How would you say you are coping mentally?

Summerbuzz said:
Fell apart last night, very afraid and very very sad. Took some painkillers and watched a movie. Abysmal night in bed. Restless leg going off, all sorts of horrible symptoms, some flu-like stomach ache. I might be carrying a bug but who knows, it's not unheard of for me to feel pretty dreadful at night anyway.

Much, much better today. Let myself go back to bed for an extra hour. Did some housework. Walked. Sat very quietly and generally calmly.

Getting dragged in to shouting matches with myself is the enemy. It's a dreadful, dreadful habit. Seeing it and treating it as if it was just another bad habit has helped to some extent.

I've picked at some mindfulness practises before. I stuck on a video whilst sitting at my window and it worked fairly quickly. Watching the seagulls and magpies in the evening sun turned out to be a moment full of rich beauty and a sort of easy, familiar poignancy, not dissimilair to a drink with good friends. Does that make sense? Days, tasks, threads, conversations, worries, pains, meals, things just fly by sometimes, and they aren't satisfying. If you try to find things that you are used to making you feel better, maybe watching a movie, it can be like the good stuff isn't quite there, it's less visually engaging than you might hope, bits of the story or direction might seem a little ugly, it just doesn't hang together. I've done that a lot. Line up things to do, and bounced off them again and again. But tonight the birds circled over the houses opposite and the colours and the way they flew, I found myself watching and experiencing all those intangible nice things that happen when you are not trying or worrying or thinking.

I was recommended recordings and books by Shinzen Young. He's a student of Zen (AFAIK) but is teaching concepts and techniques to do with the 'mindfulness' that western doctors and therapists reccomend. He's an American and he and the lessons are informed by neurology, physics and western psychology and psychiatry in a very straightforward way - very different to, say Deepak Chopra's mumbo jumbo.

The way these teachers talk, they emphasis the lack of successfulness, the need to just keep practising and learning how to move the invisible muscles that allow you to adjust your mental state, and like if you would practise the right physical exercises, your posture might improve, if you practise the appropriate mental exercises, you hope to find your mental state better adjusted. You wouldn't know which muscle groups to move to stand up straighter and comfortably... but if you did the exercises, you might easily appreciate the benefit of the better posture, and it becomes a positive reinforcement to your experience at that time.

Bad habits, such as my shouting at myself internally, then become less enticing, less interesting than the chance to experience things in a healthy, relaxed, nice way.

So getting to thinking that way has helped, certainly more so than trying to plead or reason with myself to not be excessively negative.
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Watching birds is extremely therapeutic I find. If you are interested, take a look at the Rutland Ospreys web site. It has a live camera on the nest. The pair of Ospreys have mated and raised chicks on the same nest for about the last 6 years or so. They are amazing creatures.
Very insightful post btw mate. Very thoughtful. Stay safe.
 
Every day I enjoy watching the sparrows, varied tits, goldfinches, collared doves etc come to the feeders.
Got a little field mouse who comes out to get dropped seeds.
Today saw the first buzzard of the year riding the thermals.
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
Ooh ice cream!

What’s your flavour of choice? I sometimes like a rich chocolate, or just a good quality vanilla... but raspberry ripple is well underrated!
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Ben & Jerry’s Caramel Chew Chew. I can scran a tub in one sitting. Phat peoffrey.
 
Badly. Slowly sinking in that things probably wont ever be 'normal' again. Whatever normal is. Kinda accepted I'm gonna lose someone in my family from it before any vaccine is available, and that scares me. Struggling with not seeing my family. Struggling as my career and aspirations have been stopped. Struggling because I doubt my wedding in September will go ahead. Accepted the money I had saved extensively for years for a house will probably now have to be spent due to the substantial loss or earnings. Also losing more faith with the general public. There are a lot of good people but ive never been more convinced that we're surrounded by genuinely selfish, idiotic people. Feel like I'm developing mild agoraphobia too. Every day there is a new report that suggests something like '2 metres isn't enough, joggers are a risk as they spread it everywhere and the virus can last multiple days on any surface'. I just can't see any positives at all currently. There's something quite depressing about having to accept everything is shit and it's out of our control.

Head is in a fucking dark place today.
 
My chickens had no eggs in their coup these last few days and I thought they were ill. Then I got a message from our neighbours saying they had found eggs under a plant in their garden. They have the run of where we live and dodder about in a truly free range way.

Anyway, just had eggs on toast so my mood has lifted. I love an egg, especially our own wee madams. Now, if I could just find where I left my fucking glasses I would be made up.
 
Magicpole said:
My chickens had no eggs in their coup these last few days and I thought they were ill. Then I got a message from our neighbours saying they had found eggs under a plant in their garden. They have the run of where we live and dodder about in a truly free range way.

Anyway, just had eggs on toast so my mood has lifted. I love an egg, especially our own wee madams. Now, if I could just find where I left my fucking glasses I would be made up.
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They did well to take over without eggs
 
So so jealous of everyone with gardens. Living in a tiny flat with no balcony in the city centre with no green spaces nearby is utterly shite.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
Every day I enjoy watching the sparrows, varied tits, goldfinches, collared doves etc come to the feeders.
Got a little field mouse who comes out to get dropped seeds.
Today saw the first buzzard of the year riding the thermals.
Click to expand...
Plenty of buzzards where I am too. The birds who come for a nosh at mine really cheer me up and always have. I did get worried I wouldn't be able to source the food I out out for them all, but so far, so good.

My favourites are a mating pair of Bluetits who nest in a box I out up for them. There was an older one they used, but this year they are into the new one. I sat yesterday reading a book and the bird song was beautiful. I'm extremely lucky to live where I do and my heart, black as it is, goes out to all those stuck in without the ability to do what I can everyday. Still haven't finalized shed the weeding in the veg patch, but, I will over the weekend and plant stuff.

My raspberry and red currant bushes are sprouting and so is my apple tree. The wild Scottish strawberries are growing too.

Its funny how you start to appreciate stuff more now.
 
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