PATREON EXCLUSIVE: I'VE GOT ANXIETY
Added 2021-11-18 12:12:11 +0000 UTCThere's probably no new regular Digi video this week... but the one I'm editing right now is one of my favourites. Action Man is back! It's chaos.
Instead, we shot you something exclusive, that's a bit more serious than we'd ever do outside of Patreon.
A couple of things about this video: we did it as a test for our new lapel mics, which was only a partial success. Any tips gratefully received!
Also... I share some personal stuff that's been going on for me recently. Please be aware there's talk of mental health and anxiety.
Comments
I suffer from fibromyalgia brought on by mental health issues around anxiety and depression. I lost my mum when I was pretty young and the experience scarred me (amongst other things) and the effect of working in finance under high pressure, my Gran passing in the same way as my mum and then my dad's heart attack I was broken. Your experiences are totally normal biffo the experience of seeing your parents deteriorate is an awful thing for questioning your own mortality. I find people and plasces difficult in a way I never did so just make sure to seek the right help and there are always a lot of ears to listen to your issues. Take care of both of you
Stephen Campbell
2021-11-25 08:10:22 +0000 UTCBelated response 'cause it's NaNoWriMo and I'm behind on Digi videos as a result, but I always enjoy your audio stuff like the Action Man car interview even if I don't say anything. Best of love to you and your family
Sedric And Charlie
2021-11-20 15:03:25 +0000 UTCIt's tough watching your parents or loved ones getting old and slowly falling apart physically. My own parents are in their mid-70s and have various medical issues. When you're a kid, you see your parents as superhuman beings and it never crosses your mind that they may succumb to serious illness, disability, or be ravaged by old age. All part of life, I guess, but sometimes I think we'd all like the tapestry to be a little less rich! Sending you and your family best wishes.
Simon Lee Tranter
2021-11-19 15:21:40 +0000 UTCI won’t go into a huge story as I’m sure it’s not very interesting, but I also grew up with parents who fought a lot. They calmed down a lot in their elderly years, but by then ill health had set in and I spent probably the last 6-7 years looking after them, attending A&E (my dad had lung issues with constant infections so was in and out) and feeling very scared. I lost them both in under two years. Mum to heart issues in 2018 and Dad to COVID in early 2020. I don’t post this to garner sympathy but just to say that I absolutely understand that feeling of anxiety. It can be crippling and awful. I really appreciate you sharing your story on that Paul, and know that many of us have been there too.
Christopher Clayton
2021-11-18 20:53:43 +0000 UTCAlso, we're looking forward to the return of Action Man!
Jeff King
2021-11-18 17:56:06 +0000 UTCHaving also been dealing with elderly, ill, and stubborn family members, I completely sympathize! Anxiety from these sorts of issues is completely normal. It completely throws off your usual family dynamic and upends your normal life. Make sure you take time to spend time with Sanja and do something that you love. My wife and I initially felt guilty about setting aside some time for ourselves each week, but it really helped us to deal with some of the anxiety and uncertainty of dealing with the demands from multiple ill family members.
Jeff King
2021-11-18 17:55:09 +0000 UTCOn anxiety, it's felt to me that the last couple of years the background level of things to be worried about is so high that anything on top is enough to push it to the level of being unable to sleep or concentrate on anything. It's the constant background level of not knowing whether you're going to have to cancel plans because someone tested positive for Covid or if your holiday is going ahead - I feel like I'm using up all my reserves of "cope" just living normal life and there's nothing left for when things do go wrong. A few people I know are finding themselves diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression for the first time as a result of this, and for all of them it's been a massive relief to find this is an actual Thing, they're not alone and it can be treated. The problem is the reluctance to go and get the diagnosis in the first place, because they all started from a point of, "depression isn't something that happens to normal people like me". I do sometimes wonder that what we're missing is people who are generally thought of as happy and getting on with life to admit we get these feelings too, as mental health does have a bit of that "eternal victim" stigma to it.
Matt Kimber (Timberwolf)
2021-11-18 15:39:48 +0000 UTCI've found Izotope RX really good for sorting out consistent background noise. I bought it mostly for digitising old vinyl, but it's great for cleaning up voice recordings too. The standard version is a bit expensive (and never buy it at full price, there are always deals!) but they do an Elements for about £25 which includes a voice de-noising tool that's decent enough. Without trying it for myself I *think* a noise gate wouldn't help, because the background white noise is loud enough it'll modulate in as you speak and be distracting. Edit: now I've listened for a bit it sounds like the noise reduces as you speak - is there any post-processing you've got to equalise loudness? I find that can be a bit of a culprit for trying to increase background noise up to the same levels as speech. It also sounds a bit like Biffo's mic is going into clipping, not sure what interface you have the lapel mics going through but it might be worth dropping the gain a little and using a compressor with some make-up gain to get the levels consistent and where they should be? (Disclaimer: I am Not An Expert, I've mostly discovered this stuff by making all these mistakes myself and having people moan at me they can't understand a word I'm saying)
Matt Kimber (Timberwolf)
2021-11-18 14:38:11 +0000 UTCI hear you big fella. Off to see the boys in Manchester tonight. Shane xxx
Shane McKie
2021-11-18 14:05:36 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing all that with us. For what it's worth, I'm always grateful when you share your emotions and situations because most men in my life are quite emotionally repressed, and it helps me feel more comfortable with my masculinity and emotional state to see another man sharing his stuff. Thank you for being a healthier model of emotions! I know saying "I hope your parents feel better soon!" is totally useless and shortsighted, but I hope they're able to process their situations and cope with what's happening to them better with time. Hormonal treatments can be HARD to deal with, and I'm so sorry your dad is struggling with that. FWIW if he's on Prostap/Leuprorelin, sleeping pills can be helpful. My grandad was on it for ages because of his prostate cancer and sleeping pills helped him to get deeper sleep, which made him better equipped to deal with the emotional shit. I know you didn't ask for tips and I apologize for offering unsolicited advice, but also I know how helpless one can feel when caring for someone with cancer and sleeping pills really were tremendously helpful.
Chai
2021-11-18 13:04:02 +0000 UTC
