'I feel like I'm in a rut' - Eyad, 39, opens up about impact of the pandemic on his mental health

As the Yorkshire Evening Post shines a spotlight on the pandemic's impact on the mental health of people across the city, we talk to one local resident who has bravely shared his experience of how the past few months have affected him.
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Eyad Babikir says it has been the “toughest job” trying to stay mentally well during this year’s Covid-19 lockdown.

The 39-year-old has a history of mental and physical ill-health and said the pandemic has taken its toll on both.

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“My physical health has deteriorated and I’m holding on as much as I can to my mental health but it’s not easy.”

Eyad Babikir, 39, who says the pandemic has taken its toll on both his physical and mental health. Picture: James HardistyEyad Babikir, 39, who says the pandemic has taken its toll on both his physical and mental health. Picture: James Hardisty
Eyad Babikir, 39, who says the pandemic has taken its toll on both his physical and mental health. Picture: James Hardisty

He lives at home in Gipton with Staffie dog Salwa for company - a “real help”, he says, especially for his mental health.

“She snaps me out of situations like if I’m getting too upset or anxious or even depressed, she comes and snaps me out of it.”

Eyad lives with chronic pain due to long-standing conditions including sciatica, shin splints, carpal tunnel syndrome and plantar fasciitis, a form of foot pain - all of which make mobility difficult.

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He also has a history of depression and three years ago attempted suicide five times in the space of two years.

Along with the enforced isolation of lockdown, Eyad’s physical problems have often left him unable to leave the house to walk anywhere and he admits he feels lonely “most of the time”.

“I feel like I’m in a rut. It makes the days almost boring. Most of the days are on my own, doing chores or sometimes hobbies. Sometimes it’s easy to distract myself, sometimes it’s not.”

The pandemic has also made it harder to see his two children who live in Newcastle - but it is them, and his dog, who keep him going, he says, along with support from local charities such as Touchstone and Mind.

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He said: “That’s what snaps me back into this harsh reality. However, it is tough.

"For me to survive Covid without a suicide attempt is huge. But it doesn’t mean the suicidal thoughts are never there. They do come and go.

“I struggle with my mental health, my physical health, being away from my children, being away from my family and relatives who are way back in Sudan and Egypt, nothing is making me very happy."

Joe Kemp, senior community development work at Touchstone, who has been working with Eyad and teaching him guitar, said: "Here at Touchstone we have been providing a lot of support for people that are isolated throughout the lockdown, we quickly changed our service to meet the needs that were being presented earlier this year.

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"We started a new food project called ‘Touchstone loves food’ and made many one-to-one weekly support calls.

"Through this weekly contact with some of the most isolated people in Leeds we have been able to direct them to services that could help and also we’ve got many of these people involved in our groups.

"All our regular groups were quickly moved online - we found that after people became adjusted to this new way of meeting each other we came up with lot’s of fun things to do.

"Eyad has been attending two of our groups here on the ‘Mentally Healthy Leeds’ project - he attends a weekly Harehills men’s group run and guitar lessons.

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"These groups offer a vital lifeline to people, for some it is the only social contact they have all week.

"It‘s a safe and relaxed environment where all of us can chat, have a laugh and find connection with others that might be going through similar things.

"By coming together at this difficult time we are all able to support each other. In these dark times we have found a new kind of brotherhood."

For more information on Touchstone visit https://touchstonesupport.org.uk/.

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