Depressed due to isolation and civil liberty restrictions

[Tangney]

Does anyone feel their depression worsening because they are not afraid of the virus and don't agree with the lock down? I can't stand the isolation and hate the restrictions on my freedoms. I was isolated before this started and now it's worse. I feel that the isolation will actually kill me if it goes on for much longer and I am spiralling downwards. This is made worse by the fact that the reasons for the lock down are no longer in existence. I know that on 1 June things will get better, but it seems like a lifetime away just now. Isolation is used as a form of torture in some countries and solitary confinement is a punishment. I feel that this is being imposed on me, even though I haven't committed any crime. Some people cope better than others with these sorts of conditions. You tube videos, baking cakes, and knowing that flowers will eventually bloom doesn't make any difference. It would be nice to know if there are others who feel the same way. If anyone else out there thinks the same, please post a response.

[lunastone]

Hi, paul,

ya, we are like our own country. The fact that domestic family can't even see each other for over 2 yrs is just sad. A year ago, we didn't have the vaccine but now have it and yet in the same situation. If i remember correctly, WA border was closed up until Dec last year. Then only opens on and off throughout this year. 5 months max?! Now completely shut to NSW and Vic. Not so much being a country anymore. If we are buying time to get the vax rate up, then be it. But i am not seeing that message getting across in WA. We are competing last in the vax rate with QLD. And you know the common thread between the two states. Hospitals still cannot cope without covid and we have like 20 months to get this right. We shouldn't have surplus at all. Big crowd events, AFL and the royal show. We are just waiting for another lockdown and should i say a punishment for those who don't want to participate this kind of 'free' lifestyle?

Well, my feeling for covid varies with different perspectives. I was really scare/stress of it last year. But now, we have the vaccine, seeing hospitalisation rate dropping in high vax countries, i no longer scare. I know that it isn't a silver bullet but the protection rate is very good. My perspective is that everything in life has a risk. It is low risk enough if we have the vaccine. I'm worried about my close oversea family, who is in hospital for a treatment. Even though she is fully vaccinated, the risk of getting severe illness from covid is high under the circumstance. Hospital is stretched there so it becomes my worried factor. Another family member got tested positive (fully vaccinated). He wouldn't have known that if he wasn't tested through the work routine testing. He was told to go into isolation until a negative test. The rest of the household tested negative. If such case is recorded and reported, maybe we could see it in a different perspective that it might not be that scary once we are vaccinated?

@hanna: i totally agree. There are groups of people who need to be protected. But at the moment, i feel that it has lost its balance for those who just want to move on with their life. I am not sure what more we could do other than vaxed and move on (i'm not supporting of a freedom day). We can't forever wait for those who don't want the vax.

hope everyone has a nice weekend. i need to get out the house for a walk. xx

[Guest_1643]

Hi all, how are u holding up? Rallies around Melbourne and a lot of noise about this stuff. I'm glad I can come here on bb and here on this thread to speak to and support and be around this nice community

[lunastone]

Hi, sleepy,

thanks for asking. Well, nothing to look forward to. Just doom and gloom. I also have no idea what's going on in the last two months. Too many things in my mind. My old work place was messing my head. I wasn't polite when they indicated that they might want me back.....oh wait until their next few in line candidates said no for the job. You know, i have been grieving for the last 8 months about my career that i spent 10 yrs building up. They gave me hope of a come back and then took it away over and over again.....

Just want my life back. 2 yrs of it being put on hold. I can't even think of when we could go and see oversea family again. Well, my friend is on the same boat even within australia. I can tell you. People are getting very depressed about it all. Just finished watching Norman Swan video. We will see the cost of lockdown in the years to come......diagnosis for cancer delayed. young kids with mental health issues etc....

[ecomama]

Hello all

I wanted to touch base in light of our NSW Premier's resignation. What a blow to hear from my family that there appears to be corruption at foot there. Not surprising but I'm pretty dirty about a woman in power doing this, being just the same as others, I guess stuff will or won't come out about it!

So around me lots of ppl are pretty much thumbing their noses at all the regulations.

It's all nuts.

Talk later, we're moving steel beams around in our garden now!

Take care everyone!

Love EMxxxx

[lunastone]

Hi, EM,

what were you doing with the steel beams in the garden? Hope you got whater you needed to do with the garden done today.

Ya, I heard about the resignation. I was never interested in politics until covid as it is directly affecting my life. I must say I might be the minority here. I came ot like Glady for her trial and error covid response. In fact, she is giving so much hope for people moving/looking forward than the gloom and doom that is feeding us here in WA. Now we have the vaccine, there is no excuse to hold us back. Nothing has been done other than shutting the border here in WA. We have plenty of supply so our dear leader has a lot to answer for with our lowest vax rate in the country. Yes, i don't want to open up when our vax rate is low but there is no encouragement to get rate up. In honestly, people have lost 2 yrs of our life. And time is critical for some elderly family members. Those life matter life. The last two days, i was just very angry with the fight back of our premier on re-opening. Threaten to shut NT, Tas out if they open to Vic and NSW. When do we become our own country?! My partner wants to take me out of town for a holiday as i have been so depressed and sad. I'm not keen. Upon checking, none of the accomodations are willing to give refund if there is a spontaneous lockdown. I understand that businesses dont want to lose money but i've to think twice as it is hard earned money. So yes, for now, i don't want to be here and it could come after i come back from the holiday. This makes me wonder who wants to go on holiday locally if that's the case? Now i understand why some local businesses and people want the border close to have that certainty. But we can't live like this forever. Look at Europe, life is normal as it is once the vax rate is high. So go and fix up the hospital than trumpeting our surplus.

Anyway, yes, it is shocking to hear about the corruption charges. But i personally would give it a doubt until she is proven guilty. We shall see.....

[lunastone]

@golden: are you still here ? Wave! @moon: i hope you are holding up in QLD. Sigh....when will we move forward? I miss my family so much. My siblings have gone home due to family emergency. Here i am, locked in WA. And yes, I'm vaxed. all my family are vaxed. happy to do quarantine. testing etc. The only thing i can't do is leaving for 3 months. Please...someone out there let us sign a petition to tell the govt that it is inhuman to separate family for this long. And we have done everything being told.

[Bananie1234]

hi everyone,

Looking at cases in victoria, it certainly is the true definition of why multiple lockdowns do not work. 1000+ cases with much tougher lockdowns than nsw. But i'm certainly enjoying the slight ease of restrictions in melbourne and i can't wait for lockdown to be over. I'm super glad that a surge in cases have not tightened restriction even more but the state government is really following the road map so i feel like there's light at the other end of the tunnel.

i do however, don't know how i feel about the protests. I guess i see mandatory vaccination as part of the job. maybe cos i'm a healthcare professional, we always have to have up to date vaccination records and that list gets updated regularly. I guess we need to normalise this and just see this vaccine as any vaccination. it's like kids having to get mandatory vaccinations before going into childcare right? sometimes you need to prove certain things eg a police check for a job. But i also believe in pro-choice so i'm torn. However, if your job requires you to be in contact with vulnerable people i think it's fair to be asked to get it. in terms of tradies, i really don't know. i guess if they followed the covid rules at their workspace, maybe the government wouldnt have forced this upon them. we all had to follow covid rules at our workspace if it means not being able to use the tea room.

I'm really upset with the protests. in the beginning i can resonate with them as we are all tired of lockdowns but now I just find it hard to accept it. I'm upset that some of these people are attacking healthcare workers who are just doing their job. They were spitting on them forcing the vaccination hub to be closed for a few days which then pushes back our date to re-open. I'm upset that these protests stopped our ambos from getting into the city when people's lives are at stake. I'm upset that these protests delayed deliveries of urgent life-saving medications to hospitals. As a healthcare worker, I can't accept this. you can protest all you want but don't disrupt other people's lives.

i just don't know what to feel anymore.

[ecomama]

Hey luna, hi everyone else too,

I hope you're all doing okay, doesn't seem so! Sending lots of loving energy to you all.

Steel beams? lol just more junk left behind by demon (exH). I decided to use them to mark out an internal fence I intend to build for the proposed cabin's path and garden. BUT we moved the 2nd beam over and there was a massive Blue Tongued Lizard sitting there! What a darling. We raced to get our dog away. Then left the beams until we get more muscle to help, wow are they HEAVY!
Always so much for me to do here. Now beginning the actual planning of the cabin build, I'll be even busier!

Re: everything going on outside my 4 fences & immediate family...

Worrying about all that is way WAY above my pay grade.

The ONE consistent and persistent emotion I heard in all my recent conversations with anyone outside my family has been anger.
I can't subscribe to it.
I'm going low / no contact with all these ppl now.

I've had a wonderful Counsellor for about 5y, she's helped me alot.

Why worry and worry and worry endlessly over things well outside our control?
As the Dalai Lama said (sic) "Worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair, you're doing something but it's not getting you anywhere"... I agree.

Whatever my situation is right now, it just HELPS when I'm focussing on what I CAN do. Nothing else.
It's possible to suffer from 'compassion fatigue' and I'm sure it's the same with endless stress & worry.

My Fiance lives in the U.S.
At the onset of this pandemic I had skyrocketing anxiety and was formally diagnosed with Complex PTSD from all sorts soon afterwards.
I sought treatment, worked very hard and still work hard to hold on to any MH gains I've made.

My aim is to be ONE of the people who are "okay" as we return back to work on site etc.

Btw it's fine to be angry, it's a perfectly normal human emotion!
I validate anyone's anger at the situation, the pandemic, their own situations.
Though it can only last x long before anger does some hard core damage to us, not just mentally but it converts into physical illnesses too.
If anger isn't motivating us to improve our lives and outcomes, it's pretty useless holding on to it IMO.

Just not worth it.

Take care everyone.
Hope you can all find moments of peace, calm and beauty in your day!
Love EMxxxx

[Weaponsofmassdisstortion]

I feel like the first six months were an emergency, we had no idea what we were dealing with. But now it seems like we are just trying to placate people running around like headless chickens. I think the whole vaxx passports are an overreach. They say we will be out of lockdown by the end of the month, but I have my doubts. Remember when it was "2 weeks to flatten the curve" or remember the tracking app"if you want to get out and play download the app today", so yeah I really hope that this lockdown will end. But I have a feeling the government are just going to keep moving the goal posts. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing okay, and sorry for getting a bit too political.

[blondguy]

Good point with the politics W

Dont forget the last pandemic was in 1918...and they didnt have a vaccine

and we dont have a manual on how do deal with this.....

good on you for being a part of the forum family...I hear you loud and clear

Paul