Mental Health and the car enthusiast - help & support

[brachunky]

Over the last couple of years I have noticed the often subtle, sometimes not, the subject of mental health challenges within posts made on RR. Us folk here are no different to anyone else trying to deal with this other than the fact that we share the love of cars. I am no health care professional  just an ordinary bloke but I know enough to realize the magnitude of the situation many of us at some point can face. As the years have gone by, I have FINALLY begun to understand that bottling in everything don't really help and sharing ones thoughts, concerns and challenges can often help immensely especially when there is a common bond such as a hobby like ours.
One of the reasons I'm writing this is to share a recently formed group called Pitstop Social which was created by Clare Gaffoor & Ricky Matthews. This young group sets about trying to help others deal with mental health issues within the car community. They have a great wee website with a bunch of links offering assistance.
Take a peek!

pitstop.social/pages/mental-health-support

www.facebook.com/groups/pitstop.social.community

Organizations that can help:

www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/

www.thecalmzone.net/

andysmanclub.co.uk/

www.myblackdog.co/

[fogey]

This can be very relevant to people who like older cars - it is a form of nostalgia and it is well known that nostalgia can often lead to depression.

[misteralz]

Excellent post. I've lost most of this year to mental health issues.

[igor]

This thread could perhaps serve as a place for venting about / discussion of our mental health issues. Another car forum some of us frequent has a thread for that very purpose in the members only section.

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Brilliant, there were a few of us who had a combined messages chat about this some time ago on here.
I've been dealing with Depression and anxiety for a long time.
If I get a sniff of it from any of my customers I always make the first move in opening a conversation about it.

Let's keep this thread going 💪

[zeberdee]

Also a long time sufferer of anxiety & depression .

The more things out there like that the better .

If only to bring things towards normal conversations & have less stigma attached . (If that makes sense ?)

👍

[BritBrick]

My anxiety and depression cleared up as if by magic when I cashed in my chips and retired at 51. Without the daily stress and bullsheet I find I'm just fine at the moment.

[jake899]

Really nice to see people being open and supportive to each other. Well done RR!

[Pid363!]

I to am in the same club A&D talking about it deff helps but if the people you are talking to are petrol heads as well sounds almost like the best cure!

[joem83]

Not ashamed to say I have also been dealing with A&D for quite a while now. People are always surprised to hear that I am on medication for it but at least it means I can function like a more normal person again.

Never be too proud to say you need help or your struggling!

[braaap]

I learned here on RR that ADHD is an adult thing too and I was tested positively afterwards.

[88zxturbo]

35 on Monday
Screwed my life up at 16
Recovering alcoholic (7 years)
Severe anxiety and pannick attacks
Mum died 8 months after I got sober
Didn’t leave house for first 4 years
Lots of messing about with tablets
Covid made no difference to my life

6 months off antidepressants now, few little wobbles and still not easy going to the shop for a jar of coffee but getting out the house regularly on my own the only way is up now.

Mostly self inflicted my problems so don’t really talk about it .

Still got a long way to go but came a long way this last 7 years and hopefully still got time to have some sort of life 🤞

[v8ian]

There is a heath page on Rods N sods, and depression is very much up on the main topics
www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forums/health-section.275/

[Quasimoto]

These situations can also ovelap into our nearest and dearest as my thread Retro Pensioner below testifies.
I have always credited cars and the whole involvement over decades as the one saviour that kept me sane / gave me a purpose and was a great distraction when the inevitable situations crop up.We are not all the same and different situations manifest in different ways. An interesting remark about nostalgia could trigger depression / maybe to return to happier times but situations cannot be changed. Always good to look back as the marker but we do live in the here and now and its not that straight forward for us all. For myself dealing with a not too far away situation daily with my wife i have to stay positive and a good dose of something car related helps. Again that is not always enough for everyone so this new forum dedicating to the mental health / well being aimed at petrol head / enthusiasts can only be a good thing all round. Well done those behind it.

[bmcnut]

I've got a history of mental health problems in my family, but thankfully I'm OK, but having that history has made me more aware of looking out for my own mental health. After going through a hellish situation a couple of years back it taught me I can cope, I can do it, despite doubting my abilities sometimes. I get days when I'm irritable, down, whatever, and I understand why. I just deal with it. And the best way I found of dealing with it was to get on my bike and ride around in the countryside all day. I know that won't work for everyone as everyone's situation, and mind, is different. For me it was simply about picking myself up and finding something good to do, and giving me something to focus on. This forum and its people help and it keeps me in touch with what I love, old stuff.🙂

[brachunky]

Jun 8, 2023 13:00:18 GMT bmcnut said:

 For me it was simply about picking myself up and finding something good to do, and giving me something to focus on. This forum and its people help and it keeps me in touch with what I love, old stuff.🙂

And that dear sir is what I refer to as The Law of Distraction! It works for me and my better half who really struggles with MH. When she is having a rough time, I try help by getting her busy with things SHE finds enjoyable such as the garden & polytunnel. I see on a regular basis how The Law of Distraction works for us both.

[brc76]

Also part of the club. I think in a way we all are to a greater or lesser extent.

I spent some time about a decade ago in a very dark place. I ended up after over a year of faking it, in inpatient care. It's not been clear sailing since then, but I learned a lot of coping skills that helped and made me recognize when I was going high or low.

One skill was CBT or Cognitive behavioral therapy. I still do that now, and there are different methods to achieve the same goal. One is to take a thought and give some reasons why that is not true, one is to diffuse the idea, one is to realize that sometimes your mind just thinks that thought because that's what it does, and another is to distract yourself with another thought. Once you get the basics, you can start to also confront core beliefs.

it's actually quite difficult to be believable in your answers, but once you get the hang of it, slowly over time, it does have a changing effect - well in my case. People I know who do this do not generally rely on this alone, btw, but forms a part of general care.

However I know that mental health on NHS terms is not the greatest unless you are in very dire straights indeed. US care is very different ( and likely much more varied in response based on geo location ), but very much still caries a stigma that really should not be present. As stated by others above, we all carry things around with us.

[v8ian]

I think mental health affects all of us in some way or another, Not that long ago, I had a Bleed on the Brain, where an aneurysm on an artery in my brain burst, I walked about for days before seeking help for the Bstd headache I had, I ended up having angioplasty surgery on my brain where I have had a significant amount of platinum coils inserted in the aneurysm and several stents too with a month in hospital to recover as well, I survived without any major issues, other than short term memory issues, mainly learning things new, and an inability to warm up or cool down quickly. Oh and a work imposed limit of 12kg that I can lift, I'm an engineer ffs
Being a fit and healthy person before that, THE MORTALITY BUTTON was pushed good and hard... meaning I was no longer invincible,Have no doubt that really does mess with you,
One thing that I found out that blood in your cerebral fluid does not mix, in as much as the blood that escaped pooled at the base of my spine and was really uncomfortable, looked like a spare ducks ar-se, eventually that was absorbed, but it took about 3 months, the other side effect of this is the blood caused an chemical imbalance in the cerebral fluid and thus affects the brain function, which can and very often leads to bad depression, believe me, I had some deeply black moments for a good 6 months, But got help eventually, this type of chemical imbalance can also occur evidently if you break marrow bones particularly your femur.
I'm still here and in good health, but retired early,

[bmcnut]

Jun 8, 2023 13:08:47 GMT brachunky said:

Jun 8, 2023 13:00:18 GMT bmcnut said:

 For me it was simply about picking myself up and finding something good to do, and giving me something to focus on. This forum and its people help and it keeps me in touch with what I love, old stuff.🙂

And that dear sir is what I refer to as The Law of Distraction! It works for me and my better half who really struggles with MH. When she is having a rough time, I try help by getting her busy with things SHE finds enjoyable such as the garden & polytunnel. I see on a regular basis how The Law of Distraction works for us both.

That's another thing I've found good for the mind, growing stuff. This year I've got one very special rose, a few tomato plants and an apple tree. I'm not exactly a gardener myself but watching the plant grow through the year is satisfying, and the fruit at the end is rewarding, even if the apples end up as cider 😁

On the subject of nostalgia leading to depression. I'd heared that before, for me the interest in old stuff comes from pride, or knowing old things are made better, looks better, or that it's interesting, like the history I see when out on my bike. I guess remembering a saying I heared at some point means alot. Don't cry because it's gone, smile because it happened.

[Quasimoto]

Law of distraction is a great way to describe a way of diverting whatever is causing you grief. Being brought up on retros that as a youngster were still quite new leads to nostalgia but over the years in my working years owned many of these unreliable then cheapo cars and the fun got from them was in a form the law of distraction. The fact these old retros are still about is testament they were better than we thought and to see the prices rising makes me smile as i would not have thought that would happen but along the way / skinned knuckles / laying on cardboard in the winter often after work at night and finding solutions whilst life situations including death have happened i truly do believe the law of distraction sums it all for me anyway.
But mental health is something never to overlook or put aside if a situation changes.