Social Mind Matters

With the Coronavirus Pandemic starting last year, one of the things I noticed during the 1st lockdown was how my mental health was being affected.

Like a lot of people I was struggling to figure out what this actually meant, how it was going to affect me and my family, trying to "medically" assess me, my Wife, my Son, Parents, Grandparents, In-Laws.

Trying to analyse what the media was trying to tell us, trying to figure out what the government was trying to tell us, trying to analyse what this new "science" was all about.

Like all of us there was a whole new vocabulary that needed to be explored, just trying to survive. I very quickly realised that I didnt have the coping mechanisims to be able to deal with this and came to understand that the media were spinning what the goverment were telling us, the goverment really didnt know what they were telling us as they were learning about this at the same time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter were all lit with opinions and rants and self acclaimed "experts" in virology!

All this new information wasn't being filtered in a nice orderly fashion, its like chucking 3 types of rice into a big bowl and then throwing the whole thing into a rice factory storage bin and being told to sort it all out, it was never going to happen.

I spent hours scrolling through Social Media sites, reading conflicting stories on News media sites and to what gain?

All I felt was depressed, upset and angry.  Angry that the news wouldnt just tell the nation to do what the goverment asked, depressed at the fact that, as someone who likes to fix things, suddenly realised that when nature wants to take a bite of our backsides then there is not much we can do about it.

This led to feeling oh so very small in a big world and that all the science in the world, the most intelligent people on the planet, the biggest, most powerful computer modeling and IT systems weren't enough to fight this virus!!

And today a year later, we're still not there, vaccine yes, but so many questions still - But thats for another day!

I started going down a very dark and not very healthy path, I had to do something.  So I did, I quit social media! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram all gone.

I then stopped watching the news, I watched the daily briefings and turned off when the reporters started asking their unanswerable, condesending, "Oh look how clever I am to try and catch out a Minister" questions.

And guess what, the world didnt stop because I wasnt posting that I was eating my high fibre, low carb, memory boosting, fat busting breakfast, whilst doing an online PT class, preparing a nice healthy grilled lemon chicken and green leaf lunch.

I stopped listening to the poison that I was allowing to be absorbed into my already messed up head, and I finally realised that just because I had 267 followers on Facebook didnt actually mean a great deal, because very few of them actually got in touch with me (This is not a dig by the way at anyone who didnt!).  I finally found freedom, well, some freedom anyway.

So heres my Mentally healthy challenge for you.  This weekend turn your phones OFF :O!!!  SHOCK, HORROR!!!  Yes, I really mean it.  By all means take them out and about with you, to capture a video or photo of you spending time with your Family or for emergency, but leave them off.  DO NOT POST THESE TO SOCIAL MEDIA THESE ARE YOUR MEMORIES!!

Don't check Facebook 500 times every 30 seconds.  Talk to people, go for a walk and say hi to someone you walk past.  Talk to your partner eeek! Yup, actually verbalise stuff.  Go out and see what you can discover.  Do it for the weekend, and I promise you, your life WILL NOT grind to a halt, but what you might find is real life.

Just as a sidenote, real life may not be pretty, in fact its flippin'  ugly, but its real, it will never show you a six pack, or that perfect breakfast, or that immaculate house - Because not a lot of that on social media is real, trust me.

Stay safe, please look after yourselves 1st, and if you are struggling reach out to someone for help.