The positive mental health thread part 6

[Bunnyflop]

Morning all! Welcome to the new thread!

@Layladylay234 I would be interested in a cbt app as well

Morning everyone, hope you are all having a reasonable day - yesterday was a bit of a nightmare, ending in a horrible row so am hoping today will be better! Think lack of sleep and anxiety often builds up without you being aware of how it's affecting things. Need to stay off the news and away from all the experts!

@MinesaPinot I know what you mean about the Dementors effect - that’s a perfect way to describe it, I hadn’t thought of it in those terms.

I know I’m being unreasonable to say it because they have to be honest, but I just desperately want them to give us some faint hope in among the doom! An idea of the shape of things to come, not a timetable or even a firm plan, but just some inkling that they are actually trying to make a plan for the next steps and that this isn’t going to last forever. Of course I know it isn’t going to, but it feels like Groundhog Day at the moment. I don’t feel like I have anything to look forward to, and I need something to hold onto, even something fairly far away and ephemeral. Just something.

@Layladylay234 - don’t know if it’s specifically a cbt app but bunnyflop recommended Stop, Breathe, Think app upthread. I have one for meditations called Smiling Mind, which is free and quite good for just very short meditation breaks. Hope you’re feeling more calm soon.

My middle DS went through a phase of watching Cars every day Spudlet. I used to find it quite relaxing of an afternoon. Younger DS isn’t interested in it so we haven’t watched it for ages. Luckily for me all my three like Studio Ghibli so we’ve been working through all the ones they have on Netflix right now.

We went for a long-ish walk this morning, which made me realise how much fitness I’ve lost - for about an hour after we came back if I stood up from sitting my head span! I was walking between 20mins to an hour and a half probably every day before lockdown, but because it was just for chores, school etc I didn’t feel like I was ‘exercising’ as such. Now I haven’t walked far in ages I’m realising that was probably keeping me quite well moved. Need to ramp it up slowly and get more movement into my day for sure.

Re news, I feel like I’m in a slightly different boat to the majority here perhaps... I don’t find it hard to stay away from the news at all, but I don’t think that’s particularly healthy or helpful for me. For a few weeks I read or listened to absolutely nothing, and all I heard was from conversation and occasionally glimpsing a thread title on here (even then I often didn’t click in). It meant I really didn’t know what was going on at all. I haven’t seen a single briefing or any tv news since lockdown started.

I listened to a bit of Today on R4 today for the first time in probably months and felt quite proud of myself. There’s protecting your mental health and then there’s being so avoidant you make it even worse because your mind is making up hypotheticals and you have no facts to work with (plus look pretty stupid in conversations!), which I think is where I was ending up.

I’m like this with social media also - I see all kinds of articles about how to cut down on SM use, but I’d like to know how to use it more! I quit FB a long time ago, and hate twitter so happy without them but I’d like to use my Instagram account, I just feel overwhelmed by it whenever I start getting into it and completely shut it out for weeks or months. I also left a load of WhatsApp groups when they got too busy. I do think there’s loads of benefits to interacting on SM but I have to work quite hard to get myself using it and putting myself out there a bit (in real life I’ve struggled with social situations my whole life so it’s rhe same kind of thing)

I am totally rambling... anyway the point is I’m trying to take in a little more news, but carefully - won’t read any speculative articles, just factual ones, will check in online every couple of days, maybe buy a decent magazine/paper every now and then, make sure I do it in the morning not before bed, not read things when I’m already feeling anxious etc. I think we’re all trying to find the balance between staying informed and not getting overwhelmed, whichever way you come at it, and that is a tricky thing to achieve!

I love Will on the Repair Shop! Old ones are repeated on something like "Quest" and I think they're all on iplayer too. It is the most comforting programme. The skills they have are just phenomenal.

@Callybrid that’s an interesting point of view I hadn’t thought of it like that.

@StCharlotte I’ve only just discovered it but I’m so glad I did! The people are amazing, such talent!

My DH will love that I think. Thanks for the recommendation!

We just watched the daily briefing - Boris is back - and I found it very encouraging. He confirmed we are past the peak and even the graphs are showing a decrease in deaths, rates of infection and a lowering in the rate of R. He likened where we are at the moment as being in a long alpine tunnel and that we can now see the light and pasture beyond. He indicated that he would set out next week some next steps.

I might be clutching at straws but I feel a tad more settled after hearing this.

Hi all just wanted to share some positivity from the ZOE covid tracker app. This graph shows how much covid symptoms have fallen since end of March

I would like to join this thread please. I have anxiety and covid 19 is making me it worse. Plus the thought of returning to a shitty job afterwards.

Welcome nuttymomma

My anxiety isn't helping during this time too - with all this time at home doing nothing I'm focusing on every feeling in my body and so my hypochondria isn't great! I have lots of worries about the future too, but this thread helps a lot. We need positivity and it makes me so angry how the papers focus on printing the depressing stuff.

Have at times found it so unbearable with all the worries in my head, but found an online NHS counselling service for people under 26 which has been helpful.

Cally - I agree, I listen to some anxiety podcasts and one that stuck in my mind a year or back said that the things we tend to think will help anxiety often don't, they are ok for short term relief but long term they don't help. One of them was avoiding news and current affairs, another was pouring your heart out to friends. Both make you feel better at the time but don't help you manage your anxiety from within yourself.

Like you I have found that if I distance myself too much from the news I feel silly when I don't know what people are talking about and I worry about things I needn't worry about. So, at the start of all this, in the couple of weeks before lockdown, I felt very anxious and avoided the news to a large extent, but then started watching or reading in measured amounts once lockdown started as I felt less anxious when it wasn't all changing so fast. I don't tend to watch the live daily bulletins but do check the BBC website a couple of times a day. I am back listening to the radio again.

I use FB all the time, but I am good at selecting what I want to read and don't want to read, and good at hiding people who post alarmist or unreliable stuff. I don't post much on my own wall, mainly in groups - local ones (the nice ones not the ranty ones) and special interest groups related to my hobbies. I really value the support in those groups.

So the second night running I failed to get a Tesco delivery slot! I've always got one no problem before. It's not so much that I felt down about not getting one - I can always try again tomorrow - it's more I didn't get the buzz from getting one. Honestly! How sad is that?

But, on the positive side, i had a problem with my washing machine, the water flooded after I'd cleaned the filter, due to a leak, I went to find out if Samsung could do repairs, and Dh shouted down to say he had googled and new what the problem was. So, yesterday evening, ds and I pulled out the machine and lifted the great heavy machine on its side, and Dh was able to unscrew the bottom of the machine and fix the leak! (I wouldn't let Dh lift the machine as I worry about his operation site). It was the most satisfying thing we've done in lockdown - working as a team and avoided having to get a mechanic in to possibly compromise shielding Dh.

Then, tonight, I've finally dyed my massive grey roots and feel much more like myself! I then made a big effort to style it properly!!

Knew not new!

Just woke in the night and had look at the news to see more than 1 million people known to have had the virus have recovered says John Hopkins University.

@tobee well done on fixing the washing machine! Great sense of accomplishment! We had a similar thing when we were all in quarantine and a toilet kept flushing, and I knew we couldn’t get anyone in, so fixed it myself using YouTube.

My positive is that we have got through April. I have been crossing the days off on the calendar and assumed this month would drag like the second half of March did. Strangely it hasn’t - it’s amazing what we have got used to - to some extent. We’ve done a whole summer holiday length, without any of the usual outings. Hoping we will soon get a sense from govt about what is next.

Happy May Day everyone.
I feel the same - we have survived April. And actually in some ways it's flown by!
I woke at 4am and went into the garden and heard the most amazing birdsong.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Saw on the news last night that the testing has really ramped up now and they showed South Korea where they have almost eradicated it.
I've got a few Zoom chats planned for the next few days and some nice meals planned. Feeling contented.
Thanks everyone.

Can't remember where I saw this - apologies if it was on this thread!

coronavirus is just a cover so they can keep everyone inside while they change the batteries in the birds.

The birds singing therefore means we're getting there!

The ones singing at the crack of dawn this morning outside my bedroom window definitely sound like they have been recharged!

Aah, you lot! It’s so nice to check on here and read this bright positivity. I have been exceptionally tearful this morning; not quite sure why.

Here’s a slightly random little bunch of flowers from my garden for you all

Hello everyone. Happy May!

I am hating the emotional rollercoaster I'm on right now. It's so exhausting. I am going to go and get cake from my local bakery today to cheer myself up.

I found Boris's talk good last night. I know it's in his interest to talk everything up as really positive but I think we have genuine reasons to be hopeful -

The Oxford team have a pretty high degree of confidence there might be a vaccine by the autumn. It did really well in animal trials with none of the monkeys given it and then being exposed to high levels of the virus catching it
S. Korea and Germany have shown just how helpful contact tracing can be (and the app to help with that is nearly ready) Boris has the political will to pursue it
Deaths are coming down steadily
We will start to get details next week about how a more normal life can start to resume (and lots of businesses are putting good plans in place)
Boris said facemasks will be part of coming out of lockdown. Opinion might be mixed by some scientists are saying they cut transmission up to 36 times. It doesn't seem logical they wouldn't make at least some difference so it's good the government will support their use

We will be ok. There might be challenges ahead but there are lots of reasons to feel good too

Gorgeous flowers Callybrid. Thank you.