Rev. Andy 🐺 @andy@mentalhealth.social

My #introduction toot!

I'm Andy and I'm the admin of mentalhealth.social.

My interests are covered in my profile. On #mentalhealth I've briefly known the Black Dog in the past and work hard to keep him on a leash. My wife lives with #BPD bundled with #anxiety and #depression (though has a grip on all of them) and her illnesses are one of the things that drive me to be so passionate about #MH support and care. Which is why I set up this Masto instance; a safe place to socialise and chat. 👍

Woop. All tests came back negative. No idea what wiped me out, especially as @Jo has had the same symptoms. Back to "normal" then. 🤔

Feeling improved, but gotta do four tests tonight (me, wife and both boys). Wife now making a Victoria Sponge as a reward to the family for swabbing tonsils and shoving said swabs up each of our noses (after 9pm). 😂❤️🍰

Well, not been feeling great for a few days (enough to be off work) and the mild cough has moved onto my chest overnight. Also hot, exhausted and aching. Called 111. A week for me, two weeks for wife (NHS worker) and kids, test kits in the post.

Frustrating as I've been absolutely anal about lockdown. Only thing I can think of is I went for a walk for the first time in seven weeks, last Thursday.

Bollocks. Ah well.

Marmite butties on home made bread. Now eating Haribo. Shit is getting weirder by the day.

I've just tried to explain that 🐷 #1 was fucking irresponsible, as there was food in the house as 🐷 #3 was eating roast beef. And now my whole family thinks I'm weird.

Just slept for 13 hours which is not at all like me. 😳 Still tired and ache this morning. Quiet day, head down at work I think.

I wish people would stop saying "new normal". As soon as we normalise this, people will slack off and take more risks. It can't be normalised until people's ingrained behaviours are reconditioned; and that isn't going to happen.

As much as I hate to echo tosser Johnson's new marketing slogan, staying vigilant, alert and cognisant is key.

Stay Alert. Britain needs Lerts.

Sainsbury's pushing the whole early opening for elderly and those with disabilities thing.

I applaud it, but I wonder how they'd respond to invisible disabilities. I'm not convinced they would.

So yesterday was an odd day. I ended up working for part of it but other than that, I just kind of detached. Didn't really think much. Didn't cook (kids got their own food and eldest called out for pizza). Chose to nap late afternoon. Had a few quiet beers in the evening.

All the things my therapist told me I needed to do more of when I was in trauma therapy. Except I seemed to do it without thinking.

I feel great today. Relaxed and writing. I count this as a win.

#MentalHealth

Trying to write an alternative timeline of the Industrial Revolution in England and keep it true to actual events. It's not going well. #RPG #GameDev

The kids have hacked together a VR headset out of youngest's S10, a crappy plastic WHSmith Xmas gift from three years ago and some software they found; and are currently bombing (literally) around, taking turns playing War Thunder. I've raised them well.

So I think I nodded off to a seizure last night (over-dramatic word, I have no physical symptoms when I have one).

Odd day, I slept for three hours late afternoon, woke up, ate and was back in bed before 8pm. Even @Jo was asking if I was feeling okay.

Just as I was falling asleep, the old familiar onset symptoms of the dyscognitive seizures I used to get as a kid. Distorted perception of depth and distance, stretching sensations, etc. Next I know it's 1am. Weird. Go figure.

I bought some simple locks picks and rakes to skill up in something I've not tried in over 25 years.

Practice lock opened in 20s with a rake. 15s with a half-diamond. Took me about 30s to get into an old cash box. I'd forgotten what fun this is. 😆 GIVE ME MOAR LOCKS!

#LockPicking #PhysicalPenTesting #Security