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]

@moon : hope you are well. It looks like QLD and WA can have our own covid 0 bubble. The scare campaign keeps going on and am losing hope. No matter what. It just seems to have a zillion reasons to keep us locked up in our own state. 70-80% + some sort of preventive measurement, not enough as we want covid zero. Wait....children haven't been vaxed....we are going in circle. Having friends oversea really give me a completely different perspective than wha'ts going on here.

[Guest_1643]

hi lunastone, sorry to read about ur job situation, really hard to have limits put on work and basically feel like u have to wait to get back to work, sending hugs.

i know what u mean that it's a circle

its hitting me hard today. sending big hugs to all.

[Hanna3]

For some of us this is really tough because the virus has a good chance of killing us. I would certainly most likely die (underlying health condition) if I catch this before I am fully vaccinated (another two weeks) and a couple of weeks after that for full effect, but even then we still catch the virus, just hopefully don't need hospitalization and ventilator.

So some of us are facing the terrible risks to ourselves and people we care about. I don't want friends to get terribly sick with this, or people in my family.

For other people the lock downs are really isolating and we cope with being lonely and frightened.

We do need to help ensure hospitals and paramedics are not overwhelmed so that everyone can get proper care (including people who have heart conditions, serious accidents, and not just covid) and exhaust our nursing and medical staff.

We all need to try and stay as strong as we can during this and help and support each other. Lock downs are tough for people with mh problems, or just anyone - and some of us are facing severe illness.

Support for all of us here! This is not easy for anyone. Lock downs are isolating, financially people are suffering, other are sick/dying and friends/family worried/grieving.

I think it's a real help to watch great movies, listen to great music, read good books, exercise, pat your dog/cat, do whatever helps to distract you from all this stuff. We all need to be kind with ourselves and nurture ourselves. Indulge yourselves in something nice and soothing.

Truly wish everyone support here.

[Moonstruck]

Hi Luna...just letting folk in other states know..our Q Premier is becoming more and more power hungry..she is verging on the ridiculous and many many of us..including those who voted for her are beginning to laugh at her latest announcements which would be funny...except for the huge damage mentally they inflict...we may not be in lockdown literally but having fear rammed down our throats with no let-up.

[lunastone]

@moon: I watched the highlight of the press conference of QLD today. It is getting ridiculous each day. It is the same here in WA. Policians are giving people false hope that we could stay covid 0 forever. Even the experts have called out that covid 0 is not possible with delta. Why don't they listen? Stop the scare campaign and be a bit more positive? I really need to get off the abc news outlet on social media. It is doing my head in to know so many WA people are living in the covid 0 fantasy land. Don't they miss their family? Don't they see that it is doing a lot of damage for people mental health?

[Croix]

Dear Moon plus all~

You said "but having fear rammed down our throats with no let-up." and you are absolutely right.

Every news program on the TV or radio spends so much time on charts, views, details of restrictions and no credible mention when things will improve.

I do not watch the news, a world of hurt I can't fix, and a heap of threats I can do little to avoid.

For me it simply builds up fear, stress and frustration without an out.

So I take a leaf out of Hanna3's book and concentrate on more pleasant things. (Yes I know, I'm probably turning from a walrus to an ostrich with my head in the sand) but it leaves me calmer, which in turn reduce my symptoms.

Some people might find the following post by Coach Craig helpful

www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/treatments-health-professionals-and-therapies/ask-co...

If not all of it suits then maybe just some parts could be of value, it is pretty sensible.

“Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.”

Croix

[ecomama]

Dear Luna

Thanks for your reply.

I haven't had a vax for anything since 1990, except for the repeated vaxes that also didn't work on my system after birthing. (That's why they kept repeating them but they never "took").
Never had the flu vax - did my own longitudinal studies there of many colleagues and decided against such, but vaxes don't work in my system. Haven't had the flu since 1988.

But my case is rare and I'm not trying to push anyone any way. Just my personal physiology and sitch.

Tbh I don't believe "experts" either lol! Who on earth COULD be an expert on Covid when there's no where near enough time passed to see... my 2c.

I always check who PAID for "Research" to be done... it's all about the buck.
In my 3rd Degree we were taught how to critique "Research" papers, always interesting.
My daughter's doing her Psych Honors atm & is learning just how others manipulate studies to show what they want, happens all the time.

Even schools teach children from a very young age about coercion in the media and advertisements - it's in Curricula.

TMI and too little TRUTH.

So yeah I don't watch the "News" either. Load of repeated hogwash designed to instill terror in ppl and keep ppl addicted to it.

Youngest daughter's work friend ended up contracting Covid (he was a close contact of a close contact). He's having mild symptoms and quite well thank goodness, so is his close contact which is a family member he lives with.

In response to this, all our family's tests returned Negative this week. Myself and all my children (adults and teens) are essential workers still out at work a lot throughout this extended lock down.

Indeed not seeing my Fiance is difficult. He's my strength in my worst of times. By far the most rational minded of us both lol. I'm grateful we're "sticking together", thousands of miles apart, but there it is.

I hope you can all have moments of peace in your days and nights.

Take care,
Love EMxxxx

[Guest_1643]

hi lovely ppl,

ive been speaking to friends in healthcare or who work in busy areas still as some kind of essential worker, tbh, it sounds to me like having this excemption, being able to travel to diffrent parts of the state etc to provide care of support, and not to have to worry about eg the curfew or the 5k rule, has helped them feel like things are ok.

It seems like being forced to stay in ur suburb and limited in movement hurts ppl a lot on some emotional level... and for so long.

Im really bored and my self esteem is shattered feeling like i have not a lot to offer as i cant move around and do and see different locations, for basically 1 year now.

[ecomama]

Dearest Sleepy

Sounds like a person in solitary confinement speaking.
I'm glad you went out for a walk and grabbed a coffee yesterday.

I don't think there's anyone UNaffected by this pandemic, no matter what they're still able to do.

Yesterday, while we were in the park, we ran into a girl we'd known for 20y but she kept REALLY distant from us, even though she looked so happy to see us at first.
Then I could see her anxiety creeping in. She's a nurse and their practice is being hammered. She works Mon - Fri and couldn't remember what day it was yesterday either.

Being "out and about" for work can cause a lot of anxiety in ppl. I won't go into details of what my kids have said dealing with the public via their work.
Their work has now changed things to protect workers more from the public, but they still work with each other.
Yvette gave most of her shifts away this week.

Yesterday we had another 'don't come to work, get tested and isolate' thing. By early afternoon the close contact's test returned negative.

Alot of my work now is calling families and I'm beginning to get anxiety over doing this every day.
I also have to do daily Zooms with groups.
I can see things falling apart. Parents crying to me. It's really hard to be a person they can lean on all the time. I have to pretend I'm ok when I'm not.
I manage to BE ok when we're on the phone, sometimes I have a cry afterwards though.

SO another inside day!
It's raining and I'm so grateful for the rain!

I'm going off to find my crochet and knitting needles lol, I found a great YT channel doing fanceee crochet stitches, they're so pretty!
Might have to "Yarn Bomb" my whole garden to feel better lol.

Love EMxxxx

[lunastone]

Hi, EM,

glad to hear that the test came back negative for everyone in the family. hope you are hanging in there with the world spinning around us. At least we have tecnology. But still, it must be tough having the fiance on the other side of the planet. I did long distance relationship before and it was tough enough without all these no travel rule.

Ha. ya. The experts seem to have different opinions sometime. I trust the experts as they have been studying various viruses, modeling etc for years. But i agree, they probably can't predict what would happen next as covid is only around for like 2 yrs. As for the research, I truly don't think it is all about the "money". They certainly don't just fudge out results to what they want to see. I know this because i have scientist friends and I had involvement with some experiments. They explained to me a lot of things when i became their guinea pig. The results need to be peer-reviewed. "Peer" doesn't mean you get your colleagues to read it over and approves it. They usually end up getting the competitors to review their results, assigned by the journal editor (aka moderator). So not all scientific work make it to the publication. If i understand correctly, WHO etc only approves vaccines based on the peer-reviewed published data.