YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hey y'all. The current state of the world has a lot of people feeling depressed for the most part but I just can't seem to get out of my head lately. I'm not depressed but definitely a bit neurotic perhaps. Insecure, intrusive thoughts, irritable, guilt about things in the past, bored, stir-crazy. My job never shut down during quarantine so I'm still getting out of the house and having human interaction which is good. Just can't seem to shut off the voice in my head.

Caesar, the only thoughts I have are to limit exposure to the news or really anything conflict related, including games or movies. It's the only thing that keeps the anxiety down for me.
Still, it's always there, running in the background. Whenever I see a vid of someone freaking out over having to wear a mask in a store, I think, yup, you've hit your breaking point with having to think about covid.
Heather

Hail Ceasar!
(Sorry, I couldn't resist...).

The world *is* pretty terrible, and I guess I've thought so all of my life. I envy those who seem not to be affected by the general state of things. And the Covid situation has magnified things in all ways, both real and imagined.

I can relate to most of your list of troubles, and I think the irritability and (unwarranted) guilt are definitely depressive symptoms.

There are ways to navigate some of this stuff....
I've been taking notes from a book I found - "10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques", by Margaret Wehrenberg that are practical and helpful, and I can post a few here.

And I've found that physical activity quickly burns up a bit of the mental energy and can help you refocus.
It's a big help if I at least remember to stretch my limbs, or do a few exercises when I first arise, since my brain seems to be super-charged after sleep, and I can easily fall into rumination, worry and negative thinking that kills the rest of the day.

Wishing you the best.

Snoring Dog