Depression

[tricol]

Take it easy Couchy, break ups of any magnitude can be so difficult. I'm sure all will work out for you in end

[Dodgy69]

I've got nothing to add really other than, I know quite a few who's marriages have broken down, fast forward a few month's and the smiles are back.

Shit doesn't last for ever.

[Taipan]

End of one chapter and the start of a new one. You're a smart cookie Couchie, hang in there...

[DefTrap]

End of one chapter and the start of a new one. You're a smart cookie Couchie, hang in there...

I'd go along with that.
There's loads of things a single man could do that a married man probably shouldn't. It'll take the sting out anyway.

[porter_jamie]

Just like to share something I've discovered. I have been struggling a bit recently with brain fog, headaches, tiredness, irritability and worse, pain sometimes debilitating.
Anyway I watched a Joe Rogan episode with Jordan Peterson about the carnivore diet and that made me research it and I've found some crazy stuff. So many people have found it helps them mentally and physically so I thought well it's worth a go.
Been on it nearly 4 weeks and if you had told me how much better I felt I wouldn't have believed you. Truly amazing. I can keep awake all day I used to get so tired I'd have to snooze in the car, brain fog lifted, mood significantly better people at work have mentioned it randomly, pains much better, oh and almost a stone has fallen off. I never feel hungry. At all.
Cos I'm an idiot i can't do diets..this is easy cos it's just meat. Missus says I'm very calm.since I started. I must have had a bad reaction to sugar or carbs
I'm not saying it's a good idea and I'm not saying you should do it but if you are struggling with any of that stuff, look it up and see if it might help you.

I'd appreciate if that you think my diet is bad for me or whatever to keep it to yourself. Its my choice and I know what I'm doing and have a plan. I love vegetables but I love not feeling completely awful more. thanks I'm advance.

[Noggin]

Just like to share something I've discovered. I have been struggling a bit recently with brain fog, headaches, tiredness, irritability and worse, pain sometimes debilitating.
Anyway I watched a Joe Rogan episode with Jordan Peterson about the carnivore diet and that made me research it and I've found some crazy stuff. So many people have found it helps them mentally and physically so I thought well it's worth a go.
Been on it nearly 4 weeks and if you had told me how much better I felt I wouldn't have believed you. Truly amazing. I can keep awake all day I used to get so tired I'd have to snooze in the car, brain fog lifted, mood significantly better people at work have mentioned it randomly, pains much better, oh and almost a stone has fallen off. I never feel hungry. At all.
Cos I'm an idiot i can't do diets..this is easy cos it's just meat. Missus says I'm very calm.since I started. I must have had a bad reaction to sugar or carbs
I'm not saying it's a good idea and I'm not saying you should do it but if you are struggling with any of that stuff, look it up and see if it might help you.

I'd appreciate if that you think my diet is bad for me or whatever to keep it to yourself. Its my choice and I know what I'm doing and have a plan. I love vegetables but I love not feeling completely awful more. thanks I'm advance.

I have a friend who's been on the carnivore diet for about two years. She looks AMAZING, feels great and has lost loads of weight. I could almost do it but every now and then I crave green veg, so on that basis, I must need veg (since I don't really like the stuff in general!! LOL) so I tend to be protein heavy but not actually carnivore.

It's something I've learnt over the years that whatever a person says 'YOU MUST DO' to be healthy/lose weight/blah blah blah, you really do have to find the diet/way of eating (I can't do 'diets' either) that suits you. No one thing suits everyone. My Dad does keto - has done for about 3 years (since he saw a photo of himself and a couple of others in my 50th birthday photos). He looks and feels amazing, healthy and slimmer - but no way could I do that diet!!

Food does have a massive impact on brain function/mood. Something that main stream medic peeps haven't really got the time to research.

Good for you for finding something that works so well

[porter_jamie]

Thanks chaps. I agree with everything you said. However it's working for me. Like I said I'm not trying to persuade you its a good idea. It's just the remarkable difference in how I feel in such a short time frame.
Think if it as the ultimate elimination diet. I am.not eating any sugar or processed shite at all, and lo and behold I feel great. Not surprisingly really if you think about it.
The fact remains, I do feel good though.
When I feel stable day to day things feel ok ik going to slowly Introduce green veggies one at a time to see which ones agree with me or not.
Man I used to be able to eat whole tubs of icream but I accidentally had some honey the other day and it knocked me off my feet for a day in bed all day, and took another day to feel right again.
Like I said I miss veggies but not as much as I like feeling well.

[Taipan]

Just like to share something I've discovered. I have been struggling a bit recently with brain fog, headaches, tiredness, irritability and worse, pain sometimes debilitating.
Anyway I watched a Joe Rogan episode with Jordan Peterson about the carnivore diet and that made me research it and I've found some crazy stuff. So many people have found it helps them mentally and physically so I thought well it's worth a go.
Been on it nearly 4 weeks and if you had told me how much better I felt I wouldn't have believed you. Truly amazing. I can keep awake all day I used to get so tired I'd have to snooze in the car, brain fog lifted, mood significantly better people at work have mentioned it randomly, pains much better, oh and almost a stone has fallen off. I never feel hungry. At all.
Cos I'm an idiot i can't do diets..this is easy cos it's just meat. Missus says I'm very calm.since I started. I must have had a bad reaction to sugar or carbs
I'm not saying it's a good idea and I'm not saying you should do it but if you are struggling with any of that stuff, look it up and see if it might help you.

I'd appreciate if that you think my diet is bad for me or whatever to keep it to yourself. Its my choice and I know what I'm doing and have a plan. I love vegetables but I love not feeling completely awful more. thanks I'm advance.

Check out a guy called Eddie Abbew. https://www.instagram.com/eddie_abbew/ Hes a former British champion body bbuilder or weightlifter and will undoubtedly be appearing on the main stream media soon as he has been calling out processed food manufcaturers and explaining just what is in certain foods. His catchphrase is "This isn't food, this is shit". Anyway, his ever increasing band of followers have started switching to better foods and many are losing weight, getting better physical and mental health etc.

NSFW

[wheelnut]

Nothing profound to add to what’s been said couchy but sending you my best wishes anyway. They say time is a healer - I’m not so sure but it can put distance between you and the shitty events in life which allows you to refocus.

My step-sister took her own life last week. We weren’t close so I wasn’t aware of her state of mind. I’m reasonably close to my step dad and he’s in bits along with his other kids. She left two small children behind. It’s a strange thing as along with the grief it also brings a lot of guilt and anger.

Funeral is today.

[porter_jamie]

Spoke to a counsellor the other day about some stuff. If anyone was considering doing but wasn't sure, or couldn't work out how to,.or work up the courage to, or anything like that - its fine.
I was a bit apprehensive, but clearly this is their job and there's no judgement, they make you feel completely at ease and will find out if they can help you or not.
Absolutely worth doing if you think it might help.
J

[Couchy]

Spoke to a counsellor the other day about some stuff. If anyone was considering doing but wasn't sure, or couldn't work out how to,.or work up the courage to, or anything like that - its fine.
I was a bit apprehensive, but clearly this is their job and there's no judgement, they make you feel completely at ease and will find out if they can help you or not.
Absolutely worth doing if you think it might help.
J

Tbh aye good to hear mate, I tried counselling and it didn’t really work for me, however I found a psychotherapist which does work for me, I was massively cynical at first but now I’ve realised how good they are. This works for me as any understanding ir decisions made are done by me. We’re all different and what I’m trying to say is if one method doesn’t work there are plenty of other options out there that may seem bollox or make you uncomfy but there will be something for everyone

[Noggin]

It's not just the therapy, it the person you interact with. I tried a few types in the uk and nothing really worked. Obviously, out here the language caused me to not make attempts.

But in the first rehab place, the psychologist there was awesome (and spoke enough english that we could do the sessions in english!). Helped me so very much. Really wish I could have continued to see her, definitely at the moment.

In the second place, I didn't connect well with the psychologist there and the constant going over the stuff I'd dealt with with the first pissed me off - AND having to do it in French, much more difficult if at all stressed or upset!!

I suppose I'm trying to say, doing dismiss the type of therapy due to one therapist - if I'd seen the second therapist the first time, I'd never had tried again or had any positive results! At least now i've worked out that it's a balance of the human connection and the way they work, not just the type of therapy

Glad you've both found someone/something that helps xx

[Dodgy69]

I may of said it before, but when I get home from a 2/3 hr bimble on a slow motorbike and a beer garden, I feel so much better on my return. Definitely picks me up a bit.

[Noggin]

I may of said it before, but when I get home from a 2/3 hr bimble on a slow motorbike and a beer garden, I feel so much better on my return. Definitely picks me up a bit.

One of the main reasons I've struggled so much mentally in the last 6 and a bit years has been not being able to ride. I mean, I could a little bit, but the trade off was quite a lot of pain. And I couldn't ride how I used to. Having that bastard Monster sitting nearby, even when it wasn't a runner, was the thread that kind of kept me hanging on .

Ok, she's not the most comfortable bike for me to ride. I can't say my shoulder hurts because there isn't anything in there to hurt now, but the muscles that do all the jobs the ligaments used to DO hurt. Just not as much as before!

I was lucky to have positive physical therapists around me (even if most people I knew up here didn't get my NEED to get back on a bike ) and I could hang on to the belief that I would be able to ride.

Even when my shoulder was in bits, the one big goal was - riding a bike again! Some doctors don't approve, but all the therapists (and even the surgeon!) understand, accept and have helped me get there.

The downside for me is that I am very aware that if I fuck up this shoulder, there really aren't many options, so I may have no choice but to go LHD on a bike

But, riding a bike feels like the final piece for me. Without it I'm not whole. I could manage not to do it through various recoveries. But when physically able I stressed that I couldn't ride for other reasons.

It really is a big part of the mental jigsaw for me. If I can ride in the summer and ski in the winter that goes a long way to keeping me mentally stable and mostly happy. Still got other stuff going on, but even just that 40 mins down to the valley and 40 mins home really really helps mentally!!!

[Couchy]

Riding a mtb gives me a natural high, exercise and fresh air are great for well being. Throw in some adrenalin too and it’s win win.
I’ll be needing it a lot over coming weeks/months as I’m in my own house now having left the family home and sorting the separation out, not where I thought I’d be at this age but not much I can do.

[Noggin]

During covid and the aftermath I put weight on and I was having a tough time mentally, I had a couple of health issues but also stress and worry was off the scale. It creeps up on you and I saw a picture of me at my desk and I looked fat and ill, so I knew something had to change.

I've lost the weight now and I'm back at 70kgs and 30" waist. I'm also running regularly and I do two good weights workouts every week in the gym.

The weight and fitness is massive in terms of mental wellbeing for me, I can still feel the pressures, I haven't really got less pressure pushing on me from external issues, but I feel massively better in myself, so it's going some way to balance it all out.

It's not a miracle cure, but exercise, weight and fitness are incredibly powerful tools to help mental health.

I'm so aware of the exercise pluses (I don't run, but even just walking helps me) but very much lack the ability to drag myself out and actually go when I'm feeling rubbish. I don't generally comfort eat anymore, but I do need to find a way to actually get myself out there when I don't feel like it.

I've learnt quite well over the years how to deal with and stop some of my 'reactions', but often doing something positive is the most difficult - even cleaning/tidying suffers when I'm on a downer and I know so well how much better I feel when that's done, but even knowing that, I still struggle to actually do it

If anyone has any guides, apart from JFDI or "pull yourself together dear" (the latter being my mother's standard line!), then I would appreciate anything to get my brain thinking differently!! I do know I have to actually do it myself, but need to retrain the brain to stop being a fuckwit!!

[MyLittleStudPony]

I believe exercise is a benefit to some of the people some of the time in terms of mental health.

I'm not saying it'll ever do harm but it may not also be a silver bullet for everyone.

Do what you can and don't beat yourself up for what you don't do.


FWIW and it's anecdotal, I do do quite a lot myself and I find it helps me. What made this possible was finding a sport / activity I really enjoyed. I used to run but starting and doing each run was a battle for me and I never really enjoyed it.

[Demannu]

Well we broke my mate out of the care home this morning.
Got him home and obviously the whiff of eau de poo was swirling around a bit. Once we got him on the bed, the full horror unfolded!
I've been a psychiatric nurse, so shitty arses hold no fear for me, but it honestly looked like they had turned his pad around 180 rather than changing it, it was astonishing.
He had chronic nappy rash and the beginning of a sore. Just a complete lack of care from the home.
I don't envy the task ahead for his wife, I honestly think he would have been better off quietly slipping away rather than the man child he has become!
Just venting!

[Demannu]

I'm not saying it'll ever do harm but it may not also be a silver bullet for everyone.

I've read studies that suggest that people who had a BMI over 25 had a much greater risk of developing depression than people who didn’t.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20194822/

I've read studies that BMI is a completely flawed way of measuring body fat/health.
I'm clinically obese with a body fat of 17% and a 32" waist

[tricol]

I've never found exercise to do much good for me. I've turned home from heading out several times, even though I've made the effort to get ready and plan a route. And then if I'm riding badly, I get worse and after the ride I'm on a real downer. I'm sure there's some analysis to be done there. There's just this complete and utter lack of desire to live really. I manage the basics fairly well. I've been on my own these last two days, so getting up early taking the dog out, keeping the house tidy, but just about scraping by with work. It's a trap of a job.

My diet is brutal. I'm sure I'm 30st inside. I know it doesn't help, and in fact I think I might have a little bit of an eating disorder. Eating when not hungry, feeling sick after, and subsequently feeling worse.