The positive mental health thread part 6

[Bunnyflop]

Morning all! Welcome to the new thread!

Dianne - I agree, I think businesses like yours will be ok as you don't have staff that you have to lay off, rent that you can no longer afford or other big overheads. You will still have a lot of your old customer base and importantly your reputation. It may be that you have to wear more PPE, socially distance from your clients etc, but it should be do-able.

ExpletiveDelighted sorry you are struggling - I usually find that if I have a really rubbish day the next day is better! I miss playing music with people its so hard to get motivated to practise on my own. DS is finding it hard with no school and has had mental health issues in the past so it can get quite tense. I found Arcadia's list really helpful and together with the seeds from Pinkarsedfly it really helped last week. Let yourself be sad, it will pass.

Thank you, it's not so much that anything is really wrong here but life seems to have slowed down to a crawl and I'm fed up. There are lots of small positives (birdsong, time with the DCs etc) but some days I really miss that buzz of getting everyone out of the house in the morning, jumping in the car and driving to work, catching up with colleagues, popping to the shops on the way home, off to swimming or whatever. However this is meant to be a positive thread so I will stop wallowing. We will be doing some baking this evening which we wouldn't normally have time for and that will be nice.

I love the quiet roads but not sure there’s any way to keep those after the end of lockdown!

Sorry you’re having a tough day ExpDel. Things will change

I’ve finally got my arse in order to apply for a refund on our planned summer trip to Australia to visit family... sad but relieved to finally be getting it done - I kept putting it off for more immediate things. I’m also going to make an effort to get back to looking for a job - have been sahm-ing for 7 years but job hunting for the past year... just abandoned it when all this happened but finally I have the energy to face it and realising if there’s still job adverts I can still apply and see what happens...

@ExpletiveDelighted no no moan away, that’s what we are all here for, to cheer each other up and share our feelings. I feel the same as you, appreciate life slowing down but god I miss my freedom. I’m desperate to sit by the sea and go shopping without worry and watch ds playing football with his mates. Those days will be here again. X

@ExpletiveDelighted I'm with you, I love rushing around and hecticness of my usual life. I'm not a 'potterer'. I also like the contrast between home time and work time.
We can't all be Gwyneth Paltrow wafting around being all spiritual all the time.
you're allowed to moan on here we all have at times and we never all have a bad day at the same time luckily!
It's so up and down I can feel fine one day then something small and silly tips me to tears the next.
Hang in there.
It will get better x

I'm a bit in the middle I suppose with regard to wishing things were back to normal.
The enjoyment of the weekend, after a hard week at work. Gone, now everyday is like the the weekend. As others have said, it's the contrast between I miss. I have enjoyed our time our time together as a family, normally working hours which mean time together during the work week is very rare. The quiet streets, which I first found eerie, I now find calming. The almost vivid blue skies, less polution. It has made me look at my life and consider the balance all round. Work has been prioritised for many years even though, I now see I don't really enjoy it, so may change hours, even role, when we return. So, I do want things to return to "normal" but not necessarily the same normal.

I don't often feel trapped but my sister posted some pictures of a cream tea she'd made and it brought me up short that I couldn't just get in my car and drive there. To be fair I was quite lazy about visiting before but on the positive side, I will have so much annual leave rolled over I can buzz about and catch up with everyone

Here we are. I'll pretend I made this!! Actually it's Donald Trump but it so could be Boris don't you think? A bargain at $20 too

I didn't have too bad a day. I kept myself really busy.

I've had a good day today and mixed activity with relaxation, even managed a post-lunch snooze on the sofa!
Have lost interest in the news rather than it scaring me now.
Some great music on BBC6 music at lunchtime.
Did an exercise class this morning and a run tonight, never used to be able to run, I'm finally getting fit! (But also fatter again due to Easter chocolate!)

Arcadia - yes, I can listen to the news again now, it just washes over me.

I agree with many of you that it's up one day down the next. In some ways it's nice being at home, I can pop out to the garden whenever I like, stick the washing on the line, stuff like that. But work does seep into the evenings and weekends now - not all our work can be done at home so we have switched to a 7 day week including evenings to spread ourselves out, so the emails do come in at random times. I don't mind that too much, our company culture is of a very fluid, flexible work/home dynamic and on the whole it is beneficial to us all, but today I just couldn't concentrate and the DCs were both having problems with their laptops and it was all very frustrating. Tomorrow is another day.

I am so lonely can I have a picture of Henry please

@purpleme12 are you ok? X

I'm not ok really. I haven't hugged an adult for over a month. I miss work the people so much and I'm worried they'll say we still can't go near people when all this ends. I can't live like that. But I don't want to bring the thread down. Xx

Oh @purpleme12 😢😢 talk to us. It's going to be ok x

Oh @purpleme12 that sounds really, really tough. I wish there was something we could do. It’s really understandable. Just let yourself feel it and then try and think about anything you can do that might make you feel a little better. Can you speak to someone tomorrow and get it all off your chest? A good friend or family member? I know it won’t be the same, but keeping as much connection going as you can is all you can do right now.

We don’t know what the future will bring, but try to look forward to getting those hugs, rather than worrying about when it will be. Keep chatting on here and we will try and help. Sending a virtual hug xx

Just tagging this thread to read, I had been enjoying previous threads but I seem to have lost this one on my watching list.

Thank you xxx

I'm still up! But too late for everyone else probably.

It was my art zoom class again today and the first time I didn't get a headache. I also had some new watercolour paints arrive yesterday. I usually use oils from a general pool at the art class venue, but due to lock down, had been making do with only 6 rather drab colours. Today I had 24 at my disposal ! It made a big difference!

I also got my weekly box of fruit and veg sources by my sil. Everything looks lovely and fresh.

I made west african chicken peanut stew for dinner with basmati rice. Very nice and satisfying!

• sourced by my sil.

Chicken peanut stew sounds yummy

Big hugs to those struggling and please don’t feel you have to stay away if you are. I think the main rule on the thread is no sharing of scary stuff, it’s ok to be sad. I think it would be odd if we were happy all the time at the moment

The weather has turned today, ponies will have a duvet day and George will be furious at having to stay in 😂
At least the ground is getting a decent watering, our summer grazing needs to grow a bit more (then I’ll be worried about too much grass 😂)

@purpleme12 here you go! He has a habit of keep sitting halfway up the stairs hoping it will prompt one of us to go and get some lettuce from the fridge, but he only has his lettuce at breakfast. Occasionally we cave in and give him a nibble anyway.

I’m so sorry you’re feeling lonely. If it makes any difference I’m sending you a hug over the internet. What do you have planned for today? Anything that might help a bit?

Ps bonus pic of his butt!

The weather has turned. Gah!!! I was so enjoying pottering in the garden. Might get my art stuff out later as a substitute. Managed to order some big lavender and scabiosa online last night, it’ll probably take 3 weeks to come but hey ho. Got to tackle Sainsbury’s this morning- going to take my nerves of steel (as Chandler Bing would say). Love to all of you 💕