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I'm with Absolom. Things could be a lot worse. Of course it's easy for me to say because my husband and I are retired, the house is paid for, we have no debt and our income has not been affected. While our investments are tanking badly - they lost more than $100,00 in value since the beginning of the year - we don't depend on an income stream from that, so we can afford to wait it out.
When I think of all the people in the world who are really suffering, not being able to find toilet paper or sanitizing wipes or having to postpone a dental appointment doesn't seem like the end of the world. Meanwhile, I'm taking it one day at a time.
We saw this coming back in late January. The good side of that was we were able to stock up food well before all the panic buying started. I put aside our tax refund into our savings so we'd have it just in case things got bad. So because of those early things I am much less anxious than I would be.
However I am very afraid for my high risk mother, my father-in-law who has kidney cancer, my sister-in-law who is a nurse, and my grandma who is 92. So many of my family members are high risk that it just keeps me up at night tossing and turning. Not to mention my husband is still not allowed to work from home even though he's a network Specialist and everything he needs to do, he can do from home easily, but his boss is a jerk. I am terrified he's going to get sick.
In answer to your question though, I try to limit my exposure to the news to only checking a limited amount of times each day. Music soothes me so I put on some music and work outside in the yard. Just hearing the birds chirping helps and the fresh cool air. I decorated my house for spring, and out out all my fun bunny knick knacks. I enjoy baking so listening to music and baking up some yummy treats helps. We live in a rural area so going for a quiet walk feels good too.
Lastly I pour myself a small alcoholic drink if I really want to relax and just chill my mind a bit. I was so wound up earlier and I had a small glass of a margarita and then I was less tense. Not something anyone should do super often, but sometimes a glass of wine, or something can help take the edge off.
Oh and I read books. Funny, light hearted ones. Or I watch funny comedians on YouTube or Netflix. Laughing helps a lot.
We're older and in that high risk group. This past weekend, we went out to get groceries and the mail. Since then, we haven't left our building.
I do worry about family members. We have a relative who is a single dad. Plus he has a job that involves visiting different stores during his work hours. He hasn't been able to find hand sanitizer anywhere but says he washes his hands as much as possible. If he were to get sick and have to go to the hospital, I don't know who would be able to watch the kids. Two of them are teens and one is a pre-teen. It's not like we could just drive three states away and care for them.
In the meantime, the plan for us is to stay inside as much as possible. When we need food, we'll try to take advantage of what some stores are offering---a time for seniors and other at risk people to shop, even if it is at the crack of dawn.
My husband has a dental appointment next week to get a tooth capped. He doesn't know if that appointment will be cancelled or not. I told him to call the dentist's office and talk to them about that.
I have a haircut appointment in the second week of April. If it doesn't get cancelled, I will check with my health plan regarding if I should stay home and postpone the haircut.
No doubt COVID remains front and center in our thoughts. The whole thing feels so surreal.
I'm doing terribly. The only two non-drinking-related things I like to do on a consistent basis, going to the casino (I play poker for a living) and to the bookstore for self-education 5x-6x per week, have been taken away from me. We're staring down the barrel of an Italy-esque condition for the next couple months and I barely survived day one/day two (depending on when you define the beginning of this 'new normal') without my first trip to the psych ward in over a decade. I see my psychiatrist on Friday so step one for me is merely to get to that point (I actually just had a heart palpitation as I wrote this sentence, which has long been a reliable symptom of stress, for me). I've dealt with depression and anxiety for 15 years so I am no stranger to such battles; however, each time they arise I have less and less desire to fight them. I'm 33 and despite my long history of mental health struggles have (at least to my knowledge) no really significant physical health struggles of note, so the prevailing policy decision (on a global level, of course) to essentially shut down society in order to save the a.) higher-risk groups and b.) the healthcare system from being overwhelmed come at the expense of people like me--'people like me' being people who would likely be absolutely fine should I/we contract the virus, and yet at the same time people who are incredibly susceptible to negative mental health outcomes from the resulting social upheaval.
Last edited by Matt Marcinkiewicz; 03-19-2020 at 01:58 AM..
Lastly I pour myself a small alcoholic drink if I really want to relax and just chill my mind a bit. I was so wound up earlier and I had a small glass of a margarita and then I was less tense. Not something anyone should do super often, but sometimes a glass of wine, or something can help take the edge off.
For me it's about 8 India Pale Ales every other night, which equates to about 12 'normal' beers, ABV-wise. And that was pre-pandemic.
Mod cut.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 03-30-2020 at 06:59 PM..
Reason: Inappropriate.
Quite stressed, between high risk parents, small children, a spouse in a career that puts him at risk, and being isolated on a military base. I cope by staying informed, and connected to others.
Also by baking. It is precise and requires concentration. Plus, then we don't have to go buy bread.
Bread baking has been my stress relief for a long time. SO knows something is up when deserts show up. Home made pasta two days in a row raises red flags
Can you do something about it? Then do it! Can you not do something about it? Sit it out!
Life goes on. Family, friends, jobs. Right now I am watching a cat's fur grow instead of opening a lap top to work. Will my job be there tomorrow? Probably not with my work load down 80%. Can I do something about that today? No! To top it off it has been raining for days. Life will go on! We may have changed, our ways of approaching it may have changed.
My stress is caused mainly from a husband who heads off to work with clients (real estate salesman) who is not taking this virus serious enough.
I asked him if he'd rather make money than infect our whole family and have one of us die?
I've asked him to stay home and work from home. I will be his secretary (his keyboard skills suck lol) He has agreed, but we'll see how long it lasts... if at all. He's heading off to work shortly.
I wish his boss would just shut the darned office down. No excuses with this pandemic.
I'm doing terribly. The only two non-drinking-related things I like to do on a consistent basis, going to the casino (I play poker for a living) and to the bookstore for self-education 5x-6x per week, have been taken away from me. We're staring down the barrel of an Italy-esque condition for the next couple months and I barely survived day one/day two (depending on when you define the beginning of this 'new normal') without my first trip to the psych ward in over a decade. I see my psychiatrist on Friday so step one for me is merely to get to that point (I actually just had a heart palpitation as I wrote this sentence, which has long been a reliable symptom of stress, for me). I've dealt with depression and anxiety for 15 years so I am no stranger to such battles; however, each time they arise I have less and less desire to fight them. I'm 33 and despite my long history of mental health struggles have (at least to my knowledge) no really significant physical health struggles of note, so the prevailing policy decision (on a global level, of course) to essentially shut down society in order to save the a.) higher-risk groups and b.) the healthcare system from being overwhelmed come at the expense of people like me--'people like me' being people who would likely be absolutely fine should I/we contract the virus, and yet at the same time people who are incredibly susceptible to negative mental health outcomes from the resulting social upheaval.
Sign up for the online casinos and read E-books. I know it sucks, but stay home.
Gratitude, breathing, bread-baking, and Better Call Saul.
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