'm trying to block out the news which has helped a bit so far.

Phoenix Wright

I've disabled notifications for my email which has helped a bit and I try to only look at the news after I have finished for the day. My house is full with five other noisy family members which is proving challenging, but hopefully the university will take the difficulties adapting to working from home into account

ShineOn7

Excellent article https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief

A sample:

"There’s denial, which we say a lot of early on: This virus won’t affect us. There’s anger: You’re making me stay home and taking away my activities. There’s bargaining: Okay, if I social distance for two weeks everything will be better, right? There’s sadness: I don’t know when this will end. And finally there’s acceptance. This is happening; I have to figure out how to proceed."


But the whole thing is worth a read



Not feeling great today as I dragged myself up after just 3 hours sleep to set my crazy sleeping bodyclock right. Time to add to the Distractions List and start on my to do list

jaxxx

Is there any mental health services going on or are they all shut down the same as most other things? Is counselling considered an "essential" service under COVID19? Not necessarily counselling pertaining to COVID19, let's just say 'other'.

makeandcreate

jaxxx wrote: »

Is there any mental health services going on or are they all shut down the same as most other things? Is counselling considered an "essential" service under COVID19? Not necessarily counselling pertaining to COVID19, let's just say 'other'.

I think they are operating but not in person - some info here https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/connecting-for-life/news/supports-and-services-during-covid-19.html
or call your local counsellor.