Mental Health.

[jansman]

Could I say one thing that might be un-PC? Huge respect for any of you battling with real mental health issues - my own mum had a major breakdown when she hit her 40s and was never the same again. I know how awful it is and how it affects the whole family. BUT it really gets up my nose when I see all these silly wee lassies posing like cod with the trout pout and eyebrows thing - going on about how lockdown/the virus/mask wearing/whatever "has seriously affected my mental health".
No it hasn't hen, yer just no happy and inna bad mood -go and do something useful and get over it! That is not mental health issues!

Nowt wrong with a bit of un- PC! Totally agree with you.

[grenfell]

I've refrained from commenting not because i may say something unPC but simply because if i'm honest i just don't understand it. As far as i can work out my family hasn't had mental health issues. It is probably an unPC thing to say but i think we've had positive mental attitude. Getting depressed about things , moupping about as my parents would call it , dosen't change circumstances . Just get on with things and make the best of it as you can has always been the sort of attitude in my family.
On my wife's side they seem not to have this attitude. My sister in law constantly moans about the stress and what have you's of her job in the bank. My brother in law has depression and mental health issues . I've seen , though, when he is fully concentrated on something like work those issues recede which to me only reinforce the idea of just "getting on with things" as being the best course of action. But then i'm just a layman not a doctor.

[Le Mouse]

Could I say one thing that might be un-PC? Huge respect for any of you battling with real mental health issues - my own mum had a major breakdown when she hit her 40s and was never the same again. I know how awful it is and how it affects the whole family. BUT it really gets up my nose when I see all these silly wee lassies posing like cod with the trout pout and eyebrows thing - going on about how lockdown/the virus/mask wearing/whatever "has seriously affected my mental health".
No it hasn't hen, yer just no happy and inna bad mood -go and do something useful and get over it! That is not mental health issues!

I love this, it made me laugh

I totally agree. We all get the hump sometimes, we wouldn't be human if we didn't, but trying to make it sound more than that is just selfish and attention seeking. And yes I know that also sounds un-PC too!

[Le Mouse]

I've refrained from commenting not because i may say something unPC but simply because if i'm honest i just don't understand it. As far as i can work out my family hasn't had mental health issues. It is probably an unPC thing to say but i think we've had positive mental attitude. Getting depressed about things , moupping about as my parents would call it , dosen't change circumstances . Just get on with things and make the best of it as you can has always been the sort of attitude in my family.
On my wife's side they seem not to have this attitude. My sister in law constantly moans about the stress and what have you's of her job in the bank. My brother in law has depression and mental health issues . I've seen , though, when he is fully concentrated on something like work those issues recede which to me only reinforce the idea of just "getting on with things" as being the best course of action. But then i'm just a layman not a doctor.

I understand where you are coming from. And you're right, often 'getting on with things' or having something else to focus on or take you out of yourself as it were, can have restorative results. But if your brain chemicals aren't working properly for some reason, there's only so far that 'getting on with things' will go before you snap.

I do believe that we are living at a time where we are surrounded by so many more stressors than we ever have. We're surrounded by electronic beepy things that are meant to make our lives easier, when all they do is keep our brains always 'on' (if that makes sense). We work jobs where we do tasks that would have been done by a few people even 50 years ago because technology makes it 'easier' for one person to do it all. We have 24-hour news media that chucks bad news at us constantly. There's that godawful concept of 'FOMO' (fear of missing out) which means that people run themselves ragged trying to 'keep up with the Joneses'. And all this is on top of the normal 'getting through life' stressors of trying to earn enough money, or dealing with family illness.

[Arzosah]

... often 'getting on with things' or having something else to focus on or take you out of yourself as it were, can have restorative results. But if your brain chemicals aren't working properly for some reason, there's only so far that 'getting on with things' will go before you snap.

That's the one - if you haven't experienced it, it's understandable that 'getting on with things' seems to always be reasonable. But that "snap" - it's not often the dramatic things of people taking a gun and shooting indiscriminately or "suicide by cop" - it's often things that go relatively unnoticed - people not going out, or working but crying themselves to sleep, or medicating with alcohol. The symptoms aren't dramatic - "florid" is the technical term - so those people don't often get help.

Distraction via work, as grenfell mentions - yep, it's real, and while the distraction is going on, it's fine. But it stops helping as soon as the work finishes, for those who are having a really bad time.

There are lots of reasons people fall into this trap - as Mouse is saying, the brain chemicals can be out of whack, and there's all sorts of reasons why that might be. It can't be seen, but it's real. As opposed to Lil's trout-pouty people not liking wearing masks etc

[jansman]

Agreed. There’s only so much ‘getting on with it’ you can sustain if your head is in a bad place. If you try to push on, you can snap. It isn’t weakness. The head rules the body, not the other way around.

[grenfell]

... often 'getting on with things' or having something else to focus on or take you out of yourself as it were, can have restorative results. But if your brain chemicals aren't working properly for some reason, there's only so far that 'getting on with things' will go before you snap.

That's the one - if you haven't experienced it, it's understandable that 'getting on with things' seems to always be reasonable.

I suppose that's the thing , i haven't experienced it any more than i've experienced fortune and fame which is why i say i don't really understand it and have refrained from commenting. To me it's all second hand accounts and guesswork . Not trying to be unsympathetic just trying to grasp what i don't know.

[GillyBee]

I have always been a "push througher" but events over the last few years have forced me to think differently. I had a close shave myself with a high stress job where I reached the point that I could literally not make a decision or hold a conversation. Thankfully that resolved very quickly with a few days rest and I learned how to say "no" and when to do so.
The scary one was after encouraging youngest to push through when he complained of job stress and getting "the" phone call from him at A&E. Thankfully the work first aider had realised just how poorly he was and got him an ambulance before physical harm was done. Otherwise I might be telling a very different story. That was several years ago. He is much better now but the recovery has been slow and hard won.

[Arzosah]

grenfell perfectly understandable, and you're not coming over as unsympathetic, don't worry.

gillybee that's a result for both you and your youngest, I'm glad there wasn't an irreversible event.

[Happyhatter]

I've known a few managers step down due to stress/workload affecting their home life, IE worrying about work instead of having quality time with their partners & children, they all seemed more content afterwards. We all get overwhelmed at times I personally go on long countryside walk as find birds/wildlife in general soothes the soul. Totally agree with what's been mentioned though to seek help if your head doesn't feel right even if it's a chat with the GP