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Topic Originator: Wotsit
Date: Mon 13 Apr 15:52
I know that there are a few others on here who experience poor mental health from time to time and the current situation is not exactly helping things.
I just thought it might be useful for folk to share coping strategies or just some moral support in a difficult time. Human contact is hard to come by right now for some folk.
In the past I have tended to isolate myself away when I started feeling mental distress which was obviously not the best way of dealing with things.
I currently live alone but my job means that I'm not stuck indoors every day thankfully, otherwise I could easily see myself slipping into the old routine - I'm being actively encouraged to after all and on a couple of levels it would be pretty comforting to do that, especially when the world is so messed up!
I was unwell last week with a non covid thing so I couldn't do the two person patrols we do in Edinburgh city centre and I could feel myself losing the plot a bit simply because I wasn't speaking to real live humans for days at a time.
So my coping strategies are more about avoiding certain behaviours such as not living entirely on tea an biscuits as well as sticking to a routine and making sure I'm going outside every day for my government sanctioned recreation time.
I have been told that latest government guidance is that you can go out in public more than once a day if you have a mental health difficulty, but I haven't been able to confirm that, anyone know if that's the case?
"Who you are and what you feel comes not just from inside you, but from where you are in the power structure"
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Mon 13 Apr 16:20
I don't know, wotsit, but at the end of today's media briefing Nicola Sturgeon said that at tomorrow's briefing she would be joined by someone who specialises in mental health and they would be addressing the issues arising from the lockdown.
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Topic Originator: Rastapari
Date: Mon 13 Apr 19:04
My mental health is as good as it's been, I'm genuinely happy and settled , amazing family, beautiful fiance, nice home, job I dig.
And yet sometimes I wake up and wish I never existed, that I could just disappear.....pondered it too.
My coping mechanism was live music, thank (insert expletive) our last gig was a belter.
Carole Baskin fed Rasta to a tiger.
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Mon 13 Apr 19:24
It's going to be a troubling time for a lot of people. Extra stress and anxiety on top of the isolation. Keep well, folks.
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Topic Originator: Socks
Date: Mon 13 Apr 21:59
The mental health aspect is the one side of this situation that I haven't seen mentioned much at all. And it really should be discussed, because it's a very big issue.
I'm not normally a very sociable person so even though I live on my own, isolation usually isn't a problem. Before all this started, I was working at home about 50% of time which suited me quite well, but it really is different doing it all the time and then not having anything to go out to in the evening.
At the moment, getting out on my bike now and again is the one thing that helps the most. It's made me think a lot about people who are housebound, either permanently or for the next 3 months because they're at high risk. I'm genuinely not sure I could cope with that at all. Exercise is essential for me, so I'm sort of torn between being very grateful for being able to do something but upset at losing my fitness because I can't do my normal stuff. That makes me worry about putting on weight, which makes me feel bad about myself, especially if I'm having a day when I can't really get motivated to do anything.
I had a nice run on the bike tonight in nice weather, so tonight I feel quite good - I'll take that for now.
I really hope folk manage to find a way of coping.
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Topic Originator: yvb-par
Date: Tue 14 Apr 12:11
There is no doubt that everyone's anxiety levels will be raised just now as we are living in unprecedented, uncertain and stressful times. Anxiety is normal but unpleasant. In general self help strategies like exercise, reducing caffeine and alcohol intake will help.
Having small goals to go for helps. Nothing excessive, even one a day for example like some gardening, cutting the grass. Some housework, starting off with polishing and hoovering.
Exercising gives a natural energy boost, a sense of achievement and could improve sleep. Going for a walk will help this. Another one I like to use is if I don't fancy going outside is the play the air drums for maybe 10 minutes. So you would play your favorite music and just like the air guitar you do the drums. This is quite effective and fun.
Alcohol can act quickly to relieve the feelings of anxiety but long term alcohol misuse and acute alcohol withdrawal often increases anxiety. This is important because there will be difficulty in dealing with every day living and stresses. Which then can cause or contribute to anxiety.
Caffeine gives us a boost as it is seen as a stimulant, can make you feel more alert but it disrupts sleep and can make panic attacks more likely. The NHS guideline people who experience anxious states should reduce the daily intake to 300mg or less. This would be the equivalent of 3 cups of 1 heaped teaspoon of instant coffee per day. This is without drinking any energy drinks or Coke and Pepsi.
There are CBT books and free apps online that will help also. The NHS website is very good as it is a trusted source.
I have just touched on Anxiety for this post. Some of you may know that I am the mental health ambassador for the football club. We did mental health awareness sessions last year which were very successful and we are planning to do more when this covid 19 situation returns to some normality.
I will pay particular attention to this thread, and answer any questions that may come.
Take care and stay safe
Eddie Martin
Post Edited (Tue 14 Apr 12:29)
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