General Mental Health Thread

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#2891875 25-Mar-2022 10:40

GV27:
Doing household bugets in anticipation of part of our mortgage coming off fixed and wee man going into daycare. Gone are any winter holiday, Sky, probably Spark Sport (I'll get F1 Pro instead, it's cheaper) and a bunch of other stuff that would have made winter a little more bearable.

I've had quite a bad run with winters in the last five or so years and SSAD (getting to work before the sun comes up and getting home after it goes down will do that) but doing daycare pick-ups will probably end up being good for me in that regard. And if I can swap my current toy for an EV then we can actually do more day trips instead of being stuck at home fretting about using petrol. So I don't know if it will be better, but at least it will be different. That's something.

Writing things down, making a plan and some sensible changes give you a feeling of taking power back and coping better. Times are becoming harder for most with covid and the war spiking up prices.

We always adjusted our mortgage to the times. When we needed more income we lengthened the term so repayments would be smaller and manageable and then any extra income saved we threw back at the mortgage in lump sums.

Have you considered buying a special light to treat SAD. These are very popular in the Northern countries where daylight is short. You can buy them for under $100 in NZ for a cheaper version.

https://www.healthline.com/health/sad-lamp

Hope things improve for you.

networkn

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#2891876 25-Mar-2022 10:43

Writing things down, making a plan and some sensible changes give you a feeling of taking power back and coping better. Times are becoming harder for most with covid and the war spiking up prices.

We always adjusted our mortgage to the times. When we needed more income we lengthened the term so repayments would be smaller and manageable and then any extra income saved we threw back at the mortgage in lump sums.

Have you considered buying a special light to treat SAD. These are very popular in the Northern countries where daylight is short. You can buy them for under $100 in NZ for a cheaper version.

https://www.healthline.com/health/sad-lamp

Hope things improve for you.

This is all great advice. You can also get Vitamin D from your GP which is a tiny tablet you take once a month. My specialist spent quite a bit of time talking about how Vitamin D deficient most Kiwis are esp during the Winter months. She believes it should be made more widely available and awareness should be raised.

Eva888

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#2891882 25-Mar-2022 10:49

Absolutely agree with Vitamin D supplements. Those once a month prescribed by GP are easy to remember taking one on the same day each month. I wish more doctors would suggest them. We both had to specifically ask to be prescribed them.

networkn

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#2891884 25-Mar-2022 10:52

Yup I take mine on the 15th. But then I have an app that reminds me to take my meds and tracks that I have and nags when if I forget or forget to tell the app I took them.

Stu

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#2892229 25-Mar-2022 19:02

Must talk to the doc about vitamin D.

Apps I've looked at in the past have had issues or limitations, so I just use a calendar app. Can I ask which app you're using, @networkn?

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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networkn

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#2892342 26-Mar-2022 09:40

Stu: Must talk to the doc about vitamin D.

Apps I've looked at in the past have had issues or limitations, so I just use a calendar app. Can I ask which app you're using, @networkn?

Medisafe.

It's not fantastic, but it works.

Geektastic

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#2892344 26-Mar-2022 10:17

I take enough meds every day that I get them pre-packed into morning and evening blister packs with days and dates on from the chemist!

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GV27

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#2892715 27-Mar-2022 14:05

networkn:

This is all great advice. You can also get Vitamin D from your GP which is a tiny tablet you take once a month. My specialist spent quite a bit of time talking about how Vitamin D deficient most Kiwis are esp during the Winter months. She believes it should be made more widely available and awareness should be raised.

The last couple of winters I've used over-the-counter vitamin D supplements and Hairy Lemon each morning and it definitely helped.

It also grew out my grey hairs so I don't know what's going on there, but thanks for the reminder to get some more!

Geektastic

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#2910437 5-May-2022 10:22

Due to spending the early part of my working life in an environment where there was always a security threat I have a bit of a heightened awareness of threat.

Reading the MSM chatter over the past few months has led me to an inescapable conclusion that New Zealand is far less safe than it was when we arrived at the beginning of 2005. Then, serious incidents of violence were pretty rare.

Now they seem to be almost daily occurrences - today I read of a number of people stabbed in Cambridge of all places, shots being fired in South Auckland and a man who walked into a Z station (15 minutes from where I am sitting) with stab wounds last night.

We've had gunfire in Wellington CBD within the last two weeks as well as ram raids and numerous other incidents.

It is starting to trouble me somewhat.

GV27

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#2910448 5-May-2022 10:50

I hear that. I woke up a few weeks ago to the AOS in my driveway. Partner is extremely reluctant to be left on her own with baby after dark as a result.

(not as a result of anything I'd done, but we have some interesting neighbours, apparently).

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#2910526 5-May-2022 11:39

GV27:
I hear that. I woke up a few weeks ago to the AOS in my driveway. Partner is extremely reluctant to be left on her own with baby after dark as a result.

(not as a result of anything I'd done, but we have some interesting neighbours, apparently).

I understand her concerns.

As a rule, we try to avoid Masterton after sundown for similar reasons. My wife thought I was joking when I suggested costing up a 4 metre razor wire boundary fence.

MikeB4

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#2910528 5-May-2022 11:47

Having a vastly improved state of physical health is an excellent treatment for troubled mental health. That has been and continuing to be the case for me. Long may it last.

Dairyxox

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#2910531 5-May-2022 11:54

The lack of policing and weak penalty for crimes has me worried. About the threat of home invasion - the best advice I've read was to run away, but my children might not be so fortunate in that scenario. So now I'm mentally preparing for the fact that a home invasion may end up in a fight to the death. Logic being that even if I'm breaking the law (by possibly using disproportionate force), its better to spend 6 years in jail, than have me or a family member dead.

On another note - Recently when I questioned the safety of returning to the office in the peak of a pandemic with low staff compliance for the policies we have in place, my boss sought retribution by threatening my employment/livelihood, putting me on a 30 minute reporting schedule and performance monitoring program. (My daughter has a pre-existing heart condition so I'm scared shirtless about getting the C) Woe is me.

On Thursday my father (84 years old) fainted and cracked the back of his head on cobble stones. Being stupid they refused to go immediately to the hospital - which is now where he is - with a brain bleed. He seems fine to talk to, but I'm sure he will never be the same.

MikeAqua

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#2910578 5-May-2022 14:12

Eva888: Absolutely agree with Vitamin D supplements. Those once a month prescribed by GP are easy to remember taking one on the same day each month. I wish more doctors would suggest them. We both had to specifically ask to be prescribed them.

I make sure I get outside into the sunshine, every day. I live in Marlborough so even if it isn't sunny there is usually good daylight. It makes a sizeable positive difference to how I feel.

We barely get winter in NZ compared to Europe or North America, and we are fortunate (in winter) to have strong sunlight (not so good in summer).

Mike

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#2910580 5-May-2022 14:15

Geektastic:

Reading the MSM chatter over the past few months has led me to an inescapable conclusion that New Zealand is far less safe than it was when we arrived at the beginning of 2005. Then, serious incidents of violence were pretty rare.

Now they seem to be almost daily occurrences - today I read of a number of people stabbed in Cambridge of all places, shots being fired in South Auckland and a man who walked into a Z station (15 minutes from where I am sitting) with stab wounds last night.

We've had gunfire in Wellington CBD within the last two weeks as well as ram raids and numerous other incidents.

It is starting to trouble me somewhat.

I feel exactly the same. The increase in extreme violent behaviour also seems to be accompanied by an increase in lower level anti-social behaviour. Whilst the latter has less of an impact, it still makes me anxious to be experiencing it every day.

Just less than half an hour ago I saw someone jump out in front of a slow moving vehicle for no reason other than to frighten the driver. It's only just recently that I've started seeing this sort of thing on a daily basis.

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