Sep 15, 2020

The Piers Morgan Self-Care Guide

Kevin Smith & Lesley Buckley

Before I start in earnest, I should explain that this is not about bashing Piers Morgan or the media (although I’m working on another detailed piece along those lines). But in the background of the lockdown crisis, there are some serious messages which perhaps most readers will relate to.

This article is about mental health and in response to another attempt to cynically use the issue to push an agenda.

Mental Health During UK Lockdown

The idea for the title came from a Twitter feed I came across some time ago. The Twitter account was of a ‘journalist’ who writes about Syria. The thread was titled ‘Idlib Self-Care’ for writers affected by the stresses of writing about Syria.

At first, I thought it was a parody, but as I read on, it dawned on me that it was serious. It lists all the things a writer about Idlib, Syria should do to reduce stress levels. Read it if you dare.

Like many, I felt this was insulting to the Syrian people, a self-indulgent take on the Syrian crisis, as well in some ways trivialising mental health issues.

Other commentators seemed to share my views.

This article is about mental health and in response to another attempt to cynically use the issue to push an agenda.

Twitter

For many years, I totally resisted Twitter. Then a while back I started reading it, confining myself to the more amusing accounts and exchanges.

Recently I decided to see more how it worked and set up an account where I posted just occasionally. It was more of an experiment but with a possible view to raising my profile and circulating my work more widely.

The problem I have with things like Twitter is I know I have that personality which will suck me into it and all the debates and I lose time and focus away from the more important. That type of social media tends to raise my stress levels for reasons some people will be familiar with.

So, I made the conscious decision to use it sparingly.

But since COVID-19 started, I’ve been reading all the debates and posting a lot more. It’s starting to take over a bit.

Morgan vs. Welch

Anyway, last week another Twitter exchange got under my skin.

Not long ago, Denise Welch, Coronation Street actress, came out of the COVID-19 closet and in the last week she’s been quite active on Twitter. Another celebrity addition to the growing lockdown sceptic movement.

She was on ‘This Morning’ TV explaining to Eamonn Holmes her position that lockdown is damaging and disproportionate. I didn’t actually watch the interview at the time but part of Denise’s angle is the effect lockdown has on mental health.

She has suffered from mental health and addiction problems and champions causes around this.

After her appearance, Piers Morgan, who possibly needs little introduction, tweeted this. As well as misrepresenting her position, he insulted her.

For those who watch Morgan on ‘Good Morning Britain’ TV (GMB) along with his TV celebrity family GP sidekick, Dr Hilary Jones, will know they are a pair of charlatan, narcissistic bullies. The COVID-19 scaremongering on that programme has been off the scale. GMB is simply not a platform for any sensible or serious debate about proportion and the huge implications of lockdown.

Serious commentators, such as Peter Hitchens, found this when he was interrupted and insulted by both Morgan and Jones when he appeared on the show.

Anyway, the exchange carried on and one of Denise’s co-presenters (from the ‘Loose Woman’ lunchtime TV programme) got involved.

Morgan came back with this jaw-dropping response.

Here a summary of the exchange.

This exchange got further under my skin. Many will be used to Morgan’s insensitivity and aggressive behaviour, but it is revealing of his complete ignorance, not only of COVID-19, but on so many levels.

Following this, I’ve resolved to take a step back from Twitter again. This is positive for my own stress levels and because it revived my focus on a long-held wish to write a little about mental health and my perspective.

Mental Health During Lockdown

I think there’s little doubt from the statistics and anecdotal evidence that mental health problems are a ticking time bomb, an inevitable result of lockdown isolation and deferred referrals.

My feeling based on my own experience is that on the anxiety and depression spectrum, the figures will go through the roof. First time mental health issues, suicides, self-harm, and addictions and so on.

And most commonly, more moderate general anxiety which I’ll focus on below.

My Experience

Like huge numbers of people, I’ve always had mild anxiety. In a normal stress setting, this has been easily controlled. So, for me, it’s generally very stressful external factors which tip the scales and have on occasions triggered panic attacks.

A few years ago, with changes at work, micro-managing, and a difficult boss, I experienced anxiety. My self- confidence was shot.

I had also began researching world events in more depth and what troubled me most was the inability of other people to understand what was going on in the world, such as regime change agendas in places such as Syria and the new Cold War mentality. It was a kind of huge frustration and powerlessness I felt on both counts.

Anyway, the mental health services provided by my employer were wide-ranging and I was offered various services such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and psychologist support. My employer also offered me advice such as taking anti-depressants, socialising at work events, and attending mental health workshops.

Apart from the psychologist, who I found helpful because she listened, I didn’t do any of this. I declined my employer’s suggestions because I was fully aware that this was not an attempt to address the underlying reasons for my anxiety.

Big employers offer the world in mental health services, but these are never directed towards the root cause, the work practices causing stress as they don’t wish to admit the link. Rather, the focus is on treating the symptoms and building up the employee’s ‘resilience’. It’s a way of shifting the blame to the sufferer.

I knew this was totally the wrong approach, so I examined all my issues and responded in the following way.

I wrote a 3-page letter to my employer setting out the problems in the workplace explaining that in a normal stress setting, my anxiety was under control. Further, I told them what they could do to support me. This was mainly asking them to leave me alone to do my job and not dictate to me how they think my anxiety could be reduced.

I became a rep for the union at work to channel some of my frustrations and joined a few employee groups of interest to me. In weeks, I developed a confidence I’d never had before.

Outside of work, I attended a ‘Media on Trial’ event. There were six incredible speakers, each with a unique insight into Syria, geopolitics, and the media. Along with the other things I was doing, this event helped transform me. Not because I learned much new, but because the sense of vindication for my beliefs was overwhelming. To attend a real event with people who held the same views convinced me I was quite sane and I’d done my research. Since then, I’ve never looked back.

The Piers Morgan Self-Care Summary

Sadly, the world is full of idiots like Morgan. Clearly, he thinks that anyone with a mental health issue shouldn’t have an opinion or express it.

One of the things I was told when I suffered anxiety was that sufferers are often more intelligent and resilient than people who aren’t affected. These are often sensitive, thoughtful, and caring individuals who research things and get involved in charitable causes. I suppose it’s inevitable that this type of person will suffer more anxiety, stress, and depression.

I would guess that given the nature of the information this and other independent sites research and discuss, many readers will relate to the feeling of frustration and powerlessness. And in times of lockdown, I suspect that there will be huge numbers of people who ordinarily can control anxiety but will slip into darkness due to events out of their control.

So, these are some of my self-care suggestions for people in this category. These are not substitutes for professional help, treatments, or other techniques. But these worked for me and relate to my experience and coping strategies I’ve learned on my journey. They’ve also helped when I’ve slipped back, or when my frustration increases occasionally.

Hopefully, these suggestions won’t come across as patronising. In any event, they couldn’t be any more patronising than ‘Idlib Self-Care’ for writers. But they are based on my experience and might strike a chord with those who suffer anxiety, not because of a lack of ‘resilience’, but by the imposition of unwelcome events and people on our lives.

Accept that the world is a bad place with evil, thoughtless, and ignorant people. But don’t resign yourself to not being able to change it. You might not be able to do this on your own, but you can play a small part. Just the feeling of being on ‘the right side of history’ can help relieve the frustration of observing the shortcomings in others.
In a similar way, don’t focus on the bad things which might happen. Try to develop a positive, optimistic, or a ‘good will prevail over evil’ outlook.
Don’t watch mainstream news, especially GMB.
Don’t get hooked on Twitter but spend time looking at the informative and amusing accounts. This may restore your faith in humanity and the good, intelligent people out there.
Go to events such as Media on Trial or any upcoming Julian Assange or anti-lockdown meetings. There is no substitute for being there to get that feeling of vindication and being involved.
No matter what, resolve to always stand up to bullies. For 40 years of my life, I was intimidated by them. Ever since I started standing up to them, they backed off without exception. The last time I had a serious issue with one, I studied this behaviour and learned how manipulative and subtle bullying works. Once you know how they operate, you can deal with it and see your self-confidence return.
Try to unclutter the mind. One of my problems is I overthink or get too engrossed in issues. Take a break to read a book or take up an outdoor hobby.
Organise your life better. When things begin to overwhelm or you find tasks building up, try to work yourself out of it step by step, prioritising the most important and putting the rest aside. And then work calmly and gradually through the rest. The sense of achievement and relief of finally clearing the tasks and getting organised is worth it.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, take control and a rounded view towards anxiety and triggers and consider, as I did, whether addressing more of the root causes helps.

I hope some of that will help in dealing with the fallout from COVID-19 and the Piers Morgans of this world.