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The ICCM Journal | Summer 2021 | V89 No. 2
president's page So here I am again …. Last time I said I hoped to get out and about in 2021, but I think it will be more likely 2022! Where has the year gone! We still have the restrictions for the number of attendees at a funeral, and this has also affected our Royal Family, with the sad passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99. His funeral took place on Saturday 17 April at St George’s Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, and although it was televised, very much like our own services being web cast, the funeral was restricted in numbers of attendees due to COVID. The service was also much lower key than if it had happened in other times, which is exactly what other families have had to contend with over this past year. We are slowly coming out of lockdown, non-essential shops are now open, so we can all head to that well known clothes store and stand in those incredibly long queues; we can finally have our hair cut, now that is definitely a bonus for many of us, I am sure! More importantly, we can finally start to meet up outside with family and friends that we have been unable to see previously. Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or intensifying existing ones during this period of time. Many people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia and anxiety. No suicide rate, whether high or low, rising or falling is ever acceptable. It is therefore important that we all consider how our family, friends and work colleagues are feeling and coping and especially more so now and when rates are reported as increasing, which is really upsetting to hear. The Samaritans have reported that since the restrictions began, caller’s have expressed a sense of loss in various ways, from loss of income or routine, to loss of social contact, or mental health support and services. Sometimes, loss is coming from multiple angles all at once, which is particularly difficult for people to cope with. I saw this on a web page, entitled “Sorry I haven’t texted you back” by Alicia Cook, and I thought I would share it with you, as it truly shows we don’t always show exactly how we feel. If someone asks us “how are you?”, we simply respond with “I’m fine, how are you?”. I have done this so many times; what we really need to ask is “how are you really?” but as we all know this is a difficult question to sometimes answer truthfully. Hi, Sorry I haven’t texted you back. I’ve been anxious and depressed. I haven’t had time to catch my breath, you know how life gets. I am so drained I can’t even collect the energy for the most menial of tasks, like texting you back or washing the one dish in the sink. The weather has been beautiful, right? Yesterday I fought off a panic attack while I was driving. I had to pull over because my vision was blurred. I focused on how blue the sky was. I haven’t washed my hair in three days. I just want to sleep all the time, but if I told you, you would want to uncover a reason behind all of this, and there is no tangible reason you would accept as valid. How are you? I hope well. Let’s get dinner soon!
