I'm doing good now - during the initial lockdown, not so good

Massive anxiety about everything - work, school, family etc etc. Was never scared of getting the virus but was anxious about everything it seemed to be destroying. I was furloughed pretty much straight away and that knocked me right off. Other than 6 months mat leave, I have never not worked since I left college and so i was at a loss of what to do.

I was having daily panic attacks - heart palpitations etc.

I got a grip of myself though and been fine since - now I'm back in work full time whilst juggling after school activities, sports etc I now wish I was still furloughed :laugh:

Went good for me, I had 3 months WFH (and it was pretty quiet so that didn't take up lots of the day) Gav worked through the whole thing, Luke was around though so we had company for each other. I went back in to work after the initial 3 months so it wasn't that different to normal life besides the social bit. Was a bit bored of not being able to go away for a weekend, go out to dinner etc by the end though. I would say my mental health wasn't effected much over all

Any chance of getting this thread made sticky?

Glad to hear everyone’s been (mostly) good mental health-wise, btw.

I probably shouldn’t say this but I feel like certain strains of cannabis are beneficial for clarity of thought. They bring the unpleasant thoughts swirling around at the back of your subconscious to the forefront but in a way that makes you see sense and realise that you’ve got nothing to feel guilty about when you’re genuinely not the one in the wrong (in those sort of situations at least). I’ve been dealing with that over the past few weeks but after two smokes of a quality Stardawg I was able to see sense in the situation and stopped feeling guilty for something which had virtually nothing to do with me.

Thanks, I stand by my comments here, I don't agree with unelected ECT, those that can consent run the risk of memory impairment and very temporary results.
If however you feel this is your only option, every other avenue has been exhausted and you are aware of the risks...well it's available.

I am lucky as I have no Mental health issues but for thoses that do I always here if you need to talk via pm

Awww Michael :kiss:

And what experience have you got to back that up? (I’m asking that with the most respectful intentions in the world so don’t even start taking it the wrong way.)

Don't take this the wrong way there all kind of ways to treat metal heath one way might work for you and an other for someone else there no right or wrong it what works for different people.

Very true Michael, there are no "correct answers" or magic fixes with mental health unfortunately, just trial and error, things that work wonders for one person can do nothing for another or even make things worse.

i think blanket terms like "mental health" help no one and are just open to abuse

:think: how is it a blanket term and what else would you call it?

I don't have experience. .I've never had ECT I doubt many here have. I have done some research on the topic which is how I formed my opinion.
Should I want to take it as a slant as you don't appear to challenge others on their opinions as you do me and mine.

You don't get to dictate how I react to anything, please remember that.
I post as I see fit.

What exactly would you call mental health then

what do you mean by mental health?

Mental health is just the health of your mind? Everyone has mental health some good mental health some not so good. Just like you would have "women's Health" for things specific to women etc

I think I know what you mean though sometimes people use it as a condition itself like "I suffer with mental health" instead of "My mental health isn't very good atm"

I think perhaps LT thinks that "Mental Health" is some new woke term invented by Meghan Markle, and not just a standard medical term that's existed since before he was born :think:.

I know it's talked about more these days, but it's not "new".

and what is "your mind"?

as "mind" is not a scientific term and has a different interpretation for each individual person surely

Well your brain I guess, a person's ability to think, their consciousness. I mean people suffering with depression for example, that's a mental health condition, an imbalance of chemicals which can be helped with drugs, that's pretty "Science-y" :laugh:

Mental health relates to the brain. Again it's a medical term, not a spiritual one, I think there's some confusion here. It's not like a "soul", mental health = brain chemistry health.

I think i am wary of genuine diagnosed issues with the brain and self-diagnosed umbrella terms that social media can latch onto and legitimise.

I see where he's coming from. If you're suffering from bipolar, it's often covered by the blanket term "mental health problems". If you have heart disease you have heart disease, it's never covered under a blanket term like "physical health problems".

They're different things though... I think there is a comparative example there. You can live with bipolar disorder, you can live with a heart condition. Sometimes people with bipolar have it well managed - their mental health is fine. Sometimes people with heart conditions have it well managed - their general health is fine.

I guess the issue is the general public or perhaps the press using "mental health" as a catch all? It certainly wouldn't ever be in a healthcare setting. It's different things. They'd have to say "The patient has bipolar disorder, and their mental health is currently poor". The latter could be caused BY the former but it's not interchangeable. It's just the same as saying "The patient suffers from a heart condition, and their general health is currently poor".

I’m at a stage where I’m just going through a lot of my older threads and seeing if there’s scope for discussion now and it feels like there is with this one (although there was a lot of needless heat nearer the beginning). How’s everyone’s mental health been since the pandemic came to an end (more-or-less)?

https://youtu.be/61jbsio1vhM?si=Foc1O_QcuODrtmfE

Anyone who’s got any experience using core MAOIs (so not moclobemide; more like phenelzine/tranylcypromine), by the way, feel free to come through and share your experiences. Do you operate under Ken Gillman’s system of adding a norepinephrine reuptake-enhancer (like desipramine/nortriptyline/lofepramine) to your regime so you don’t have to worry much about tyramine in any food or do you just wing it and hope for the best/no hypertensive-crisis reaction to what you eat and drink? Or do you actually follow the strict official guidelines to the letter?