Tiers on my pillow

[Cismyfatarse]

As requested.

Happy to help with home es queries about English up to AH level.

What proportion of the population regularly attends a gym? I really don't imagine it's that much of a government priority. I'd like it if they were open, but when you think of all the elderly with no one to talk to from week to week, or low income families cooped up in tiny flats, I really don't think gyms are the no 1 solution to mental health issues.

This is a good read. Gave me a bit of perspective

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/12/30/what-is-left-to-say/

Maybe not but they certainly mitigate against one of the highest Covid risk factors.

Going to watch bake-off. For a bit of cheer. Calm my mind

Thankfully DH purchased an at home weights machine, barbell and second hand running machine recently. As I joke to him the ambiance in the garage isn't all that great, but the travel time is excellent.

Perhaps I can sell illicit passes for those who live within the Edinburgh city limits only of course. In fact if there was nobody else in the garage at the time ,and to be fair with all the kit - there's also a very dodgy rowing machine and a thing that turns a bike into a stationary one- it's very much a one person training zone anyway.

No one said they were the no1 solution, calm down. I said they are an important part of people's mental health, but I know not everyone goes.

The gyms are so important to physical and mental health. Even more so in the face of a virus which is worse in the fat and unfit.

DP has MS and back problems and had been working really hard at PT and seeing and geeking a big difference. I’m old and fat and prone to being mental and had worked really hard too, and spent a shitload of money, on regaining fitness. All going now🤷🏻‍♀️ I can’t even jog outside as it’s like nice rink. And DS had gained weight being stuck in first time, just started at a proper gym with a programme and fitness goals.

I fail to see how stopping people like us trying to be fit and healthy helps anyone, far less the NHS. And there is no evidence of spread in gyms.

[quote runningpink]@Bikingbear
Of course it’s Scottish Borders council.[/quote]
I just knew it had to be one of the smaller councils. Just the same as I suspect the laptops were.

Totally unfair that some areas who can afford it get a blanket provision and others very limited resources if any.
All children should have been given something from SG. To do away with the argument that online lessons can't happen because of resources.

Not popping at anyone other than SG.

Can I send my body to the gym and collect it when it's beach ready?

@Bikingbear mine is always beach ready

Brilliant WouldbeGood!!!
That's exactly how I feel.

@Bikingbear depends if you mean Portobello beach or Puerto Banus ready?

I am doing quite a lot of exercise- running and walking mostly as it boosts the old endorphins- but finding it hard to cut back on food as my usual motivation is a holiday requiring swimsuit wearing. I'm doing dry and chocolate free January, what fun.

Man, I miss a day and the new thread has 180 posts already.

I can't face thinking about tomorrow's announcement. If we're stopped from going a walk with a friend that will be just awful. For me and the kids. I will never forget seeing my 8 yr old's joy when he got to play with his friend for the first time since lockdown. I cried to see them rolling around on the grass and messing about with sticks and just absolutely relishing being together. I can't take that away from him again. That would be the worst.

Or ds13's football training. What are the chances of that going ahead? Not great I don't think.

But never mind, it's 3rd January, the month is nearly over. I've just eaten all the chocolate out of the selection boxes to cheer me up. Drew the line at the Double Decker but I might go back to it yet.

The only reason I go to my gym is for the outdoor pool. Swimming outside, goofy as it sounds, just makes me feel right. I love it. My mental health improved hugely when I started after having been in the shitter all summer. Am going to learn to drive this year, hopefully, so I can just take myself off to the beach or lochs regardless of how slow the vaccinating is going.

Agree wholeheartedly with everyone who says we need to know what’s happening with the vaccine rollout.

I don't think they'll stop kids seeing friends again. That would be beyond cruel. Likewise with swing parks- my youngest acted like he won a trip to Disney getting to play on swings again.

Double Deckers are vile. We have a pile of wee ones left over from the Heroes box ( or should I say boxes as had to secretly replenish them after scoffing most of the first on my own ). I shall be very disappointed in myself if I break my no choc Jan with one of those. Depends very much on the new regulations tomorrow. My friend has a connection with someone somehow and she reckons it will be changed to meeting one other person outside only, but who knows if that's true.

@ssd

I must admit, I have no experience of inside a gym, which youd know if you seen me

But I know my boys are finding it harder without the gym open

Me neither. And with the same external proof

But so many of the mental health things generally recommended aren't allowed any more, or are really restricted or online only- which may be much more difficult to persuade yourself to do if you're feeling a bit fragile, with no external motivation.

Keeping active - OK, you don't need a gym, but many, especially women, feel more comfortable doing things in a "controlled" environment, rather than going running, for example, especially in the dark winter nights, when it's raining, windy or icy.

Meeting a friend for a cuppa and a chat - nope, unless you fancy a park bench and a thermos.

Join a club or learn a new skill - tricky if the only way these are available is online. And kind of scuppers lots of things like cookery, or painting or car maintenance, or things with shared equipment.

Do something you enjoy - again, what if I enjoy going to a concert, or shopping, or singing in a choir or something?

Take time for yourself - not easy in a household, with children needing to be entertained because they can't see their friends, and homeschooled, and a husband grumpy from a day of zoom meetings, when you've been struggling over a dodgy Internet connection trying to meet deadlines... And you're worried about a lump that your GP refuses to look at in person, and your dad can't have an operation that he needs, cos covid... And your child is complaining about a hurty tooth.

And so on and so on.

I know we should all be making our own sunshine, and enjoying the moment and stuff, and I'm sounding very whiny and negative. But you can understand why there's a mental health crisis if so many of the recommended coping strategies have been forbidden or made shit. Yes, we should be more resilient, but if you're already feeling fragile, it's really, really hard to overcome that hurdle.

I'll take the double deckers

[quote WouldBeGood]@Bikingbear mine is always beach ready[/quote]
Yup!!

Bikingbeardepends if you mean Portobello beach or Puerto Banus ready?

It's noo even fit for Portobello. That is my mission this lockdown to loose some weight.

I don't think you are being whiny @NotAnActualSheep - so many of our coping and self care mechanisms have been stripped away. I'm the sort of person who can be drained by social contact (aspie) so most of my coping mechanisms are home based. But other extroverted people are the opposite, it's like being with other people fills up their mental reserve tanks. I don't think you get to choose which you are.

I stayed pretty motivated for most of lockdown and actually lost weight. Part stress/anxiety and part from exercise.

But by probably around November I ran out of steam to keep going. The constant training on my own definitely took its toll. That alongside my comfort eating has resulted in me weighing more than I did this time last year. I’m so annoyed with myself for allowing it to happen.

My gym did reopen but the restrictions they put in place and the new opening hours meant it wasn’t suitable for me to go back.

I agree that all children in school should have access to iPads etc not just the local authorities that can afford them.

There isn't a lot of home based peace to be had with bored kids at home and adults wondering if they'll ever be able to get any work done in peace before Easter...

This potential extension to the school return isn't doing my January health reboot any good.

I'm perplexed by what tomorrow might mean. We haven't yet seen the effects from the latest mitigations that have been put in place. Across the west of Scotland there was a definite peak at the end of October/ start of November and then a gradual reduction in the numbers. That was then followed by an introduction of level 4 restrictions, meaning that everyone tried frantically to cram their pre-christmas activity into 2 weeks instead of 5. I was concerned that the result would be exactly the number increase that we are now seeing now.
We increased restrictions last week, and now the talk is to increase restrictions further without any time given to see what the result will be. I'm heartbroken for my children, trying to plan childcare will be challenging but overall I'm broken for them, their potential, their learning and socialising, and wellbeing. I only realised the impact lockdown had on my 6 yr old, when I realised my happy cheerfully, keen learner was back at the end of October. I only hope unlike last time we are much much quicker to lift the restrictions on schools.
1.6% of the Scottish population have currently been immunised, albeit only with half of the vaccine schedule. It's going to take a while at this rate..........

I was really fed up in the first lockdown as we had plans that had to be cancelled. This time we've no plans, nothing to look forward to so not the disappointment of cancellations. At that time the thought of 12 weeks of it was beyond awful and here we are with the prospect of this lasting around a year.
My life is on hold - I've nothing to look forward to