To think there's a whole mental health aftermath to the pandemic which isn't really being addressed

[crackerscandycanes]

Just looking at people I know, people seem to be really struggling at the minute, and of course the cost of living is a big part and all the bad news etc, but I also think that some of it is the aftermath of the pandemic and everything we had to go through being locked indoors for all that time. It seems as if we're not supposed to mention it now or reflect, but I think there's a lot of mental health issues on the back of it.

Yes
and hello! <waves>

@JenniferBooth
Hello I found the way they went about things extremely psychologically abusive. People are trying to cope with the aftermath of emotional abuse on a massive scale.

Absolutely it was relentless and the people who if you didn't agree were abusive.

I suffered from depression and anxiety in the years prior to this there was no support at all.

I lost time with my mum who died early on this year not from covid, this is months I will never get back so yes I am angry.

Hello Emma <waves back>

This is so true
especially For my family
I have found though, that people are more tolerant and better at listening which must be a good thing

@Againstmachine Im so sorry to hear about your mum

we were on the same AD threads.

That was always a given.

Not just mental health, physical health as well.

In many ways, for me as an individual, it's best not to think about it
but ironically, i just saw this thread after I was sitting in mum's garden having a smoke - didn't do that pre lockdown - and thinking "I cannot believe my life is so shit, I'm thinking to become mum's carer".

so it's kind of timely. But my pre lockdown life won't come back and all my efforts at building new things have come to naught. Many people only want to be with their families now.

@JenniferBooth

Thank you, I vaguely remember you name, it's a while since I frequented those threads. Hope you are well.

We were basically put on house arrest and if your circumstances were difficult eg you were isolated or living with an abusive partner or had no outside space etc or even none of those things… just to be isolated like that was very traumatising for many.

Many were on house arrest in shitholes like that little boy who died was living in.

I definitely believe I experienced the pandemic as trauma. I do feel the gaslighting which began along the lines of “you are only being asked to stay home and watch tv no biggie” (this was just not true for most people in so many different ways!) which has today morphed into “but there was no trauma nothing happened everything is fine now” is a contributing factor. I’m not letting anyone gaslight me though. I am traumatised and I deserve help. Just in and of itself that is a straight fact.

Yes, that too. Telling people to stay at home and functionally preventing millions of them from taking outdoor exercise made that inevitable. And it didn't have to be that way. Lockdown didn't preclude people being encouraged to be outside and it being made clear that those who needed to stop and rest as a part of their exercise would be able to do so. Meanwhile, weight and alcohol consumption both increased.

Not too bad thanks @Againstmachine There has been something that has happened in my personal life which has changed it irreversibly and i know it was the result of the lockdowns.

I worked from home back then
they promoted cocktail hour and zoom pubs
it became normal to pickup a drink at 3pm…

Police with megaphones in the park telling us not to stop and sit....that Adam lawyer tweeted about it, but on here I was told it wasn't happening. Anyway, put me off going to the park. Other North London parks were closed too, because some idiot decided they were too crowded.

you can't have any faith in the (alleged) humans who thought this was okay.

That's interesting because my child who has tried to kill themselves is frequently told there is no help for them as their needs are to acute . For example this is what the crisis team say.

Having to stay shut indoors for months on end is a very unique and big thing, even in wartime people didn't have to do that. It went against our human nature to be with others. And yes the lack of being able to exercise during a time of stress was hard.

My brother experienced psychosis as a direct result of the lockdown and being isolated abroad until we got him home. He's been in hospital twice, sectioned once, crashed his car on purpose in early 2021. He's no closer to recovery now and is being discharged into community MH (the reality is, the more specialised teams have been useless anyway, when they've bothered seeing him). He had no mental health issues before, nothing to suggest this, but the isolation and fear just blew something up in his mind and there was no help or understanding until he was already too far gone. It is devastating to him and all his loved ones and I am totally in favour of more discussion of this and support for those affected. I still can't quite believe it.

Hope your dc will manage to be able to get the help they need tothelefttotheleft

I don't know if it's post Covid, maybe for some but mental health issues in general are at crisis point. So many people I know including myself and DH are on antidepressants. The Ukraine and cost of living crisis are huge factors.

Another particular low point was being called a right wing Nazi on here

I was reading some old what’s app messages between me and my sibling from Feb 2020 onwards and it was shocking to me now the fear and panic we had as Covid went from being something distant in Asia to close to home and then fretting over if our dads neighbours had went to close to him in the garden .
I have everyday anxieties and stresses but I do find if I sit and think about how much ‘the rules ‘ were part of life and all the hysteria and everything that happened it makes me feel quite strange . I find it so sad to think about people who lost their lives during the strict lockdown year especially in suddenly or horrific circumstances (E.g the young women in London who were murdered ) .
I am probably not the best at explaining myself but I hope it doesn’t sound too strange .

Yes, there is nothing there until, god forbid…

And children locked in with abusers : (

I can’t believe this site over the pandemic. It’s a good record of the impact of fear based campaigns but still, people lost their minds.