Mental health and CoVid-19

ShadowTech I completely relate. I keep moving in and out of rational thought, irrational panic, hope, being unrealistic. I'm worn out with it all.
I listened to Luke O'Neil speak to Stephanie Preissner on a podcast last night. It was between positive and negative for me.
Luke thinks we will be dealing with restrictions in some shape for the next 2 to 4 years. He said maybe it will be 3 years before the likes of Electric Picnic returns.

Now I have no interest in going to a massive music festival or travelling around the world a few times a year. Doesn't matter though because other people do and they are part of normal living. The idea of having Government interference in how we live for the next number of years fills me with dread.

I know now that I have to work on acceptance. I must accept that this is life for the next 5 years anyways and find a way to be ok with that. Even writing those words my stomach goes to lead.

All those people on the main thread in this forum that seem to talk with ease about worst case scenarios, how it will be a long time before normality, that new strains will evade the virus etc. Do those scenarios frighten them? Is it how they cope? Have they reached an acceptance?

In a few days I'll probably be back to "be grand" but right now I have a splitting headache and a constant knot in stomach. I know all too well how fear robs us of contentment and peace but I'm terrified now.

DessieJames

Anyone suffering from anxiety,etc i urget you to stop watching the news completely, disable notifications from news apps or uninstall them altogether, because it's nothing but doom and gloom every single day without fail, social media too can be a cesspit too especially twitter and facecook, instagram isnt that bad as there's little in the way of covid-19 compared to the other two platforms.

Obviousy it's unavoidable to completely block yourself off from the news completely, but instead of waiting on the evening news to see what the daily cases are just dont watch it, with Netflix/Prime there's plenty in the way of escapism in addition to getting outdoors and exercising.

Just my two cents anyway.

Tchaikovsky

DessieJames wrote: »

Anyone suffering from anxiety,etc i urget you to stop watching the news completely, disable notifications from news apps or uninstall them altogether, because it's nothing but doom and gloom every single day without fail, social media too can be a cesspit too especially twitter and facecook, instagram isnt that bad as there's little in the way of covid-19 compared to the other two platforms.

Obviousy it's unavoidable to completely block yourself off from the news completely, but instead of waiting on the evening news to see what the daily cases are just dont watch it, with Netflix/Prime there's plenty in the way of escapism in addition to getting outdoors and exercising.

Just my two cents anyway.

Absolutely. I'd recommend getting lost in a good book as well. Book sales have shot up in the last year and there are lots of great Irish bookshops you can support, rather than Bezos' mob.

Try to remain positive guys; once the vaccines cover the most vulnerable and we see deaths and hospitalisations fall, we'll start getting back the freedoms denied to us for the last year. Gigs and sporting events might be further down the line, but we'll be going in the right direction.

If you are interested in some online training in suicide prevention, there is one provided by the HSE. You have to contact the coordinator in your county to get a license but it is worthwhile. You can find info on the Connecting for Life section of HSE.ie. LivingWorks Start is the name of the program and it is free to take (HSE covers cost). Keep having those tough conversations and talk to your family and friends.

acequion

Deleted User wrote: »

ShadowTech I completely relate. I keep moving in and out of rational thought, irrational panic, hope, being unrealistic. I'm worn out with it all.
I listened to Luke O'Neil speak to Stephanie Preissner on a podcast last night. It was between positive and negative for me.
Luke thinks we will be dealing with restrictions in some shape for the next 2 to 4 years. He said maybe it will be 3 years before the likes of Electric Picnic returns.

Now I have no interest in going to a massive music festival or travelling around the world a few times a year. Doesn't matter though because other people do and they are part of normal living. The idea of having Government interference in how we live for the next number of years fills me with dread.

I know now that I have to work on acceptance. I must accept that this is life for the next 5 years anyways and find a way to be ok with that. Even writing those words my stomach goes to lead.

All those people on the main thread in this forum that seem to talk with ease about worst case scenarios, how it will be a long time before normality, that new strains will evade the virus etc. Do those scenarios frighten them? Is it how they cope? Have they reached an acceptance?

In a few days I'll probably be back to "be grand" but right now I have a splitting headache and a constant knot in stomach. I know all too well how fear robs us of contentment and peace but I'm terrified now.

5 years, Jesus I hope you misprinted and mean 5 months.:eek::eek: How on earth could anybody accept or be ok with the idea of this dystopian existence for 5 years!!

acequion

acequion wrote: »

5 years, Jesus I hope you misprinted and mean 5 months.:eek::eek: How on earth could anybody accept or be ok with the idea of this dystopian existence for 5 years!!

I know!! That was my fear writing. My fear is that life pre 2020 won't return for a number of years. It isn't a feeling I want to have but I am more hopeful tonight.

ACitizenErased

Have found the last 2 weeks incredibly difficult for whatever reason. Am back in college so busy enough but nighttime is just terrible for me personally with no sports to go to and no events happening. I rely on the GAA and league of ireland for my weekly trips out but none of that now in a time when it should be kicking off is incredibly hard.

acequion

Deleted User wrote: »

I know!! That was my fear writing. My fear is that life pre 2020 won't return for a number of years. It isn't a feeling I want to have but I am more hopeful tonight.

I didn't mean to come across like I was having a go at you. But I've always found that thinking too far ahead really ratchets up anxiety. We're all going through something akin to grief/loss/trauma at the moment and the best policy is to just focus on the here and now. I find mindfulness helps.

But as to the future, I think it's vital to have hope and to be optimistic that this will all pass and fade away. And the most likely scenario is that it will.

acequion

acequion wrote: »

I didn't mean to come across like I was having a go at you. But I've always found that thinking too far ahead really ratchets up anxiety. We're all going through something akin to grief/loss/trauma at the moment and the best policy is to just focus on the here and now. I find mindfulness helps.

But as to the future, I think it's vital to have hope and to be optimistic that this will all pass and fade away. And the most likely scenario is that it will.

You didn't The gas thing is I practice meditation and am very self aware. I understand how important hope is and on the whole I do have it. I've always had a tendency to lose the run of myself emotionally and have worked hard at controlling that and keeping grounded. The Covid pandemic has unsteadied my
grounded-ness. In saying all that I can bring myself back which is what I've done today.

jaffa20

I'm doing a course and just invested my time in that without reading the constant news and it's really helping. I have the odd look at the numbers out of curiousity but even then it's very brief. Too much negativity in the news constantly.

DessieJames

Might not be everyones cup of tea but i love watching chnnels like Nat Geo Wild , Eden and Sky Nature,i find them fascinating, good escapism.

you cant get any worse than the mainstream channels like RTE anyway,complete garbage.

ax530

I have been avoiding news since Christmas has helped.
Knew I'd find Jan difficult but it now Feb and evenings longer finding it as hard.
Children frustrated with school at home in finding it harder keep face for them.
Weekdays hard with juggling work and children. Weekend difficult as no structure and options so limited within 5km

fin12

Sick of this sh*t, no socializing , looking at screens all day and night. Mental health doesn’t mean sh*t to the people in charge.

Wanderer78

fin12 wrote:

Sick of this sh*t, no socializing , looking at screens all day and night. Mental health doesn’t mean sh*t to the people in charge.

Yup, but this has always been the way, many mental health services have been scaled back since last year, now that's really disturbing stuff! Services require an immediate injection of multiples of billions, but shur that's never gonna happen

poisonated

This is a good idea. As much as I like boards.ie, a lot of the posters can be very ignorant when it comes to mental health so hopefully this thread can bring out the nicer ones which it seems to have done.

Wanderer78

poisonated wrote:

This is a good idea. As much as I like boards.ie, a lot of the posters can be very ignorant when it comes to mental health so hopefully this thread can bring out the nicer ones which it seems to have done.

Arseholes be arseholes

elizunia87

Please guys help, give some ideas how to survive this horrible time.

I got a baby in april 2020. Since that time i am at home mostly alone (husband at work) with my son. Baby and lockdown and being forgein person with no other family omg. I cant cope anymore. Phonix park i know by hearth i think. I am walking or jogging with buggy in the rain. I am practicing stresful eating. I know every corner in Aldi. Cant drink alco as i am with baby (breastfeeding). What else i can do? Studying reading is though as he needs attention all the time.
Ehhhh

SnuggyBear

ShadowTech wrote: »

It’s not just the lockdown but the diminishing prospects for the future.

This was the hardest part for me, I am always working towards goals. A year out of work now with money dwindling away has put these goals back and erased some. It used to proper piss me off and frustrate me. Im just focusing on daily goals now like fitness and forming good habits etc. No point thinking of the future.

ShadowTech

SnuggyBear wrote: »

This was the hardest part for me, I am always working towards goals. A year out of work now with money dwindling away has put these goals back and erased some. It used to proper piss me off and frustrate me. Im just focusing on daily goals now like fitness and forming good habits etc. No point thinking of the future.

I was doing exactly that for most of last year. Trying to take it a day at a time, exercising, reading more to pass the time and studying a foreign language. I think that was working for me because I believed that once the vaccines arrived and we'd had time to distribute them we'd start getting back to normal; there was still something to look forward to. I feel like the government messaging has really contradicted that lately. It's really sent me into a depression. I've stopped exercising, drinking more, and just generally struggling to make myself do what I need to do every day. If it weren't for my partner I think I would've just shut down by now. I can't imagine how awful this must be for people who are on their own. But it's still really difficult and I really need to see that there is some genuinely achievable goal that gets us back to a real life and not this indefinite nothingness.

SnuggyBear

ShadowTech wrote: »

I was doing exactly that for most of last year. Trying to take it a day at a time, exercising, reading more to pass the time and studying a foreign language. I think that was working for me because I believed that once the vaccines arrived and we'd had time to distribute them we'd start getting back to normal; there was still something to look forward to. I feel like the government messaging has really contradicted that lately. It's really sent me into a depression. I've stopped exercising, drinking more, and just generally struggling to make myself do what I need to do every day. If it weren't for my partner I think I would've just shut down by now. I can't imagine how awful this must be for people who are on their own. But it's still really difficult and I really need to see that there is some genuinely achievable goal that gets us back to a real life and not this indefinite nothingness.

I live on my own and out of work. The struggle is real.

francogarbanzo

elizunia87 wrote: »

Please guys help, give some ideas how to survive this horrible time.

I got a baby in april 2020. Since that time i am at home mostly alone (husband at work) with my son. Baby and lockdown and being forgein person with no other family omg. I cant cope anymore. Phonix park i know by hearth i think. I am walking or jogging with buggy in the rain. I am practicing stresful eating. I know every corner in Aldi. Cant drink alco as i am with baby (breastfeeding). What else i can do? Studying reading is though as he needs attention all the time.
Ehhhh

Keep going. This is temporary and you're stronger than you think.

fin12

francogarbanzo wrote: »

Keep going. This is temporary and you're stronger than you think.

Like the Winston Churchill quote if ur going through hell, keep going. Easier said than done but I do really like that quote and it does help me a bit in dark times when I say it to myself.

elizunia87

fin12 wrote: »

Like the Winston Churchill quote if ur going through hell, keep going. Easier said than done but I do really like that quote and it does help me a bit in dark times when I say it to myself.

Thank you. This is a good quote. The bad times will pass, the sun will shine again. Just patience.

PTH2009

Today's stuff from Leo has me really down. We're getting a revised living with covid plan which will be no doubt more restrictive with a lot of Social stuff been moved to level 1 (aka the impossible level) and with stuff like hairdressers etc will not open til much later after the 5th March

The_Brood

I mean this is really pushing it now, Covid and lockdown, but the weather is literally deadly and you can't go outside even for some fresh air. This is de facto house arrest.

LilacNails

I'm so fed up with the whole thing. It just feels like it's one rule for us, and another for others.

Like what good is it going to do if things do get stricter for longer??

I'm seeing people every fcukin day meeting in groups. People in and out of each other's houses. Gangs of young people meeting up in the same spot most days. People not distancing themselves. Why are they doing all this? Because their getting away with it. More guardí need to be out on streets and around towns. Fines need to be made higher and implemented.

A year of my life wasted.

hollypink

elizunia87 wrote: »

Please guys help, give some ideas how to survive this horrible time.

I got a baby in april 2020. Since that time i am at home mostly alone (husband at work) with my son. Baby and lockdown and being forgein person with no other family omg. I cant cope anymore. Phonix park i know by hearth i think. I am walking or jogging with buggy in the rain. I am practicing stresful eating. I know every corner in Aldi. Cant drink alco as i am with baby (breastfeeding). What else i can do? Studying reading is though as he needs attention all the time.
Ehhhh

That sounds tough but well done on the walking and jogging. Would an online mother's group be of any interest? Might be nice to chat with others in a similar boat. Wicklow libraries has a free zoom meet up for mothers, I don't think you have to be in Wicklow to join. https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/mothers-meet-up-tickets-140260511967?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
The Dublin libraries have online stuff too, think it sells out fairly quickly but maybe there is stuff that's of interest there
https://www.eventbrite.ie/d/ireland--dublin/library/?page=1

Audio books might be good for reading with a baby to look after - the libraries have a free app called borrowbox with access to audio books and ebooks. If you aren't a member, you can join online
https://www.librariesireland.ie/join-your-library

(I don't work for the library service or anything, I just love them!)

PTH2009

LilacNails wrote: »

I'm so fed up with the whole thing. It just feels like it's one rule for us, and another for others.

Like what good is it going to do if things do get stricter for longer??

I'm seeing people every fcukin day meeting in groups. People in and out of each other's houses. Gangs of young people meeting up in the same spot most days. People not distancing themselves. Why are they doing all this? Because their getting away with it. More guardí need to be out on streets and around towns. Fines need to be made higher and implemented.

A year of my life wasted.

very true, always seeing groups of people around with takeaway pints and as you said other groups meeting daily

Why do we have to all suffer in Ireland while we look at other countries doing everything to get back to somewhat normal

Some people who are saying 'ah sure things could be worse' etc have good jobs, no financial worries and are in relationships/have families. while some like myself are single and getting older not younger. Not feeling sorry for myself buts its impossible to try and date in covid times

Sick of it all

scamalert

PTH2009 wrote: »

very true, always seeing groups of people around with takeaway pints and as you said other groups meeting daily

Why do we have to all suffer in Ireland while we look at other countries doing everything to get back to somewhat normal

Some people who are saying 'ah sure things could be worse' etc have good jobs, no financial worries and are in relationships/have families. while some like myself are single and getting older not younger. Not feeling sorry for myself buts its impossible to try and date in covid times

Sick of it all

unlike others angry and depressed but actually have a temp job, that only brings rage, idiots at work not having basic fckn decency to cover when coughing sneezing, you listen to radio all day about 350-250 likes its fckn giveaway when barely bringing that in after weeks work on top, then you sit in some stupid point to be waved trough bashing your head because apparently 7-9am and 3-5pm are people that really have f all do do in this country and drag their asses to be tortured by nonsense crap, when its tax nct check at most, few idiots aside, yet look at towns and plenty teenagers having f all to do 99% surely outside 5km radius just passing time wherever they feel like roaming.


and on top listening that there wont be hols this year, and entire vaccination joke might take until autumn, while some idiot decides if to go to US to give a shamrock - its like being that only idiot who pushes 10-12hrs a day to get by, while in your head your exposed, underpaid and rest just fckn collecting free cash and thinking what other crap to watch on netflix to pass their time.


So neither situation is perfect grind your ass risk getting this crap, or sit put and do nothing, is evenly depressing, when you have few select making **** rules that make 0 sense, just more misery in daily life doesnt seem fair.

Goldengirl

elizunia87 wrote: »

Thank you. This is a good quote. The bad times will pass, the sun will shine again. Just patience.

Yes.
Just wanted to say I think you are doing so well even trying to get out of the house with the baby exercising.. With my first, I only ever seemed to get out when it was time to come back in and make the dinner . And breastfeeding too, wow!
First year with a new baby is difficult ,never mind in the midst of a pandemic AND in a foreign country .
Try to get a break on your own even for an hour in the evenings ( daddy / baby bonding time after he has had a rest ) . You just need that headspace to find you again .
Forget study or anything too onerous until you can get this time for yourself sorted , even a few days a week, as that should come first .
Take loads of pictures of your little one to send to family and to appreciate every little change , as it happens so fast .
It is hard to tell someone that one day you will say why was I worried about so much when my babies were little , because we just do !
it's a mix of natural anxiety for our children as well as hormones , loneliness , and grieving for our pre baby freedom. Never mind Covid and lockdown .
Give yourself a break, you are doing the best, most important job in the world today , keep it
up , you're playing a blinder .

Edit . There is a phoneline with practical and appropriate advice called Parentline if you want to talk to another adult , non judgemental 1890 927 277 ,