Lost Memories, Broken Hearts

MENTAL HEALTH, DEPRESSION, GRIEF, TORIES

This is a tale about a dear mate, won’t spill the beans on their name or where they’re from, ’cause this one’s pretty personal. Let me just give you the lowdown without giving away any specifics.

So, we’re having a chinwag with LBC playing in the background. My pal had lost their spouse a few years back. We somehow got on the topic of hobbies and, for some reason, good memories.

Now, I’m not much of a doer myself these days, so I’ll stick to my friend’s story this time around.

They took a pause, seemed like finding a happy memory was like hunting for a needle in a haystack. You see, they’d been living a content life for the latter half of their existence, until a few years ago when their missus passed away.

No need to delve into the details of her passing; it was a medical thing, sudden and heartbreaking.

They never sought out professional help for their mental well-being, nobody told them they should, so they just didn’t bother.

Now, finding a happy memory from anything closer than the late ’90s is as tough as nails. That’s covering the reigns of Blair, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, and Sunak. A heck of a long time for one person to want to forget.

They’re hanging in there just to make sure their son doesn’t become an orphan before coming of age. It’s a pretty bonkers way to live, and definitely not sustainable.

Do they care about sustainability? You bet, just not when it comes to themselves. They’ve thrown in the towel on the whole happiness thing; nothing seems to trigger those necessary brain chemicals that make us sing.

They’ve lost hope in themselves.

Sad story, right? The kicker is, this is the story of a real-life solo parent, who happens to be autistic. From the outside, they’ve got it pretty good, but inside, they’d rather wipe those memories clean. They’re praying for some relief from the suffering.

This is what goes down when a society’s mental health gets crushed under the weight of misguided governments. Ideology over common sense, but let’s be real, it’s just common sense to make sure your workforce is healthy in body and mind.