Mental health and wellbeing

[difflock]

I am just turned 63 and it is about time I revisited this topic.

"Normally" I came out of my extended period of hibernation some random Spring morning, literally "BAM" I wake up ready to take on the World and its many challenges afresh.

Which state of mind could last for as much as 3 months, until the mental mainspring unwound for another season. The positivity would have lasted longer when younger, but as I got older  .  .  .  not so much.

I had learned to accept this.

But, this past 3 or 4 years I no longer get that "BAM" in the Spring.

I see that my depressive and dysfunctional state is being really hard on my long-suffering first-and-only wife.

I have spoken to the MH Nurse and am seeing her again next week, but not sure that she can really fix anything.

I admit to being really tempted by the magic mushrooms/psycobabin research?

Any suggestions?

Marcus

P.S.

Regarding the illogically of depression, we are financially secure, no debts, both retired so no employment worries, and in a very sound 40+ year old relationship, so WTF have I got to be depressed about?

Answers on a postcard please.

 

 

 

 

[PictureTree]

There doesn’t have to be a ‘reason’ you can point to. Our minds are doing (and frequently not doing) a huge amount subconsciously and it's sometimes impossible to determine a root cause. The most important thing is not to add to the mental fatigue by focusing too much on what the cause might be. 
 

Try to make sure you get eight hours of sleep and take yourself out for some fresh air at least once a day. Your winter low/summer high thing sounds like pretty classic SAD so supplementing with Vit-D might help a bit (though simply getting out in the sun on those rare occasions it puts in an appearance is far more effective). 
 

What do you do with your time now that you’re retired? People who have had a busy work life often struggle with retirement (even if they spent many years very much looking forward to not doing the daily grind).
 

 

[Doug Tait]

I'm under the impression that Marcus is well occupied in retirement, stand to be corrected though.

 

Does anyone else find the clock changing affects their mood? People I know say it's fine after a day or two they're ok again, bit like jet lag, but as I get older it's becoming more obvious that it doesn't suit me at all. Soon as the time "springs forward" I feel out of sorts, struggle to get to sleep early enough then struggle to get up in the morning resulting in a lack of sleep. My appetite seems to be affected too meaning I'm less interested in eating, it just becomes a necessity. Generally I'm a lot more irritable as well.

[Mark J]

5 hours ago, difflock said:

I am just turned 63 and it is about time I revisited this topic.

"Normally" I came out of my extended period of hibernation some random Spring morning, literally "BAM" I wake up ready to take on the World and its many challenges afresh.

Which state of mind could last for as much as 3 months, until the mental mainspring unwound for another season. The positivity would have lasted longer when younger, but as I got older  .  .  .  not so much.

I had learned to accept this.

But, this past 3 or 4 years I no longer get that "BAM" in the Spring.

I see that my depressive and dysfunctional state is being really hard on my long-suffering first-and-only wife.

I have spoken to the MH Nurse and am seeing her again next week, but not sure that she can really fix anything.

I admit to being really tempted by the magic mushrooms/psycobabin research?

Any suggestions?

Marcus

P.S.

Regarding the illogically of depression, we are financially secure, no debts, both retired so no employment worries, and in a very sound 40+ year old relationship, so WTF have I got to be depressed about?

Answers on a postcard please.

 

 

 

 

Adults who microdose psychedelics report health related motivations and lower levels of anxiety and depression compared to non-microdosers

WWW.NATURE.COM

---

Scientific Reports - Adults who microdose psychedelics report health related motivations and lower levels of anxiety and...

The black dog doesn't seem to care about financial security or relationship status. Some of the worst times in my life were when everything looked to be going swimmingly from the outside. 

It's good that you're talking to the MH nurse they really do know their stuff and should be able to point you in the right direction to help you resolve things. 

I microdose 0.15 to 0.2g of dried psylocybin (magic mushrooms) five days on then two days off. They are quite illegal and don't suit everybody. I tried the usual antidepressants years back and they did nothing for me. It might be worth talking with a medical professional if you decide to go down that route. I don't eat them all the time, I find that a three week course of them is long enough to reset the balance. 

Best of luck mate. 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Mark J

[difflock]

10 hours ago, Doug Tait said:

I'm under the impression that Marcus is well occupied in retirement, stand to be corrected though.

 

Does anyone else find the clock changing affects their mood? People I know say it's fine after a day or two they're ok again, bit like jet lag, but as I get older it's becoming more obvious that it doesn't suit me at all. Soon as the time "springs forward" I feel out of sorts, struggle to get to sleep early enough then struggle to get up in the morning resulting in a lack of sleep. My appetite seems to be affected too meaning I'm less interested in eating, it just becomes a necessity. Generally I'm a lot more irritable as well. 

 

Thank you Doug,

But NO, I am not well occupied, though with an unfinished house, oodles of woodwork to do, an unused sawmill(or 2) tractors needing attention, 4  "G" Wagens needing work,  trees to fell, fences to fix, a garden to sort, etc etc etc.

Plenty I could/should be doing.

But I appreciate your supportive words.

P.S

I find I used to need to start something mindless, pressure washing, clearing round volunteer Oak and Beech up the Moss, for instance.

But recently I cannot even summon the interest for that.

Felling a lot better this evening, perhaps as a result of making my post this morning?

Cheers all.

Marcus

EDIT

This evening I pumped the tyres on a bike of the sons that has been parked up, quite unused this 15 years,  and for the first time in 20 years went for a cycle, 13.5 miles later my arse is numb and my wrists are proper aching. Lord God but some of the rural roads are shocking roughly surfaced.

So I can now cycle instead of driving to the distillery the couple of days a week I work. 

But not tomorrow morning!

Ouch!

Edited June 12, 2022 by difflock

[difflock]

Thank you Doug,

But NO, I am not well occupied, though with an unfinished house, oodles of woodwork to do, an unused sawmill(or 2) tractors needing attention, 4  "G" Wagens needing work,  trees to fell, fences to fix, a garden to sort, etc etc etc.

Plenty I could/should be doing.

But I appreciate your supportive words.

P.S

I find I used to need to start something mindless, pressure washing, clearing round volunteer Oak and Beech up the Moss, for instance.

But recently I cannot even summon the interest for that.

Felling a lot better this evening, perhaps as a result of making my post this morning?

Cheers all.

Marcus

[Doug Tait]

2 hours ago, difflock said:

 

Thank you Doug,

But NO, I am not well occupied, though with an unfinished house, oodles of woodwork to do, an unused sawmill(or 2) tractors needing attention, 4  "G" Wagens needing work,  trees to fell, fences to fix, a garden to sort, etc etc etc.

Plenty I could/should be doing.

But I appreciate your supportive words.

P.S

I find I used to need to start something mindless, pressure washing, clearing round volunteer Oak and Beech up the Moss, for instance.

But recently I cannot even summon the interest for that.

Felling a lot better this evening, perhaps as a result of making my post this morning?

Cheers all.

Marcus

EDIT

This evening I pumped the tyres on a bike of the sons that has been parked up, quite unused this 15 years,  and for the first time in 20 years went for a cycle, 13.5 miles later my arse is numb and my wrists are proper aching. Lord God but some of the rural roads are shocking roughly surfaced.

So I can now cycle instead of driving to the distillery the couple of days a week I work. 

But not tomorrow morning!

Ouch!

A cycle to work sounds ideal, and a rant about the roads will probably help too!

 

When you say you can't summon the interest to start with doing something mindless, that's familiar to me. I've found when you do manage to achieve something though the next thing is a bit less effort and so on.

 

Maybe more structure would help. Every Monday gardening, Tuesday brewery, Wednesday inside the house etc...

[Macpherson]

12 hours ago, Doug Tait said:

Does anyone else find the clock changing affects their mood?

 

I'm with you there, it throws me out of kilter for weeks if not longer.

[eggsarascal]

1 hour ago, difflock said:

Thank you Doug,

But NO, I am not well occupied, though with an unfinished house, oodles of woodwork to do, an unused sawmill(or 2) tractors needing attention, 4  "G" Wagens needing work,  trees to fell, fences to fix, a garden to sort, etc etc etc.

Plenty I could/should be doing.

But I appreciate your supportive words.

P.S

I find I used to need to start something mindless, pressure washing, clearing round volunteer Oak and Beech up the Moss, for instance.

But recently I cannot even summon the interest for that.

Felling a lot better this evening, perhaps as a result of making my post this morning?

Cheers all.

Marcus

Marcus, my boy, it's a horrible situation to be in, it will move over mind. I totally get what you are saying about summing the interest to do things, it's one of them fella.

 

It will pass.

[Haironyourchest]

Personally I find "should" can be a trigger or underlying cause of depression. The burden of "duties not done" can really wear down one's satisfaction with oneself and life.... One strategy that works for me is to not give a ****************. Literally, just look at the falling apart shed or whatever, and stop caring (don't do this with motor vehicles in current use).

 

Interested to hear if you ever try the mushroom therapy, what the results are. I heard if you get down on your hands and knees and graze the mushrooms direct from the ground, without "picking" them, then they're not illegal. Maybe try one mushroom for starters and see what happens.... I've experimented with them in my youth, a few times.. no interest anymore though. Nothing to be afraid of, if you go easy.