The COVID-19 coping thread

[ickyvicky]

Our good friends (a husband & wife couple) have a leak in their basement and it's covered in mold, they have to leave their apartment - and the wife is pregnant on top of it all. They're coming over our place to stay. I'm obviously not against it, but with everything going on it - it's just like Jesus Christ. It's going to be tight and I'm already worried about food and keeping the place clean. It's like one thing after the other.

[Erneuert]

Our good friends (a husband & wife couple) have a leak in their basement and it's covered in mold, they have to leave their apartment - and the wife is pregnant on top of it all. They're coming over our place to stay. I'm obviously not against it, but with everything going on it - it's just like Jesus Christ. It's going to be tight and I'm already worried about food and keeping the place clean. It's like one thing after the other.

Images flashing in your mind of season 4 of TWD in the prison and that outbreak in close quarters? I hear ya.

[Tom]

Lockdown with the kids is getting hard. I've a 6 month old son and a daughter who's nearly 4 - they have very different needs, and trying to look after both of them at the same time without feeling like I'm somehow neglecting each is proving difficult, and exhausting.

[Sarah_Munn]

I'm trying to stay positive, I'm not ill. I'm able to stay safe, so I'm a lot better off than many. My anxiety is what will come when it's over.
2019 was not easy, my Mom who I cared for for 7 years died very suddenly. That is what it is. Climbing up a sheer cliff to reconstruct a life put on hiatus for caring whilst grieving and knee deep in probate was no fun. I got a job, zero hours contract, but I dug in and got more hours than I needed and things were just starting to level out. Possibly a permanent contract available. Then Covid-19 turned up, workplace shut down. Wondering where I'm going to find the strength to climb back up. If there is even going to be any opportunity to do that. So, I'm a miserable bitch today.

[MrLobster]

[Erneuert]

Here’s something random/weird. Did anyone know these things exist?

[MrLobster]

Here’s something random/weird. Did anyone know these things exist?

Neat. Not a clue they were a thing.

[ickyvicky]

Has anyone seen any of this dude's Corona parody videos? They're great!

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kno...th-coronavirus

[GibbonBlack]

I took this picture on my way home from work and I love it 😆

[Jon]

I took this picture on my way home from work and I love it 

They ran out of the yellow caution tape here so some of the play areas have a sign on a 3 foot stick stuck in the sand (not even the ground outside of the play area).

None of the disc golf parks are closed.

[eversonpoe]

i'm an atheist but my family is (relatively casually) jewish. i don't like most of my extended family. but i would rather be with them around the passover dinner table, waiting for elijah to show up, than be stuck in this isolation. i'm really starting to have a hard time with the lack of in-person interaction with people other than sarah. i can feel myself getting irritable, sad, and probably not fun to be around.

i'm also starting to lose motivation to do things. all i did today was play breath of the wild for like...7 hours? and then i cleaned a little. woof.

[piggy]

I've been having a hard time being productive as well. When lockdown first started, I made this list of about a dozen tasks that I wanted to take care of. I've only done two, I think. I just end up going down YouTube or podcast rabbitholes and giving zero fucks. I procrastinate a fair bit when things are normal, so this situation really exacerbates that tendency.

Today, though, the nice weather prompted me to actually mow the lawn. Still more yardwork to do tomorrow and I'm actually motivated, because the yard looks so shitty. Otherwise, I'd probably just sit there and let it be.

[zero]

I've been having a hard time being productive as well. When lockdown first started, I made this list of about a dozen tasks that I wanted to take care of. I've only done two, I think. I just end up going down YouTube or podcast rabbitholes and giving zero fucks. I procrastinate a fair bit when things are normal, so this situation really exacerbates that tendency.

Same here. I thought that getting lost in unproductive endeavors is just my strange way to cope. But apparently I am not alone. Yes, some of the stuff on YouTube is really interesting, but should that really be my priority now?

Three close family members (including my wife) are on the front lines dealing with this shit as medical professionals. It is so unsettling and perhaps even terrifying when they share what happened during their recent shift. And the peak in our State is not expected until April 20. I am very afraid.

[Magnetic]

It's ok to do nothing productive right now. Let's keep it real: while most of us are not on the front-line of this mess, the rest of us have to stand back and wait. I don't equate my trauma of staying home to that of someone working in ICU, not at all. But I do try to cut myself some slack when I engage in my reality avoidance behavior (last Sunday was a mess).

The USA hasn't encountered anything this heavy since WWII. There were many who stayed home, but that didn't stop the fear for their loved ones, and they certainly dealt with the backlash when people started coming home with war injuries. Their whole lives changed. Our world is going to be forever changed, and what a lot of us are feeling right now is anxiety, grief and depression.

Go easy on yourself and support those who are risking their lives on the front lines: medical workers, grocery workers/ delivery workers, pharmacists, etc. And if you don't believe me, read these:


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/style/productivity-coronavirus.html

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6eab7793de6c7

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...63d_story.html

[chuckrh]

drugs. lots of drugs. sometimes unconscious is best.

[allegro]

i'm an atheist but my family is (relatively casually) jewish. i don't like most of my extended family. but i would rather be with them around the passover dinner table, waiting for elijah to show up, than be stuck in this isolation. i'm really starting to have a hard time with the lack of in-person interaction with people other than sarah. i can feel myself getting irritable, sad, and probably not fun to be around.

i'm also starting to lose motivation to do things. all i did today was play breath of the wild for like...7 hours? and then i cleaned a little. woof.

Sorry I accidentally hit "facepalm" on your post instead of "like" earlier! I was on my iPhone and I'm pre-migraine and my vision sucks today!

[piggy]

Just to be clear... When I say that I end up giving zero fucks, I mean about my productivity. I give plenty of fucks about what's happening right now. Didn't want to paint myself in the wrong light! LOL

[Erneuert]

Probably all we need is some cream.

[MrLobster]

So, everyone here knows what the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (and as I like say, "reasonable wants") is, right?

If you perhaps aren't coping/feeling as well as you think you should, try to make sure that "the needs" are taken care of. Self-care is important, because if you can't take of yourself, you really won't be able to help take care of others.
Are you more than allowed to let certain societal norms drift away (Pants?)... but stay clean, stay safe and remember that our bodies like routines. It doesn't matter the "when" so much as long as it's part of a routine. Not everyone has to be awake during daylight hours.
Keep fed and watered as well.

[ninlive]

I have been trying to go to bed/get up at the same time I usually do. Pants are pretty much optional in the morning, lol. But I do make sure I am taking care of myself. Thankfully, I have some kettlebells here at my home and can still stay active going on long walks and biking. I miss going to the gym so much... doing the stairmaster and throwing around weight. I lost about 100lbs a few years ago and crushing a large pizza every day would be ideal during this time.

I eat when I'm bored and I'm bored when I eat.

[theimage13]

Pants aren't optional here. Thermostat is set at 60 24/7. I'm not working; I'm keeping my utility bills as low as I comfortably can. Blanket town, baby!

[Magnetic]

Video conferencing is keeping me honest/ showering every day. Since it's warm here, it's always a tank top with shorts. For video meetings, I put on a nicer top, then swap back to the tank top afterward.

[allegate]

[ickyvicky]

Video conferencing is keeping me honest/ showering every day. Since it's warm here, it's always a tank top with shorts. For video meetings, I put on a nicer top, then swap back to the tank top afterward.

It's the only time I put makeup on, haha

[Erneuert]

I can never differentiate the genders of people on here until they explicitly mention it, lol.

[Jon]

Pants aren't optional here. Thermostat is set at 60 24/7. I'm not working; I'm keeping my utility bills as low as I comfortably can. Blanket town, baby!

My stepdad kept the thermostat at 65 growing up. It was unnecessarily cold. You've gone 5 degrees below that shenanigans.

[zero]

One of my sons who works at a local hospital (directly tending to the Covid-19 patients) has high fever and cough. He was tested today. Results tomorrow. Hope it's just the flu or something, but fearing the worst. He lives here with us.

My ability to cope has been reduced to almost zero. I know many are in a far more desperate situation than I am, and for that I am really sorry. Knowing that there is very little that I can do which is actually helpful is very frustrating. No, it's beyond frustrating. And as a result I am lashing out at people I care about over (what seems like) trivial matters. How can I be this weak?

[piggy]

One of my sons who works at a local hospital (directly tending to the Covid-19 patients) has high fever and cough. He was tested today. Results tomorrow. Hope it's just the flu or something, but fearing the worst. He lives here with us.

My ability to cope has been reduced to almost zero. I know many are in a far more desperate situation than I am, and for that I am really sorry. Knowing that there is very little that I can do which is actually helpful is very frustrating. No, it's beyond frustrating. And as a result I am lashing out at people I care about over (what seems like) trivial matters. How can I be this weak?

Fingers crossed for your son. I hope you can find a big distraction to help you cope, like maybe reaching out to old friends that you haven't talked to in ages or finding a project that's been on the backburner for a super long time. As for lashing out at people, anxiety will do that. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just gotta smooth things over when it happens and then press on.

[Magnetic]

One of my sons who works at a local hospital (directly tending to the Covid-19 patients) has high fever and cough. He was tested today. Results tomorrow. Hope it's just the flu or something, but fearing the worst. He lives here with us.

My ability to cope has been reduced to almost zero. I know many are in a far more desperate situation than I am, and for that I am really sorry. Knowing that there is very little that I can do which is actually helpful is very frustrating. No, it's beyond frustrating. And as a result I am lashing out at people I care about over (what seems like) trivial matters. How can I be this weak?

You're human, and you're in a very stressful situation of worrying about your son. Feeling helpless is exasperating. Cut yourself some slack. The world has been upended and we're all just doing as best we can.

[MrLobster]

I didn't post it at first but...

A few weeks ago my oma fell and broke a hip. She's in her 70s. She had surgery, recovered and went home. And then a few days ago she fell again and broke her other hip. This time she doesn't get any visitors (and she only had one at a time last time). I think she'll make it through like last time, but this also shows that she shouldn't really be at home any more (she's also in the earlier stages of Alzheimer's disease).