http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/508002.html?thread=25040482#t25040482

In other news, toothache is bending my mind - and no dentist in sight. (I'd better avoid St Charles if possible - she gave that tooth a root canal 4 times and always messed it up.) The whole hospital/doctor thing is tricky, too.

It's also now Valentines day and it seems I've spent every day since before Christmas fighting health and/or computers.

So can I?

Copied from Imogene Wall:-

IN CRISES, WE START DOING WEIRD STUFF: Over the last week I have struggled to sleep, stayed up late into the night reading endless news articles, bought pasta I don’t even like very much, got angry with my mum for not staying home. My spelling is a disaster and I’m definitely drinking more. I’ve been a bit teary, and all I really want to eat is cake, cake and more cake. From what I got back from my post yesterday, I’m not alone.

If you’re having a wobble, you may also have noticed all sorts of weird stuff going on. Are you arguing more, talking faster, struggling to sleep, restless, desperate for information? Or are you teary and overwhelmed, perhaps feeling a bit sick? Struggling to make decisions? Just want to stay in bed? Tummy upsets? Having palpitations, butterflies, headaches? Ranting, picking fights or getting into arguments? Laughing unexpectedly or saying random, inappropriate things? Developing Very Strong Opinions on epidemiology overnight? Or have you just completely gone to ground?

If you are feeling any of these things: good news! You are not going mad. And you are 100% not alone. You are, in fact completely normal: a fully emotionally functional human being. Congratulations! Why? I’ll explain: take a seat and put the kettle on.

WE ARE LIVING IN TURBO-ANXIOUS TIMES. Well, no kidding. We’re in the middle of an unprecedented crisis that has showed up unexpectedly (they do that) and which presents a mortal threat to ourselves, our loved ones and our way of life. It’s terrifying and it's getting worse and it makes us feel totally out of control. And this is on top of anything else we have going on.

HERE’S THE SCIENCE BIT. When we are exposed to threats and need to deal with them, our brain springs into action. Specifically a tiny, innocent-looking thing buried behind your ear called the amygdala (fun fact: it's the size and shape of an almond). It’s the bit in charge when we are frightened and right now, it’s in full tin-hat klaxon mode. Unfortunately, it’s also very ancient bit of kit. It came into being when threats basically consisted of being eaten by large scary animals like bears. You know that thing about when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail? Well, to the amygdala, everything looks like a bear. It’s also pretty basic, so it really only has two settings. They are no bear 🙂 and BEAR!!!.

SETTING: BEAR!!!. Because all threats look like a bear to the amygdala, it preps you accordingly. There are really only two reactions to a bear about to eat you: fight it, or run away really fast. So this is what the body gets you ready to do. It’s called the Fight or Flight response (there’s also freeze, meaning you just get paralysed). It does this by flooding your body with chemicals like cortisol, and adrenaline. Your heart rate goes up, you feel super alert, your breathing goes shallow, your muscles are ready for action. These chemicals are also largely responsible for the huge range of other cognitive/physical/emotional reactions in my intro. In group fear situation like a pandemic, this tends to happen whether you think you're scared or not - anxiety is even more infectious than COVID. Your body reacts even if your conscious mind doesn't.

BEAR V VIRUS: Obviously this is all great if you really are running away from a bear. But we’re now in a situation where we’re being asked to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of running away. We are being told to sit tight. Literally stay still. Process large amounts of information, make complicated and life changing decisions, and stay calm. All while a bit of your brain is running around yelling BEAR!!! BEAR!!! BEAR!!! This isn’t easy. The result is an awful lot of stress and anxiety. And if you’re anything like me, you end up feeling really overwhelmed and having all sorts of reactions.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: Anxiety isn’t just mental – it’s also physical, cognitive and behavioural. You will notice all kinds of things: stomach upsets, headaches, insomnia, changes to eating, changes to the way you talk. It’s also cognitive: it’s very difficult to think straight when you’ve got the BEAR!!! BEAR!!! BEAR!!! thing going on – so we also become very bad at making decisions, absorbing information and generally thinking rationally. Which is EXACTLY what we need to do.

SO WHAT TO DO: well, the good news is it is possible to calm down. We can turn the amygdala from BEAR!!! to NO BEAR 😊, and not just by distracting it with cake and tea. Her are some solid, scientifically proven things you can do.

BREATHE. It’s so basic, but breathing exercises are basically magic. They work in minutes and you can do them anywhere. They work because of all the physical reactions the amygdala triggers, rapid breathing is the only one over which we have conscious control. Control your breathing and you are basically telling your body: it’s OK. There is no bear. Your body will then start to dial down the adrenaline and cortisol and all the other reactions will slow to a halt. How to control your breathing? It’s easy – and if you want help just put "two minute breathe bubble" in into Youtube. The golden rules are these:

• In through the nose, out through the mouth. SLOWLY

• Make the outbreath longer than the inbreath – imagine there’s a candle in front of you and it mustn’t go out

• Breathe from the tummy not chest – really make your tummy go out when breathing in.

• Do it for two minutes - time yourself - and see how you feel
Seriously, try it – this technique is used by everyone from top athletes to the US military to help stay in control while under stress. There are all sorts of versions – from yogic breathing to box breathing to 4-7-8. Google them, mess around, figure out what works for you.

CALL A FRIEND: Don’t suffer alone. Call a mate - someone who’ll listen while you have a bit of a rant, or a cry, or a general wobble. Someone you can trust not to judge you and who’ll just sympathise. And if you get one of those calls, just be nice to them. You only need to be kind. You can’t fix what’s going on so just give them a bit of space to rant and tell them they're normal and doing great. And if you’re OK, call your friends and check in on them. Especially if they’ve gone silent.

LAUGH: it doesn’t matter what is funny – laughter is a huge releaser of endorphins. Silly memes, silly jokes, stand-up, rolling around with your kids – videos on youtube. The sillier the better. Also v good for bonding with friends, which will also help you feel less alone.

DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR HANDS. Yes you can meditate if this is your bag, it’s amazing. But if it’s not, and personally I’m rubbish, then trying to start when you’re already anxious is really hard. So do something instead with your hands, that you have to focus on to get right. Cook. Tidy. Knit. Draw. Bake. Garden. Mend things. This is what nice middle class therapists like me call Mindfulness.

TREAT YOUR BODY: We hold stress in our bodies at least as much as our minds. Take a bath or a shower. Put on things that feel good on your skin. Use nice smelling body creams. Stretch. Skip. Do yoga. Dance. Eat healthy but delicious things - fresh if you can get it. All of these will help calm you down.
SUNSHINE. It’s SPRINGTIME amid this horror – enjoy it. If you can’t go outside, open the windows and feel it on your face and breath it in. If it’s safe for you to go outside (maybe you live in the country) do it, while of course observing social distance. Go for a walk. Being outdoors, connecting to nature, is hugely calming.

STEP AWAY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA/THE NEWS: All it will do will scare you more and make things worse. Turn off the telly and for gods sake avoid the psychopathic digital wild west that is Twitter. Stick to sensible sources like the BBC and the NHS, and limit yourself to short need-to-know bits a day. You’ll feel better immediately. Talk to friends instead - this is physical, not social distancing

STEP AWAY FROM TERRIBLE COPING MECHANISMS: They will all translate as BEAR!! to your poor brain.

Especially don’t get drunk, especially if you’re alone (BEAR!!!), take drugs (BEAR!!!), stay up all night reading (BEAR!!!), get sucked into conspiracy theories (BEAR!!!), pay attention to ANYTHING Donald Trump says (BEAR!!!). See? Stress levels going up already. Breathe.

BE KIND: to yourself and others. Now is not the time to go on a diet. Nor is this the time to start on Proust or makeover your life. You'll probably struggle to concentrate, fail and make yourself feel worse (hat tip Laura Gordon for this bit). Don’t make this more stressful than it already is. Think comfort books, comfort telly, comfort everything. Personally I re-read children's books. Everyone is wobbly, everyone is going to have a meltdown at some point. Understand that if someone is angry or aggressive, then they are also just scared. And eat more cake. Cake makes everything better.

So, there we go. Hopefully a bit less BEAR!!. Now, that kettle should have boiled by now. Go make a nice cup of tea, sit by a window and drink it in this lovely morning sunshine. We are British after all. And save me some cake

I wrote this story on Facebook a few years ago, after seeing this picture of "a real statue in Yorkshire" on a Pratchett group (and after reading The Shepherd's Crown, I think - but possibly not; Granny Weatherwax was old.)

Anyway, I then wrote the following story in the comments before realising that there was no way to share the post, so I copied it to my page.

It came up in Facebook memories an hour after I learned of the death of Mrs Tarsh. (She died last year, ( Nov 2023Collapse ) Her funeral was Nov. 17th. Nothing left.)

Reading this story now I cannot believe how appropriate it is ..........................................

Harvest Home.

This time there were no storms to set deadlines to their work, and they brought in the harvest in dryness and dust, and with beer and scumble in the kitchen and the tent to wash down the food when they were done - but for every tradition there is a first time, and then the second, when people look a little embarrassed but do it again anyway.

This was the fifth year and so, this time, they had made preparations before they built the Guardian, while the harvesters took the last stooks from the last field.

Potter the Miller's apprentice had already modelled the wicker framework for the head, with the hair drawn back into the familiar iron-hard bun, and the careful positioning of the arms and shoulders was a matter for debate before the bow was placed in her hands and her upper body was lifted, so very carefully, onto the rest of the framework.

So many of them remembered the way that she had towered over them when they were children that nobody pointed out that the Guardian had grown taller every year, and that every year she cast a longer shadow.

The crowd had grown as the last sheaves were gathered and, by the new tradition, everyone there added at least a handful of straw to the skirt before Millie, the maid from the palace, deftly teased the strands into their final shape.

Then they stood around for a little and chatted, respectfully, before going on to the Harvest Home, tired and about to be satisfied, leaving the Guardian standing alone.



Because of the way that light and darkness gathered on the hills it seemed that the Guardian stood between the town and the encroaching night, holding off the dark. A stranger might only see that, and never realise that the bow was also aimed at a group of standing stones and that none of the scattered trees still blocked the path of the sharp new iron arrow.

All the adults knew, of course, that the little beasts would take shelter in the straw of the skirt, and the larger creatures might take bedding; that birds would take wisps for their nests in due season - and that all this was as it should be.

It would always be necessary to build the Guardian again, whenever they reaped what they had sown - but, here and now, the Guardian stood.

I found this on Facebook and it is exactly what I needed!

Second prescribed/dispensed wheelchair broke yesterday, this one across the back.
Not usable. Bloody dangerous. Can't seem to get my mind around what to do.
Left arm and shoulder hurt quite a lot. So does the hand. Can't get to medics etc. without the chair.

Response to a writing prompt (for the first time in years.)

Isolation and Water
( writing excerciseCollapse )

(footnote; driving goldfish https://www.youtube.com/watch? ) )v=UFrN64eLGC8
YouTube
YOUTUBE.COM
YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

1. Don't speak ill of yourself. Never engage in self depreciation
2. Don't boast about self improvement (humility and description) let action be the testament of your improvement
3. Don't be a glutton musonious: stop excessive indulgence. Moderation is key.
4. Don't be a big mouth : Listen more than you speak.
5. Don't be too focused on the future: to be happy, be mindful of your present.
6. Don't be ungrateful: practicing gratitude is the way of acknowledging the positive aspects of life
7. Avoid complaining for a happier life: complaining tends to bring negative around our lives and the lives of others. Our happiness depends on our perception. Complaining is an unreproductive cycle, it creates a sense of victimhood.

It seems that I may never use my Windows 10 laptop - I had semi-programmed it (I thought) but then either Microsoft or Word started acting like a virus! I remember that I couldn't use Zoom because M/W had control of the microphone. (Word had been bought with the computer and installed on it.)

At this point I can't remember how problems developed. I'd bought it from Amazon during the earliest lock-down and, when things started to get complicated, I waited to get expert advice - but advice wasn't available.
(By hindsight, I'm wondering if the copy of Word that I'd bought with the computer went past its use-by date during that wait. I'd paid a lot to get the computer with permanent software already installed, and the thing wasn't demanding that I get Win 365 at the start.)

Anyway, to cut a long saga short, it started to demand a password that I doubt if I'd ever entered, then it locked itself and I'm told it can only go back to the manufacturer to be restored to factory standards. At least 3/8ths of the price of the thing was for the software ...

In other news, I am typing this entry on my nice new Chromebook.

(Copied and pasted from FB - control C for copy, control V for paste)