UK winter blackouts = making me physically ill with worry

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I know I've mentioned this before in a post but it is now my top worry. Everyone I talk to about it just trivializes it by saying ''light a candle''. It's not just about having no lights, it's everything else what other people seem to forget. Our cooker is electric in my house, not gas, so we can no longer have hot dinners. Our hot water in my house is heated by electricity so we can't even have baths, only shocking cold baths what won't do us good at all. We can't even use a kettle. All our necessities in our house is used by electricity. I can only write or draw in natural light or a bright light what lights the whole room, otherwise my eyes go funny. I dislike the dark anyway, and dim lights give me eye strain for some reason. And there's more disruptions what I am not looking forward to.

I'm so tensed up with the worry and stress of it all that I can't have fun socialising with friends, motivating myself to go to work, or enjoy sex with my boyfriend (it hurts too much, probably because my muscles are too tensed up).

I hate my job but can't find another suitable one and yes I am looking. Now I can't even enjoy my only luxuries at home either, just look forward to coming home from work for 120 nights in a row staring at my stupid annoying brother. Yes I do wish I could move out but even then I would just be sitting alone. Help!! ! I hate by job, I hate the snow, and now having no internet or hot meals or hot baths or anything will just make me go insane, it really will.

HELP!

It is worrying, yes, as it would be really quite bad for many people, to have no power during our cold season. My flat runs entirely on electricity and I'd have the same issues -- no way to have hot water to wash, no heating, etc. It could be serious particularly if it hits in bitter cold freezes such as we've had these past few winters.

However, not that I want to trivialise the situation, but according the what I've heard, it may not happen. There is a chance, and the powers that be are concerned, but there's also talk about how it may also not necessarily happen.

They're just putting it out there to show that there are problems, but hopefully it's not going to come to that.

Try not to worry. I know that seems glib, but it really is the best you can do right now. I just read an interesting book about anxiety and Asperger's, and some great, universal advice was given: to live in the present moment, live in the 'now,' and worry about something only when it happens.

By that I don't mean don't bother to prepare -- getting candle supplies etc is probably smart anyway. But I mean don't borrow trouble from tomorrow to ruin your "today". Try to live for today, understanding that this potential problem might not even have to happen after all.

Who said we are going to have blackouts in the UK?

They said this might happen last winter, and (in my area, at least) it didn't.

Even if such occurs, it wont be permanent, I mean they wont turn the electricity off in November and back on in March or something.
It will be for just a few hours at a time, so providing you have an immersion heater and storage heaters, it wont be too bad, or maybe you will have to do your washing and cooking at a different time.

If it happens to me, I will just go to sleep instead.

It still panics me, as they would probably switch off the electric at the most inconvenient times, like when people are coming in from work and all evening. I get so overwhelmed when too many people are at my house, that sometimes I like to retreat to my room, put in my headphones, and write stories. Now I've just got to rely on my MP3 and a torch light, and I use my MP3 throughout the day sometimes. I am already limited with other things outside the home because of my AS, and now I'm going to be limited of things I can and can't do when I'm IN the home.

I have come across this article, but it's the only article I have found what explains about it. It looks pretty bloody definite.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... kouts.html

I just hope I'm worrying for nothing. Usually when I find I am worrying too much over nothing or something that doesn't happen, I feel more relieved. But at the moment, my blood pressure is very high. I know I should live in the present day but it's the 17th of October today and so winter is creeping up very quick, and you just don't know when the cold snap will begin and when it will end. Last winter in went on for about 3 months.

If your only source is the Mail, then it don't sound particularly definite to me. No mention at all in the Guardian.

And if the Mail can't even get their source's name right... - mis-spelled throughout. It's Fells, not Fell.

It will astonish anyone who pays the bills that "energy prices have been driven down over the last few years". I've seen them going up remorselessly. And the latest round of price increases is near as dammit 10%.

This feels to me like the beginning of the backlash to Milliband's announcement that he will freeze energy bills for a while if elected. This has rattled plutocrats and the energy companies. Perhaps no coincidence that Fells is a paid consultant to the nuclear industry?

Last winter was particularly severe, and we seemed to have enough capacity...

If your blood pressure is really going up, then that will be raising anxiety levels and you're soon in a vicious circle where high BP causes anxiety causes high BP. If that's the case then the BP needs addressing - I can't recommend beta blockers highly enough; they will bring BP and anxiety levels down.

I follow UK energy politics in a vague sort of way and would suggest that if a nuclear apologist like Fells is trying to promote hysteria, then he probably has an agenda and it is unlikely that you have much to worry about.

my husband is getting us a generator. yes, we're too stubborn to improvise, because we rely on electricity so much.

you wouldnt mind improvising if it only happened once or twice a month or a bit more, but if its every evening for as long as it decide to stay freezing cold, then there will be problems.

so yeh the generator is the best bet.

Why don't you make up an emergency kit so that you can prepare and feel in control of the situation if it does happen. I've been thinking about stocking up on candles myself. But I have a windup torch for in case of emergencies.

What about getting some of those heat pad/pocket warmer things. You can search for them on ebay. There's a range from cheap throw aways to reusable camping gear. You can get wind up radios too in case you get bored, so you've got some music to listen to. You could pop some baby wipes in the bag too for hygiene if cold water is too much to bear.

What about a camping stove to heat food and water on?

When I was a child I grew up in a house with only a coal fire for heat and single glazed windows. (yes, I'm old) I spent every winter like this and it was just normal to me. I must have been freezing, but I survived.

I don't mind doing those things you've suggested here occasionally, like Caz72 said. But every evening for as long as this east wind blows? Are we in the 21st century or are we in the 21st century?

The generator sounds like a good idea too. Either that, or I'll quit my depressing day job and look for an evening job. That'd keep me busy and out of the way throughout the duration it stays off each evening. At least having daytime free I can think of things to do more.

if you get a generator look for one that runs on natural gas, they cost a little more but once its set up its always ready to go because gas lines stay pressurized even when the power is out
propane is also good because you can store large amounts in a small space