Since lockdown I have become 70. It was a shock even though I had prepared myself for it. I spent the day alone, not the family gathering I had hoped for. I was reflective and came up with a question. How have mental issues in older age affected you?

For me the highs are really hard. They were always the worst aspect but easy to recover from being young and healthy. Over the years I find the exhaustion takes weeks to overcome. Holding that driving force seems impossible. When I feel the surge, see the points sky rocket, I dive for cover, keep myself at home or go on solitary walks. The aches and pain seem to mirror the extreme energy too, increasing and intensifying. I haven’t found much written about handling mental health in later years.

This is also for younger folk, have you seen any changes linked to life events? Has one illness increased the impact of your mental state. Has the loss of a loved one started a downward spiral. What has brought your equilibrium back?

Love

Dido

A Moodscope member.