Masks

COuld you try hypnotism or acupuncture to help with anxiety

[Deleted User]

mark2912 wrote: »

I cannot wear anything be it a scarf, or surgical or reusable mask.

It's looking like I'll have to use taxis for the forseeable to get to and from work

Don't plan on taxis long term aside from the cost, car shares have come under the mask requirement in other countries

Get a GP letter alright, but running into some busybody on the bus will be no fun either.. worst case just have a scarf on and tuck your chin and mouth down towards it rather than wearing it

[Deleted User]

mark2912 wrote: »

...........
Taxis to/from work each day, costing about €200 a week, almost 3/4 of my weekly wages..............

mark2912 wrote: »

............
It's looking like I'll have to use taxis for the forseeable to get to and from work

that doesn't look like working financially though. I do hope some other option is possible. I'd go on the bus to be honest........... it's not mandatory for everyone. Just say you've a respiratory issue and you can't wear a mask

khalessi wrote: »

I was looking at hats with attached visors so they are away from face

https://www.google.ie/search?source=hp&ei=ntv9XuPEEsfKgQa_q6TgBQ&q=hats+with+face+shields&oq=hats+with+face+sh&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADoFCAAQgwE6BQgAELEDUKoFWM8rYMg9aAFwAHgAgAGNAYgBuwuSAQQxNy4xmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab

Would these help?
Also get letter from gp as suggested

you dont have to wear mask with them

Although I wouldn't feel claustrophobic as such wearing a visor, I wouldn't for the sake of embarrassment.

[Deleted User]

mark2912 wrote: »

Although I wouldn't feel claustrophobic as such wearing a visor, I wouldn't for the sake of embarrassment.

No one will care, where I live we've already been through the mask stage and no one pays any attention after the first few days

riffmongous wrote: »

No one will care, where I live we've already been through the mask stage and no one pays any attention after the first few days

I'd care, I'd feel self conscious

fly_agaric

mark2912 wrote: »

I got one of those black reusable ones for €2/3 and tried it for a few seconds, could feel butterflies in my stomach instantly. It makes me feel so claustrophobic and I would feel embarrassed wearing it in front of friends/family/strangers

Think the disposable ones are a bit lighter, freer on your face than cloth or synthetic reusable ones, so could try one and see if it is more tolerable. IMO masks/face coverings could be with us for a while.

It is not the case now (the social pressure is usually in the other direction) but it may be in future you'll be having to explain why you are not wearing one in many situations, getting some odd looks etc.

fly_agaric wrote: »

Think the disposable ones are a bit lighter, freer on your face than cloth or synthetic reusable ones, so could try one and see if it is more tolerable. IMO masks/face coverings could be with us for a while.

It is not the case now (the social pressure is usually in the other direction) but it may be in future you'll be having to explain why you are not wearing one in many situations, getting some odd looks etc.

I wouldn't mind explaining why I'm not wearing one as opposed to wearing one and making a show of myself.

fly_agaric

mark2912 wrote: »

I wouldn't mind explaining why I'm not wearing one as opposed to wearing one and making a show of myself.

Okay, fair enough. My point was that eventually not wearing one could become the "abnormal" social behaviour in many situations (which is what usually makes people...well me anyway, feel more anxious/self conscious).

Lillyfae

mark2912 wrote: »

I wouldn't mind explaining why I'm not wearing one as opposed to wearing one and making a show of myself.

I do think that you need to address the reasons as to why you have these thoughts, rather than finding reasons not to wear them. People wearing masks are not making a show of themselves, especially on public transport.

Weepsie wrote: »

If being embarrassed is a problem, possibly being one of the few on a bus etc not taking recommended precautions is hardly going to be any less embarrassing at some point as you'll be the one being tutted, looked at.

Sounds like some type of cognitive behavioral therapy might be best bet, though expensive. I'd work on getting over the anxiety if at all possible, rather than looking for reasons not to.

I wouldn't care what people thought of me if I didn't wear one, I think this whole social distancing thing is a load of b****cks in the first place. Doesn't bother me if nobody else is wearing a mask, so why should I care if people are bothered by me not wearing one?

mark2912 wrote: »

I wouldn't care what people thought of me if I didn't wear one, I think this whole social distancing thing is a load of b****cks in the first place. Doesn't bother me if nobody else is wearing a mask, so why should I care if people are bothered by me not wearing one?

you were the one who opened the thread and everyone here was trying to help.
I didnt realise you are a kid/teenager. My best advice is to discuss it with your parents and healthcare.

joeguevara

ok after reading all of the op's responses on this, I am going to rate it as a 1/10 for trolling.

SomeGuyCalledMi

I feel out of breath sometimes when wearing a mask.

Not anxiety for me. Just rebreathing the stale air inside the mask resulting in less oxygen per breath.

SomeGuyCalledMi wrote: »

I feel out of breath sometimes when wearing a mask.

Not anxiety for me. Just rebreathing the stale air inside the mask resulting in less oxygen per breath.

Medically that doesnt happen as has been shown by many doctors

holayadios

People who work in hospital wear them for 8 hours. You get used to the mask, bit a bit, the light ones are very easy to bear. The rest is BS.

OSI wrote: »

I dunno, ya used to frequently hear of surgeons dropping dead mid surgery after running out of oxygen wearing those masks. They stopped reporting about it on the news though when we realised we were able to just replace them with all those super cheap surgeons from Asia and Africa whenever another one dropped.

Having stood in theatre during surgery for hours, I have never seen anyone drop dead due to mask wear. that is pure scaremongering on and on a thread about anxiety. Shocking!

khalessi wrote: »

Medically that doesnt happen as has been shown by many doctors

Feeling that it's difficult to breathe and finding it difficult to breathe are both quite scary. I occasionally wear a mask for a particular hobby of mine, I can only wear it for about five minutes or so before I 'feel' my breathing is becoming difficult and I have to take a break.

polesheep wrote: »

Feeling that it's difficult to breathe and finding it difficult to breathe are both quite scary. I occasionally wear a mask for a particular hobby of mine, I can only wear it for about five minutes or so before I 'feel' my breathing is becoming difficult and I have to take a break.

That is caused by stress and unafamiliarity with wearing masks for long periods. But medically reducing oxygen due to mask wearing does not happen as has been proven by doctors, ask the wife how many staff collapse in hospital due to low oxygen when wearing masks. In the 20 years+ I worked in hospitals the answer was zero.

biko

Try wearing your mask at home for short periods, taking it off when your anxiety begins to rev up.
Even if at first you are only able to wear your mask briefly, you will find longer periods more tolerable over time.

khalessi wrote: »

That is caused by stress and unafamiliarity with wearing masks for long periods. But medically reducing oxygen due to mask wearing does not happen as has been proven by doctors, ask the wife how many staff collapse in hospital due to low oxygen when wearing masks. In the 20 years+ I worked in hospitals the answer was zero.

I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't saying that wearing a mask physically interferes with your ability to breathe. I know that it doesn't. I was saying that some people can experience a very strong feeling of not being able to breath properly when wearing a mask or even pulling a jumper over their head if it gets stuck. There is absolutely no point in telling those people that there is no issue with their breathing as what they are experiencing feels real to them.

polesheep wrote: »

I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't saying that wearing a mask physically interferes with your ability to breath. I know that it doesn't. I was saying that some people can experience a very strong feeling of not being able to breath properly when wearing a mask or even pulling a jumper over their head if it gets stuck. There is absolutely no point in telling those people that there is no issue with their breathing as what they are experiencing feels real to them.

If you read the thread, you would the person I repsonded to, mentioned "Just rebreathing the stale air inside the mask resulting in less oxygen per breath", which is what I responded to as it is false and wrong. If you wish to continue that conversation open another thread as not suitable on a thread to do with mask anxiety which the op is about and I tried to assist as I can understand not liking things over your mouth it is a common anxiety.

dazed+confused

I think it's time for another war.

People would be a lot less anxious about masks if the bullets started flying.

Electric Sheep

[PHP][/PHP]

mark2912 wrote: »

Although I wouldn't feel claustrophobic as such wearing a visor, I wouldn't for the sake of embarrassment.

Why don't you see if you can get an embarrassment exception. I am sure you will get zero sympathy from anyone with a brain.

khalessi wrote: »

If you read the thread, you would the person I repsonded to, mentioned "Just rebreathing the stale air inside the mask resulting in less oxygen per breath", which is what I responded to as it is false and wrong. If you wish to continue that conversation open another thread as not suitable on a thread to do with mask anxiety which the op is about and I tried to assist as I can understand not liking things over your mouth it is a common anxiety.

Are you actually saying that a person with mask anxiety cannot have the very real feeling that they aren't able to breathe properly? Or am I misunderstanding you?

Wibbs

joeguevara wrote: »

ok after reading all of the op's responses on this, I am going to rate it as a 1/10 for trolling.

Maybe, but I've long suspected that most of the resistance to masks is almost entirely down to "I dont want to look like a gobsh1te/different to anyone else" and anxiety and claustrophobia. Even if tomorrow every single expert and medical body on the planet showed masks reduced your risk of catching any respiratory virus to zero, it would take a while to shift the first reason for resistance and longer for the second as the easily spooked would be looking for "medical reasons" from their GP to avoid them. Literally billions of East Asians don't seem to have any problem, but apparently a large proportion of the Irish psyche can't handle it, or have "medical issues" that your Asians(and many Europeans) don't. Well East Asian cultures don't have the embarrassment as there are social pressures going the other way to wear them. And as humans are social animals and herd creatures that covers that.

khalessi wrote: »

That is caused by stress and unafamiliarity with wearing masks for long periods.

Pretty much. Unless you have an actual medical condition like an autistic child or actually compromised lungs it's down to practice. I've worn P3 half face respirators down the years for various don't want to get poisoned reasons and they do restrict airflow to achieve that level of filtration, and yes initially your reptile brain is going "ah here sunshine, what gives??" but after a few goes it goes silent and you get very quickly used to it. And I'm a smoker so hardly have the lungs of Usain Bolt. At surgical mask level filtration level the breathing resistance is bugger all and almost all in the mind.

dazed+confused wrote: »

I think it's time for another war.

People would be a lot less anxious about masks if the bullets started flying.

I think you need to appreciate what anxiety can do to people. And for some reason it seems to be very prevalent these days.