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MENTAL HEALTH / THAT TIME OF YEAR - WE CAN DO BETTER

Beach said:
So what's it's like to be a social worker then? :unsure::ROFLMAO:
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Lol look at all the positive comments on this thread then look at your comment.
From you super negative and sly posts it seems you can post what you like as long as you put a smiley after it.
Well you can!.
But maybe consider that actually this thread applies specifically to you, I think it does!.
So heres your smiley :-)
 
I thought this was a good little write-up. Not sea fishing, more coarse/specimen fishing. I know Leigh quite well, and until he wrote this, I didn't know how he was feeling.

www.cadencefishing.co.uk

Has Fishing Helped To Save My Life? - Cadence Fishing

In a very personal and honest piece, Leigh Harrison discusses what can be the very difficult subject of men’s mental health – and on how angling has helped him cope with the pressures and strains of life under stress in a not so happy period of his life.
www.cadencefishing.co.uk www.cadencefishing.co.uk
 
CKB said:
DO WE NEED TO TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK AT OURSELVES?
As a habit, I spend as little time as possible keeping up with anglers' social media pages, though I am following hundreds or even thousands, mostly in the UK. This week, I have had others point out the sheer volume of negativity and moaning going on across the board. And I have the following cautionary words.
View attachment 52800
Negativity breeds negativity; it is infectious. We define how we perceive the world and how we conduct ourselves. A quote I have used before from, a famous psychologist is: "If we behave in a malevolent way, and everyone does that, the place we live is truly hell." Social media is part of our lives, it is the new town square.
Dostoevsky, the famous novelist, once said something like: "Everyone is responsible for everything that happens to everyone else." On one level, it seems absurd, but on another, it is true. As much as we think that our individual actions don't matter, they do. Your words can reach a billion people these days. So think about them carefully and the impact you want to have.

I understand the economy is shot due to quantitative easing (the printing of money), and hyperinflation; most of us are around 15% poorer. The West seems to be in a perpetual state of chaos. War and civil conflict is tearing parts of the world apart. We've just had a pandemic and lost people. The temptation to be negative is great. Almost all of that is outside of our control. Is there anything more important than our health, and the health of the friends and family that we love? Perhaps things aren't so bad. Maybe we have lots to be grateful for? Switch the news off if it's affecting your psyche, you'll feel better.
We have an epidemic of mental health issues in the UK. Perhaps lots of people need your positivity, support and encouragement? It takes just a few words to make someone feel better about themselves. Instead of staying silent when someone catches a nice fish, say something nice, instead of picking at it or finding a way to criticise them? Your words can change their lives.

We are now at that time of year where every year I see social media become septic, so negative. People aren't able to get out fishing. Less sun equals less vitamin D, and less serotonin, one of the happy chemicals released in the brain. Whether we realise it or not, we feel down and often more negative. You can supplement this or just make an effort to get half an hour of sun when it does infrequently show. Exercise releases it too. This will improve your mood and health. I notice my own mood drop at this time of year, and if I don't take supplements, it lasts until spring. This is another reason why we can be negative to others. People don't even realise that their mindset has changed.

Diet and sleep also have big parts to play concerning our moods. If we are not sleeping well, and eating food that isn't nutritious, consuming lots of sugar, it's going to mess with our mood. I see this in myself. We need protein, vitamins and minerals to function properly and maintain a healthy mind.

If we're fishing less, some of us are drinking more. Alcohol is a depressant, and the downside leaves people extremely low. Gut health and mental health are intrinsically linked. It takes 3 days for your gut microbe biome to return to normal after drinking alcohol. Different people exhibit symptoms in different ways, some feel so low and like giving up, and others become moody and abusive. All of your fellow anglers love this sport like you do. Don't use social media as a platform to abuse or diminish your fellow anglers. If you're in that state, be aware, go for a walk, get some air, and stay off social media if it's triggering you.
Let us examine our own actions and work toward being positive, encouraging and helping others. Most of us can do much better. Manners and kindness cost us nothing.
#AtlanticDriftFishing
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Mike said:
I thought this was a good little write-up. Not sea fishing, more coarse/specimen fishing. I know Leigh quite well, and until he wrote this, I didn't know how he was feeling.

www.cadencefishing.co.uk

Has Fishing Helped To Save My Life? - Cadence Fishing

In a very personal and honest piece, Leigh Harrison discusses what can be the very difficult subject of men’s mental health – and on how angling has helped him cope with the pressures and strains of life under stress in a not so happy period of his life.
www.cadencefishing.co.uk www.cadencefishing.co.uk
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Good article Mike. A lot of that rings true for me
 
Mike said:
I thought this was a good little write-up. Not sea fishing, more coarse/specimen fishing. I know Leigh quite well, and until he wrote this, I didn't know how he was feeling.

www.cadencefishing.co.uk

Has Fishing Helped To Save My Life? - Cadence Fishing

In a very personal and honest piece, Leigh Harrison discusses what can be the very difficult subject of men’s mental health – and on how angling has helped him cope with the pressures and strains of life under stress in a not so happy period of his life.
www.cadencefishing.co.uk www.cadencefishing.co.uk
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Yes, good honest write up that.

I don’t entirely relate to all of it as I’m not that sort of person, but I certainly relate to being happy with my own company when fishing.
Happy to fish with mates but if I’m honest, I enjoy it more on my own.
I’ve always thought you need to be happy in your own skin and with your own company first and foremost, otherwise you’re always relying on other people for your happiness, which obviously is never guaranteed.

I did once do a long interview with a chap who had managed to climb out of a very deep pit of depression thanks to counselling, and a lot of what he said chimes with this chap.
He said he would try and do anything for people, but then their problems became his problems and he’d spend a lot of time agonising over their issues and worrying about things that ultimately weren’t his problem.
Counselling helped him see he was basically taking on a false burden that he had no control over, it was worrying about it as if it was his issue, when it wasn’t.

I’m different to that. That’s not to say I won’t help people, because I do, and sometimes probably do more than I’d be expected to.
But I do draw a line somewhere along the way, because if people can’t or won’t take responsibility and actions for their own problems, there’s only so much someone else can do.
That’s not to say I won’t continue to help or support them, but I think at some point you need to have an element of selfishness and look to yourself simply to retain your own sanity and not get dragged too deeply into other people’s issues.
 
flappy said:
What fishy says is very true.. there is no helping an addict who doesn’t want help.. all they will do is drag you down to their level.
Luckily I had help from an ex girlfriend.
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Not just addicts mate, but you’re right there. People get so wrapped up in their anxiety/depression/problems they find it easier to do nothing than take the first steps.

It just becomes easier to hide away at home and let others do stuff.

Understandable but it doesn’t help them or anyone else.
I do think MH support should be aimed at pushing people to do more (that they can cope with) but there’s a lot of coddling now.

I have known/do know people that have literally lived for years hiding away like that.

I’d go nuts 🤪
 
Mr Fish said:
Not just addicts mate, but you’re right there. People get so wrapped up in their anxiety/depression/problems they find it easier to do nothing than take the first steps.

It just becomes easier to hide away at home and let others do stuff.

Understandable but it doesn’t help them or anyone else.
I do think MH support should be aimed at pushing people to do more (that they can cope with) but there’s a lot of coddling now.

I have known/do know people that have literally lived for years hiding away like that.

I’d go nuts 🤪
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That was me.. shut in my house.. off my tits .. coping with it and running a business if you know what I mean…🙄
Tricky times.
 
I am not being weird .. because I know full well that the dinosaurs in society would blame me for being an addict.. and say it was my mistake and choice to become one.. but life really isn’t that simple… was it depression.. was it self harm.. was it an act to slowly commit suicide.. I guess I will never know.
 
flappy said:
I am not being weird .. because I know full well that the dinosaurs in society would blame me for being an addict.. and say it was my mistake and choice to become one.. but life really isn’t that simple… was it depression.. was it self harm.. was it an act to slowly commit suicide.. I guess I will never know.
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As far as drugs go, best not to start it.

But easier said than done for some I guess
 
flappy said:
We know that…🙄
The question is why..?
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It’s a good question really. I did a fair bit of weed for a couple of years, but many many years ago.
There was never an urge to try anything stronger though did dabble with acid once and decided that was definitely too freaky.

Someone offered me crack once (not the good crack 🙄) and I said nah, no chance.

I went off the weed pretty quickly. Two reasons really - for one thing it just bored me. A bit to laugh and chat was fun for a while, but then you just veg out and get too mellow.
I don’t need drugs to help me veg out on a sofa!
The other thing was, I started noticing friends who used it a lot were undergoing a personality change and losing the will to do much of anything.
The stoner attitude might be fine up to a point but imo it doesn’t do people any favours in the real world longer term and it does seem to become a bit of a crutch for some people.

A few years later one of those friends took his own life.
I wouldn’t say the weed CAUSED that but I do genuinely think it added to his psychological problems and worked to deepen a bit of a psychosis that was already there.
So people really shouldn’t think weed is ‘safe’ imo. In moderation, probably, and probably alright for most people if they don’t overdo it, but some should probably never touch it.

Why did I try these things in the first place? No idea really. Just experimenting I guess but certainly never had the urge to try harder drugs.

Sorry, wandered a bit from the OP 😬
 
Mr Fish said:
It’s a good question really. I did a fair bit of weed for a couple of years, but many many years ago.
There was never an urge to try anything stronger though did dabble with acid once and decided that was definitely too freaky.

Someone offered me crack once (not the good crack 🙄) and I said nah, no chance.

I went off the weed pretty quickly. Two reasons really - for one thing it just bored me. A bit to laugh and chat was fun for a while, but then you just veg out and get too mellow.
I don’t need drugs to help me veg out on a sofa!
The other thing was, I started noticing friends who used it a lot were undergoing a personality change and losing the will to do much of anything.
The stoner attitude might be fine up to a point but imo it doesn’t do people any favours in the real world longer term and it does seem to become a bit of a crutch for some people.

A few years later one of those friends took his own life.
I wouldn’t say the weed CAUSED that but I do genuinely think it added to his psychological problems and worked to deepen a bit of a psychosis that was already there.
So people really shouldn’t think weed is ‘safe’ imo. In moderation, probably, and probably alright for most people if they don’t overdo it, but some should probably never touch it.

Why did I try these things in the first place? No idea really. Just experimenting I guess but certainly never had the urge to try harder drugs.

Sorry, wandered a bit from the OP 😬
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Some may remember me mentioning my mate Jim RIP who passed away a few years ago, and part of the cause of death was said to be pretty extreme use of Cannabis. He smoked loads of it every day for many years. He sometimes said he smoked it to relieve the pain in his back following some Spinal injuries, but I was never sure of the truth in that.

He used to come down from London and stay at my Cottage, and he talked me into smoking a joint one night.
I'd had a few tins of beer, and I threw up like never before.
That, and the fact that Wifey's kids have lost some close friends due to dodgy Ecstasy & other drugs put me off illegal stuff for life.

OK, so Nicotine is also a drug, and I started smoking aged 14. Packed it in when I had the Cardiac problem in 2018, and not had a smoke since, but I admit I still need a small fix of Nicotine via my Vape.
 
flappy said:
What fishy says is very true.. there is no helping an addict who doesn’t want help.. all they will do is drag you down to their level.
Luckily I had help from an ex girlfriend.
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I wonder why your ex girlfriend went awol. :unsure: :ROFLMAO:
 
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Mr Fish said:
As far as drugs go, best not to start it.

But easier said than done for some I guess
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Some people have an addictive nature and fall foul of their vices whether it be drugs, alcohol (a drug I suppose) gambling,or food even, it's very easy for the righteous and pious to pontificate but no one makes a conscious choice to be addicted.
 
Still whittling said:
Some people have an addictive nature and fall foul of their vices whether it be drugs, alcohol (a drug I suppose) gambling,or food even, it's very easy for the righteous and pious to pontificate but no one makes a conscious choice to be addicted.
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Very true, however hard drug use really only ends one way unless the addiction is beaten.
But yes of course people can and do get addicted to anything.

I think it’s a matter of degrees though. If you ate cheeseburgers for a month you’d put on weight but no lasting effects.
If you had heroin for a month you’d be fecked without serious help.

I’d have a cheeseburger if offered but I’d never touch anything like heroin in a million years.

I appreciate though it’s down to circumstance, the company people keep, their mental health at the time or trying to numb some trauma, many reasons they can start on the slippery slope.
 

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