Many of us are going to be alone more than ever for a while but it is for the common good. I am compiling a list of jobs to complete at home that normally don’t get done (a deep clean, garden needs a weed and jolly good tidy up) and working on creative things (even with the most basic of resources you can create). Many of the things I have planned aren’t hugely thrilling but it’s important to be occupied.
As there are often other issues that run alongside ibs it’s important to continue to eat healthily and, where possible, get out for some exercise. As long as you follow guidelines about social distancing that is a safe thing to do and good for your mental health.
One thing I’m avoiding is the news and too much social media. I don’t need or want the overload of extra information. I have limited myself to watching the news once in the evening after the government press conference. I have found this to have decreased my stress levels massively this week.
I have noticed that the response to the posts on this site have decreased which I would think is down to everyone trying to get their head round this new normal. Maintain contact with your mother and actively communicate with who you can. We are all in the same situation and thinking and feeling the same things to a greater or lesser degree.
We all are going to have to be proactive in looking after ourselves at the moment.
Hi Roukaya, I feel for you and I'd like to help, at the same time I'm an introvert and living in a small house with three other people here all day so I'm not sure I'm the right person to spend time with you since there must be a whole lot of people in a similar position to you in this situation we're in who really need your company. I assume you're looking for online company rather than face to face, and people might find it easier to respond if you can be a bit more specific about what you're asking - for example as an introvert with social anxiety I find speaking on the phone or on video chat stressful, especially with new people, whereas I am much more comfortable using text chat; my partner is the exact opposite, as someone who is more of an extrovert he doesn't find text chat very satisfying and finds video chat much better.
Have you talked with the old age charity you volunteer with about the possibility of using their network for this? They might be able to put you in touch with some people who need more social contact, like you do.
I suffer from extremely severe IBS pain and it has been made much worse lately. The enforced isolation and the worry over a close elderly friend living alone in another town are causing me enormous distress. Not having any friends or family living nearby isn't exactly helping the situation.
It's all so depressing. I feel your pain so to speak.
The loneliness and isolation will take its toil from those who already suffer from mental health anxiety.
I suffer from IBS and it is always flarred up due to stress and diet
I live on my own, my neighbours are hostile as they are resentful that I own my flat and they are tenants housed by social housing as a priority
I have always suffered from anxiety, depresxion depression and OCD but I am a Muslim and we are told to have faith and after hardship comes ease.
I try to speak to my Mother as she is overseas but I would always complain and compare myself to others
The crisis has been useful for me to give thanks for what I have and if I am able to get through this situation, I am prepared to start again from scratch my post graduate diploma and finding a work experience placement at the age of fifty,
It is agonising to see the news everyday in UK as well as Mauritius but very important to be patient in this silent storm which is impacting the whole world
Thank you for sharing your feelings. I coped earlier by using a lot of distraction away from my house but that is no longer a option for me. I can no longer use this coping mechanism. Intellectual I know better coping strategies like exercise, but during the transition (to required staying at home) I find it easy to get caught up in fears.
I liked what the governor of Ohio, Mike De Wine said recently: “We will get through this. ... The sun will come out and shine upon our state, our beautiful Ohio.”
In times like this we need faith. That is what I am lacking. Have faith!
Yes, I am swimming in other distractions. My house is full of half finished projects that I have started over the years & never completed. Now is a good time to finish a few of of them for a change. For example, I have always intended to sew but just need to sit myself down & start.
It reminds me of Winston Churchill’s book entitled Painting as a Pastime. He says he stood in the beginning outside in his garden before a blank canvas unable to make any mark on it with his paints.
The wife of a friend of Winston dropped by & witnessed him struggling to begin his painting. She grabbed the brush from his hands, if I remember correctly & splashed a bold starting mark across his canvas. From there he was able to begin his paintings! He was somehow freed to start his exportation of oil painting from that point on. He just could not begin from a entirely blank slate.
Sometimes it seems we need some help breaking the ice so to speak. You sound very close to your mother. My mother painted abstractly for a few years, but I never thought to ask her what her paintings were of! I guess I thought it might be too insulting to ask when I was younger. I regret this now because I do not know what these abstractions I saved are of.
I regret also not jotting down our family tree that my mother could rattle off the top of her head. Now might be a good time for you to write down any favorite recipe or whatnot of your mother’s. Because you live away from her it might be possible to capture some keepsake letters from her. That would put your distance to such a great advantage.
Yes, I would be pleased to let you know how I’ve muddled along in the future. It is during times like this not having parent figures closer at hand (in-spite of any or all of their sort comings) seems to add even more to one’s feelings of loneliness. However, it sounds like most folks are avoiding visiting their parents at this time for everyone’s safety & wellbeing.
As I recall didn’t it take John F. Kennedy, Jr. three tries to pass his law degree test? And he could afford to use all the private assistance in the world he wanted studying for them no doubt. The wisest instructor I had said to eat really well ... chicken & other foods that will help your higher brain functions. He also said to be sure to exercise daily, if that is still possible for you to do now.
If exercising is not a option, I once heard a young woman talk about her experience having Guillain-Barre Syndrome. She was on a ventilator unable to move her body for weeks on end. So she practiced her tennis strokes daily in her mind! She fully recovered by the way & became a formidable tennis opponent.
Loneliness & anxiety has been my stumbling block too, but we shall over come & yes, never give up!
Sure roukaya.. in india ..j feel the same..unable to go out i feel v suffocated and my fights with my hus has increased so much...n i feel so bad after that..im here for u...tc
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