Pandemic Mental Health - How YOU doin'?

[Lynx_Arc]

OH! - sidenote again: I ran out to the smoke shop again today to drop off a bamboo plant to one of my friends... and I got a hug!! A real hug... with no masks. It - was- AMAZING!!!

I'm jealous.... the only hug I got I had to buy but it is chocolate.

 

[idleprocess]

Spent about 5 hours today at the local Makerspace dealing with tense administriva and hosting a meeting, masked all but continuously. Despite the somewhat contentious matters being discussed and, the mask lightly fogging my glasses occasionally despite my unusual arrangement (inner soft half-face respirator w/ exhaust valves + outer surgical mask), and some occasions where I was speaking to a room and had to occasionally pause to catch some breath, I did not feel compelled to take the thing off at all. I might need to swap out the improvised KN95 filter media sooner rather than later now that it's seen about 10 hours' total use but if I absolutely have to go into the office in the future, wearing the setup most of the day seems doable.

 

[bykfixer]

I think post #31 sums it up best for me. (Paraphrase) "humans survived the Spanish flu and will survive this one too".

Will I survive it though? Will my neighbor, my coworker, a loved one? That's the $64,000 question.

Looking at the numbers, probably yes. But I live in a place largely unaffected by the virus. I used to watch the daily numbers with great anticipation as surrounding communities went from 0 to 3 to 23 in a few days while mine was 0. Then one day mine was 2, then 6, then 26 in a few days. Uh oh, the grim reaper just discovered my street. I wouldn't say panic set in. But it definitely changed the way people around me approached one another. I noticed many of my neighbors were doing the work from home thing too. No large barbecues when the weather turned nice or birthday parties at the older folks houses. Mrs Jones turned 94 and only her daughter was there. But Mrs Jones used Skype on her daughters lap top so it wasn't quite as isolated for her. The numbers in my community are stable. Still climbing but at a pace that isn't all that scarey. All of the surrounding counties are pretty stable too. While other states are spiking mine is doing ok.

We wore face coverings long before it was mandatory. The 6' rule was in place and face coverings when that wasn't possible. Now that it is mandatory we just live and let live practicing the 6' thing from folks who don't. I keep a face covering draped around my neck ready to deploy. See, early in the process I noticed when seeing others with one ready to deploy that meant they too took it serious so to calm the fear of strangers I did too. I'm more afraid of a person with a gas mask on than somebody without a face covering as it instills a sense in me that the person is in panic mode. In other words I keep a farther dstance from panic'd looking folks frantically grocery shopping than the 75 year old bloke without a face cover.

At one point the empty shelves everywhere freaked me out worse than the virus during peak 1. My freezer was packed and we had a spare cupboard hidden in case somebody burglarized our home for the tuna and toilet paper. They can have the tv, just don't take the ramen noodles please. Once shelves were restocked and the grim reaper moved to another town we settled down mostly. It didn't take long but we just see this as business as usual now until.... it's like living in life during war time, only the enemy is a virus this time. My young coworkers are used to staying 6 feet away now after getting snarled at a few dozen times.

As predicted back in April, when America began to reopen and groups became larger the case numbers began to rise. Some got complacent as if the enemy had just gone somewhere else. Some rebelled while some shook their heads saying "oh this is going to be bad next month". Next month is here now and the numbers are just as predicted. It was obvious the country could not stay locked down. But how fast do you reopen things? We were in uncharted territory. Nothing like this had happened for 100 years. And by then the history was long since forgotten. The old saying 'history repeats' seems to be true again. Mask versus no mask was a lively debate 100 years ago. But now we have ventalators and some treatments we did not have 100 years ago. And we aren't packed like sardines heading around the world to fight a world war. So survivability is much better. Back then even mild cases could become deadly in some instances where today we have vitamin C, Tylenol and other symptom squashing treatments.

Once I stopped watching the death clock everyday, sometimes 3 times a day my nerves settled down greatly. I learned that even though the grocery store didn't have brocolli or my favorite orange juice I still had it a lot better than they did during Thomas Jefferson's day. My A/C, my fridge, my car, my flashlights, they all still worked and I ate brussel sprouts and drank lime juice for a time. Nobody broke in and stole my tuna and toilet paper stockpile and keeping a face cover handy was just another thing. I don't trip over N95 versus a bandana. If it stops my spit drops and sneezes from hitting the person next to me……good enough. Early on I gave away my good masks to first responders and older people.

My wife was just hit with the news wear a mask at work or go home. She is still recovering from a face surgery and a mask hurts her face. Work said no exceptions. Can't wear it go home w/o pay. So we devised a shirt sleeve face cover like a baclova. She wears it as a headband then pulls it over her face when required and it is pain free for her, yet meets the criteria of her company. I devised a small America flag into a mask. It stays draped around my neck until time to deploy. It's just something else we've adapted to. Meanwhile my pet catfish swims around the tank as if there is no pandemic. The snail munches on stuff along the walls of the tank and the sailfish just hover about passing time. The cameleon is shedding again and my poinsettia is doubled in size again.

The refigerator works, Mrs Jones is watering her petunias and life goes on.

 

[tab665]

it just so happens that before all this hit i had major renovation plans for the yard. complete with raised gardening beds, a new charcoal grill, outdoor lighting, patio area, ect. a lot of this took place in January and February. the fall of 2019 i also invested a lot of time and effort into getting my grass back right with actual grass seed instead of relying on weeds. last year me and my wife also decided to have a "stay-cation" this year instead of going anywhere for the summer. these were all decisions that i did not know would pay off/be necessary in the near future. When things seemed to get more serious i decided to go ahead and open the pool a month ahead of time in the middle of march. we also started planting our swiss chard, kale, brussel sprouts, and carrots. in april we planted our tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini. in May we planted our watermelons and pole beans. we are both in our 30's now, have never socialized much outside of my brothers family, and i have to say the past 4 months have been the happiest and most rewarding months ive ever lived. between swimming, grilling, growing vegetables, and enjoying the yard we have spent more quality time together that probably the previous 12 months combined. my brother and his family have come over a few times to enjoy the pool and grilling/smoking butts (the only time they socialize is with us as well). we have been able to provide fresh veggies to my parents and my brother (gardening might be the single most rewarding thing you can do at home). we both also have been employed during this time. so how am i doing? im doing great, never been better; i also wish all of you the best.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

OH woe is me.

"They" have designated me as being among the most vulnerable. I'm old (85), have underlying conditions, hbp, type 2 diabetes, a little overweight, drink beer, and have a wife that smokes. Growing up I survived the polio epidemic, had the mumps and measles, whooping cough, and was told by my Mom to go out and play with Ronnie because he had the chicken pox and catching it would help my immune system. My father gave me my first gun when I was 9 and in spite of Mom's warning I never shot my self in the foot. Me, and most of the other "Most vulnerable" have also managed to avoid bird flu, swine flu, HIV-aids, and bad drivers.

We went through many economic depressions including the "big one". Most of our life we have lived during war time. WW 2, Korea, Viet Nam, the Persian gulf, Afghanistan.

I have lived life under the administration of 14 different Presidents, 7 Republican, 7 Democrat. They are the progenitors of the great "THEY" who are now protecting me during this time of vulnerability, by ordering me to wash my hands, wear a mask, isolate myself. Duh...

A radio comedian, George Burns, summed up "how you doin" for me with this quote: "I'm looking forward to being 100; very few die after that."

DANG Geritol!
You are the kind of person I drove out in to the country to have bible study (sunday school) with, until they all passed. Let me tell you that you are admirable. Thanks, thanks, thanks for posting.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I was supposed to have a phone call appointment with a phychiatrist this week. They called me the day before telling me to download a zoom app on my smart phone to prep for the appointment. I had already told them that all I had was a flip phone and that was impossible. At the time of the appointment, they called me from a blocked number and my phone went straight to voicemail. Had to call the clinic to relay my frustration to the doctor and tell them to leave me a number to call back on my voicemail. They said they couldn't do that because it would just have me wasting time going through an automated call center. I gave up and cancelled the appointment. Told them that if they couldn't at least do a remote appointment from the local clinic, I was done. These half-assed attempts at phone call appointments don't cut it. I need a face to face with a real person. Just so you know, the appointment was not because I'm nuts. I have some freaking weird medical conditions that it helps to have someone to talk to about that the doctors are still scratching their heads over. It's frustrating when you think you know what's wrong with you but the doctors refuse to test you for it and just say you're fat and need to lose weight. After over 4 years, I'm suffering from Hashimotos Thyroiditis, celiac disease, acid reflux disease caused by a diaphragmatic hernia (GERD), non alcoholic fatty liver disease, a fluid filled cyst in my spleen, another cyst in my kidney, gynecomastia, retractile ***** and testes, high estrogen, near high cortisol (tested at 49.9, 50 was high), high sex hormone binding globulin (binds to testosterone so it can't work), tension headaches, short term memory loss, sharp needle like pain in skin (possibly neuropathy), bone pain that feels like being shot, hot sweats in only my right armpit, sharp kidney pain ,floaters and what look like worms in my right eye, muscle loss, and a feminising redistribution of muscle and fat. My money's currently on hydatid disease from eating bad ham and I suspect I probably have cysts from it in my adrenal glands, but my doctors still refuse to ct scan my adrenals and my endocrinologist now refuses to run any bloodwork other than for the thyroid. Probably going to have to wait for the spleen cyst to enlarge to the point they have to surgically remove it to get some real answers. Hope all the stuff I'm dealing with doesn't kill me first.

 

[Greta]

I was supposed to have a phone call appointment with a phychiatrist this week. They called me the day before telling me to download a zoom app on my smart phone to prep for the appointment. I had already told them that all I had was a flip phone and that was impossible. At the time of the appointment, they called me from a blocked number and my phone went straight to voicemail. Had to call the clinic to relay my frustration to the doctor and tell them to leave me a number to call back on my voicemail. They said they couldn't do that because it would just have me wasting time going through an automated call center. I gave up and cancelled the appointment. Told them that if they couldn't at least do a remote appointment from the local clinic, I was done. These half-assed attempts at phone call appointments don't cut it. I need a face to face with a real person. Just so you know, the appointment was not because I'm nuts. I have some freaking weird medical conditions that it helps to have someone to talk to about that the doctors are still scratching their heads over. It's frustrating when you think you know what's wrong with you but the doctors refuse to test you for it and just say you're fat and need to lose weight. After over 4 years, I'm suffering from Hashimotos Thyroiditis, celiac disease, acid reflux disease caused by a diaphragmatic hernia (GERD), non alcoholic fatty liver disease, a fluid filled cyst in my spleen, another cyst in my kidney, gynecomastia, retractile ***** and testes, high estrogen, near high cortisol (tested at 49.9, 50 was high), high sex hormone binding globulin (binds to testosterone so it can't work), tension headaches, short term memory loss, sharp needle like pain in skin (possibly neuropathy), bone pain that feels like being shot, hot sweats in only my right armpit, sharp kidney pain ,floaters and what look like worms in my right eye, muscle loss, and a feminising redistribution of muscle and fat. My money's currently on hydatid disease from eating bad ham and I suspect I probably have cysts from it in my adrenal glands, but my doctors still refuse to ct scan my adrenals and my endocrinologist now refuses to run any bloodwork other than for the thyroid. Probably going to have to wait for the spleen cyst to enlarge to the point they have to surgically remove it to get some real answers. Hope all the stuff I'm dealing with doesn't kill me first.

So what you're saying Mrs. Lincoln is other than that, the play was good!





Not trying to make light of your discomfort (understated word, I know). I went through a brief period of time when I had about a quarter of the things you listed and went to every specialist I could and no one could help me. They all said... lose weight and quit smoking. Well I had quit smoking. That's what started all that mess. After a year of being miserable, I decided "screw it! Might as well start smoking again cuz I can't get any worse than this!" - Within two weeks, everything went back to normal, went off all meds, and then dropped 20 lbs in 2 months with no effort. Several years later I quit smoking again. Four months later, I was sick again. Screw it... ain't worth it. Been smoking ever since. Doctors still don't know what the deal is with me and smoking but if it keeps me "well", carry on. :shrug:

So see? You're not alone... there's someone else out here who knows how crappy and frustrated one can feel.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

DAMN! You don't need to look far to see someone in a much worse situation.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

So what you're saying Mrs. Lincoln is other than that, the play was good!





Not trying to make light of your discomfort (understated word, I know). I went through a brief period of time when I had about a quarter of the things you listed and went to every specialist I could and no one could help me. They all said... lose weight and quit smoking. Well I had quit smoking. That's what started all that mess. After a year of being miserable, I decided "screw it! Might as well start smoking again cuz I can't get any worse than this!" - Within two weeks, everything went back to normal, went off all meds, and then dropped 20 lbs in 2 months with no effort. Several years later I quit smoking again. Four months later, I was sick again. Screw it... ain't worth it. Been smoking ever since. Doctors still don't know what the deal is with me and smoking but if it keeps me "well", carry on. :shrug:

So see? You're not alone... there's someone else out here who knows how crappy and frustrated one can feel.

You reminded me of a joke.

A teacher shows her class four jars with worms in them. The first jar had just some worms in soil. The next, worms in beer. Next, worms in chocolate surup, and the last with the jar filled with cigarette smoke. The worms in all but the first jar were dead. The teacher asked the students, " Now what can we learn from this experiment?"
A student named Jonny replied, "If you drink beer, eat chocolate, and smoke cigarettes you won't get worms."

Maybe there's some truth to that joke.

 

[Greta]

You reminded me of a joke.

A teacher shows her class four jars with worms in them. The first jar had just some worms in soil. The next, worms in beer. Next, worms in chocolate surup, and the last with the jar filled with cigarette smoke. The worms in all but the first jar were dead. The teacher asked the students, " Now what can we learn from this experiment?"
A student named Jonny replied, "If you drink beer, eat chocolate, and smoke cigarettes you won't get worms."

Maybe there's some truth to that joke.

Hahaha!! :laughing: - That's pretty good!

 

[ElectronGuru]

I'm a caregiver for someone who needs less contact to get better. And I've been doing this continuously since 2018, so two years and counting. The key for us is making refuges.

A refuge in the bedroom for sleeping. A refuge in the kitchen for cooking. A refuge in the living room for entertainment and relaxation. A refuge in the yard for being outside all day without going anywhere. This year we treated ourselves to outdoor rockers made out of old milk bottles:

https://www.eccboutdoor.com/harbor-collection-rocker/

The biggest changes since the pandemic are shopping less often and paradoxically talking to MORE people. As now that everyone is on zoom, it's easier for us to see people all over the country than before. But it does help to watch a fun video when zooming gets to much:

https://youtu.be/b4FkyjcN5mQ

My main source of learning since leaving schools is documentaries. I probably watch hundreds per year. This year they include a heavy dose of travel docs, where you can vicariously enjoy exotic and ordinary adventures. And docs on how other countries are handling the pandemic. The ones doing the best have two things in common:

They've had epidemics before in living memory, some in the last 5 years

They have collectivist cultures and are used to doing things together

Our oceans usually keep us safe so this is our first time in living memory and we have an individualist culture so we are used to doing things for ourselves. Two things for which corona doesn't seem to hold much regard. But we are learning. And as has been pointed out, we have faced harder challenges and been made stronger for it.

The key mask moment for me was when I realized that two masks are better than one. My mask when I exhale and their mask when they inhale. And anyone at risk is at twice the risk of there is only one mask between us.

 

[turbodog]

A long time ago, on a planet called Earth...

Life was going along with some look of being "normal." As the Earth changed it position in its orbit around the Sun, temperatures dropped and we entered an "Ice Age." This caused disruption in life and the economy. Those that survived adapted to the changes.

Early Man moved from place to place by walking or riding animals. Innovators came up with improved means of transportation and Man adapted to cars, buses, trains, and airplanes. These innovations had an impact on life and the economy.

Communication started off with verbal stories. It progressed to paintings and carvings. Along comes paper and pen and communication grows. The printing press brought communication to the masses. The typewriter brought it to the individual, and now we have a computer and the internet to convey thoughts and ideas. Those involved with hand making paper and pens and pencils are no longer at the forefront of the economy.

Merchants got together and offered stock in their businesses. Trading locations were established and the economy adjusted to having traders go to the locations and exercise orders to buy and sell shares in the market. Early on transactions were logged on paper. Then came the ticker tape. Phone orders allowed people to call a broker and trade from a distance. The computer now allows people to trade from home. The brokers in the local community had to adapt to stay in existence. Larger trading firms were established with local outlets.

Technology has found its way into our everyday lives. We have smart houses, smarter cars, smart phones, and so on. Business embraces technology to give them an edge against competitors and to monitor the progress of their ongoing operation.

This brief and incomplete snapshot gives us a view of how things seem to progress. Looking forward it would appear that technology offers improvements when it is properly used. A few forward looking individuals realized that traditional business practices could be improved by implementing changes to the traditional way of thinking. Large cities have traffic. Rather than fighting rush hour traffic, how about having flexible hours to get around that. With improvements in technology perhaps working from home (or wherever you are) would be an improvement. Take a look at shopping. Rather than traveling downtown to go shopping, how about looking up your item on the computer and finding a way to purchase it online. It will quickly be delivered to you and you can use your saved time to work to pay for the item...

We are in the middle of a pandemic. Everything has been shut down in an effort to survive.

The stock market tries to be forward looking. It has recovered from the initial news, yet we are still in shut down mode. It seems to be welcoming us to the new "normal." We don't need an open economy to thrive, we just need innovation.

What if this biological event is simply propelling us quickly into the future? Is this the opportunity of a lifetime?

Tom

I agree. I think this has accelerated some societal changes that would have taken another couple of decades to do. Not just the pandemic, but the BLM in conjunction.

When Mississippi changed the state flag... well holy f&&&.

When Nascar banned the confederate flag... same reaction.

When some cops get arrested for abuse of power. Wow.

I'm really hoping that we get single payer healthcare out of all this.

 

[thermal guy]

We're all not changing. We're adapting. It's as simple as that.We are all doing what we need to do to literally survive and get through these tough times. This will NOT last forever,it won't.When a vaccine is designed to tackle this we will have a weapon against this and gradually little by little the world will get's back to normal " or at least our own definition of normal " the person you were and still are will come back. This is just all very new to all of us and we're all very much out of our Element. My butt for some reason has been classified as essential and have had to attempt to go to work every day as if nothing has changed. I can't tell you how many times I have had to stop myself from shaking a coworkers hand or hugging a friend "ya I'm a hugger don't judge ". That is not me. It's just me now. Stay strong. Stay safe. And remember tough times don't last. Tough people do😁

 

[bykfixer]

Yesterday Mrs Fixer and I took our lap around the Wal Mart that's as big as a city block. Not really looking to buy anything we did scoop up an item or two. You really have to have mental strength not to impulse buy there as they have so many things you don't need or think you need but don't. When going to leave we noticed nobody, I mean out of hundreds in the store not a single person at the popular self checkout area. I said "c'mon while the line is nill and before we buy a coffee pot we don't need". A fellow popped in front of us and says "cards only, no cash". Then he said "it's the future". I looked to my left and saw two huge lines with signs at the register 'exact change only'.

The young kid who popped in front of us said "we take bit coin too". Then he said "just kidding" but it made me think "man this could be a trial run for a cashless society in the US". If so Wal Mart is in trouble in my town because 99 out of 100 people were paying with cash. Everybody was wearing a face cover. Everybody was 6' apart. Everybody was calm and rational with no over flowing carts full of fresh veggies and frozen pizzas. But everybody in those exact change lines had an almost zombie like appearance as if yesterday was the last day they'll ever be able to buy their weekly supplies with cash. It was kinda scarey. If your total was $84.36 and all you have is $20 bills, do you just call yourself stuck? Do you now need to carry 1's, 5's, 10's, 20's and a bunch of coins?

Today I read that areas of the country are having coin shortages. The federal reserve says closed businesses created less demand and with the sudden reopening there is literally tons of coins in cash registers of places not open yet. Apparently in some bank vaults that closed too. It seems the larger businesses like Wal Mart are being limited on how many coins they can draw from communities so that little stores can still have some. The feds say they are on it, whatever that means.

We've all pretty much gotten used to things like tele-work, face coverings, fist bumps 3' (1m) apart and have stockpiles of ramen noodles. Now we just have to get used to a shortage of nickels and dimes for a while. We'll get through this too.

 

[Kestrel]

I agree. I think this has accelerated some societal changes that would have taken another couple of decades to do. Not just the pandemic, but the BLM in conjunction.

When Mississippi changed the state flag... well holy f&&&.

When Nascar banned the confederate flag... same reaction.

When some cops get arrested for abuse of power. Wow.

I'm really hoping that we get single payer healthcare out of all this.

I was hoping that the more generalized posts would still be in the main /Coronavirus/ thread; I think the intent of this thread is about how /we're doing/, and my apologies but I see little of that above.

Furthermore, there are a number of polarizing political aspects brought up here, which would be better discussed in the Underground, thx in advance.

Best regards,

 

[turbodog]

Well, in that thought, I'm doing ok. The days drag by. I'm still working but not as much. Paradoxically I am excited with some of the positive changes I mentioned... they got accelerated a lot.

Ordered a light from germany... been stuck in customs for about a month.

 

[raggie33]

Ordered a light from germany... been stuck in customs for about a month.[/QUOTE]
BATMAN..?

 

[turbodog]

Someone was selling a ra twisty. Had looked for one for a while.

 

[Greta]

I was hoping that the more generalized posts would still be in the main /Coronavirus/ thread; I think the intent of this thread is about how /we're doing/, and my apologies but I see little of that above.

Furthermore, there are a number of polarizing political aspects brought up here, which would be better discussed in the Underground, thx in advance.

Best regards,

THIS!

:thanks:

 

[SilverFox]

"If you're going through hell, keep going."

Winston Churchill

Tom