The 'Positive Mental Health' Corona virus thread Part II

[magimedi]

I hope that RapidRainbow does not mind me starting Part II of the thread - if you do let me know & I'll ask for it to be deleted.

It would just be a shame to not carry on as this is such a positive place.

Part I is here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3821799-The-Positive-Mental-Health-Corona-virus-thread?msgid=93901971

@StillNotANewUser maybe your therapy could continue via phone or video link? I know it's not ideal, but might be a workable alternative if it becomes necessary.

I've just made the mistake of looking at the main thread. Now feeling sick with anxiety. I'm glad this thread is here.

@unluckyagain the other thread is on top form today
A positive is this may have cured my general health anxiety!! My son hasnt ate all day and said his tummy hurts. Now this would have normally sent me spiralling into panic but ive tucked him up on the sofa and watching tv with him

Just in from a lovely dog walk, it feels like spring today. I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes.

Stop looking at the other thread if it’s upsetting you. I have! I’ve hidden the whole topic other than these threads!

Hide them and have done with it! It’s silly to keep looking at something that you know will upset you. What are you gaining from it? Nothing but unhappiness. You can get factual information from other places without indulging a lot of people winding themselves into a tizzy.

Now come on. Hide it.

@spudlet. You are right.

My mum has terrible health anxiety, so I’m used to doling out loving lectures! I’m a great believer in controlling what you can, and although you can’t control what others are saying, you can control whether you listen.

Have an internet hug and hide that thread.

I have also bought all my compost, seeds, potatoes, gardening bits and pieces as well as a small greenhouse, so could also do a lot of pottering in the garden.

WHO have released some advice on protecting your mental health. For the general population, they say:

General population

1. COVID-19 has and is likely to affect people from many countries, in many geographical locations. Don’t attach it to any ethnicity or nationality. Be empathetic to those who got affected, in and from any country, those with the disease have not done anything wrong.
2. Don’t - refer to people with the disease as “COVID-19 cases”, “victims” “COVID-19 families” or the “diseased”. They are “people who have COVID-19”, “people who are being treated for COVID-19”, “people who are recovering from COVID-19” and after recovering from COVID- 19 their life will go on with their jobs, families and loved ones.
3. Avoid watching, reading or listening to news that cause you to feel anxious or distressed; seek information mainly to take practical steps to prepare your plans and protect yourself and loved ones. Seek information updates at specific times during the day once or twice. The sudden and near-constant stream of news reports about an outbreak can cause anyone to feel worried. Get the facts. Gather information at regular intervals, from WHO website and local health authorities platforms, in order to help you distinguish facts from rumors.
4. Protect yourself and be supportive to others. Assisting others in their time of need can benefit the person receiving support as well as the helper.

5. Find opportunities to amplify the voices, positive stories and positive images of local people who have experienced the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and have recovered or who have supported a loved one through recovery and are willing to share their experience.

1. Honor caretakers and healthcare workers supporting people affected with COVID-19 in your community. Acknowledge the role they play to save lives and keep your loved ones safe.

www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations.pdf?sfvrsn=6d3578af_2

Just browsing other threads (I know I know!) where lots of posters seems to think they know better than the medical experts and scientists.

Or even worse, quoting someone claiming to be an emergency doctor on Reddit/Twitter/Facebook. Does all common sense go right out of the window when you're scaremongering? I'll only accept facts from people who are clearly identifiable as doctors or medics.

Not politicians. Not pop stars. Not people who are claiming expertise with nothing to back that up.

someone claiming to be an emergency doctor

Claiming.

Does anyone else, like me, find that they are thinking what an excellent opportunity this is for those people who thrive on others' misery to have a real field-day spreading lies and scares? The trolls of this world must be rubbing their disgusting hands with glee at the damage they can do to those around them at the moment. and gloating every time something they invented to cause upset gets quoted as fact.

God I wish I wasn’t both asthmatic and anxious - not a great combo.

I was reading on Reddit earlier (I know this isn't really a reliable source)- apparently they are going to start swabbing anybody who presents to hospital with respiratory symptoms now. Expect a jump in numbers as they find more "milder" cases (and a LOT of negative screens, I suppose!)

Thanks again for this thread, it's keeping me sane (ish) but I wish people wouldn't keep saying how the other thread is so awful as it makes me want to read it so I know what's happening. I haven't been on it but the fact that people keep saying how bad it is makes me anxious if this makes sense.

My dh is not remotely worried, I wish I could be like him!

This helps me, to know

The vast majority of those diagnosed with coronavirus in Britain were "pretty well" but might "feel a bit rough for a few days", she added

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51822618

Thank you @PineappleDanish for offering me the chance to start thread 2, unfortunately I was busy today. Thankyou @magimedi for starting thread 2, it's great to see the spirit of the thread continuing and I love that it's taking on its own role here and becoming a staple thread

@Roussette That's brilliant - best laugh I've had in ages. Love it.

Joining. Been up and down with my anxiety on this. I get such bad physical anxiety symptoms that I really need to do all I can to keep it under control - I can get alternate cold and hot episodes, shivering uncontrollably, feeling sick, massively fast heartbeat and sore stomach all from anxiety - but then I’m in a mess as I can’t untangle what is anxiety and what’s a symptom of a physical ailment, which just makes me more anxious...

I’m finding getting outside very therapeutic - just hearing the birds going about their normal business unworried, and seeing spring flowers starting to open is really soothing and helps remind me that we are rolling on into spring and that better weather should help things.

I’m also quite excited about some veg seedlings I have coming up so trying to concentrate on nice things like that!

I’m barely reading any news anymore - relying mostly on school emails to update me on current guidelines.

Wish there were more first person stories from people who are fully better now - haven’t seen many, and would be really good to have a better idea of the shape of the illness than just a rundown of symptoms.

Thanks to all those who have posted reassuring facts on this thread, and tips for managing it all.

Wheresthebeach it tickled me too!
and think I've got away with posting it

I just dropped a (cold) cup of tea in the bathroom sue to anxiety- need to get a grip. I have hid the other thread and feel a bit better.

Please, please, please could posters stop telling us how they've looked at the other thread and been terrified by it. It just makes me wonder what terrifying new developments I haven't heard about, and gets my anxiety going through the roof.

Can we please try to keep this thread positive and reassuring, a little safe haven away from the hysteria.

@Tartan333 sorry, just caught up with the last page of this thread and saw that I've basically repeated what you said!

I’ve just found this and am grateful. I have found myself sinking into the depression I had hoped to have got the better of and the anxiety is debilitating.

My mindfulness techniques aren’t working just now and I’m reluctant to go to the exercise classes I normally go to. My appetite has gone and sleeping is problematic.

Cant watch any news at the moment,

Can you hide an entire topic or only individual threads?

If its right that we are 2 weeks or so behind Italy and that they expect our peak to start in say 2 weeks as well.. Does that indicate that Italy it currently seeing its peak. so if we average it out they will likely be seeing about 1000 cases a day for the next 10 weeks that still will only take there total to 80,000 cases (obviously its still a bad figure) but for a bit of context that will still only be 0.0013% of their population infected... A very similar percentage to hubei province actually...