Hi Ragnarsson
I've spoken to a number of people in recent times who tend to agree life has never been the same since 2020 and all the covid lock downs. As someone put it, 'That time stirred up a lot and we're still living with some of what it stirred up'.
One of the most challenging side effects of all the covid lock downs here in Melbourne become, for me, waiting. I'd never really been in the habit of waiting all that much before all the lock downs hit or so I thought. When the 1st lock down came, I patiently waited to come out of it, just as we were instructed. When the 2nd came, I felt my inability to easily wait. With the announcement of the 3rd, I thought 'I can't wait. These lock downs are messing with my head', as my ways of coping with my mental health were taken away (road trips, socialising to some degree, going out for meals and other sensory experiences etc). 4th lock down and so on, waiting, waiting and more waiting to come out of them. The lock downs reformed me into a waiter and a hoper. Waiting and hoping are not enough to sustain life or generate the kind of energy needed with which to live life. One thing I've learned along the way is...when nothing is changing or looks like changing, waiting and hoping alone can become depressing. It's action that almost always guarantees change.
I imagine waiting for you dad's health to improve while hoping it improves has felt like some form of torture in a way. I like to think specialists have taken all the best actions to help promote improvement and there have been positive results. My heart goes out to you during this time.
As a 52yo gal, I have to say it's weird...it almost feels like I've forgotten how to take action. If there's one key thing I've learned over the years, when it comes to managing depression, just about every depressing period of challenge leads me to the need for skill development. Perhaps the skill here is 'How to stop waiting and how to start taking action toward meaningful change'.
