COVID 19 What is sustaining you through the COVID time? How are you emerging on the other side?

[Mark]

not knowing how long mandatory stay at home was going to be in effect, more than any other single food, i stocked up on this brand of pasta, when it was available.

 

[Alli]

How much weight have you gained, niji? I’m stocked up on things like seaweed and Built Bars.

 

[Eric]

How much weight have you gained, niji? I’m stocked up on things like seaweed and Built Bars.

I have had to go on a diet, I'm down 7 pounds over the last month or so. I really got into snacking and I know the additional weight is not healthy for me so I've had to back way off of it.

 

[Mark]

How much weight have you gained, niji? I’m stocked up on things like seaweed and Built Bars.

here is a record of the slow jogging i did to exercise. with weight gain/loss.

i kept this one screen shot of my phone's walking app.
the progression of the bars emerged as kind of very personal pandemic memory. i am glad i was able to capture it.

my weeks start on mondays
week 12 is mar 16 walked 20.2 km this is the last week that i worked outside my house.
week 13 is mar 23 walked only 3 km all in side my house. gained 2 kg. this week i started to not go out.(voluntarily)
week 14 is mar 30 walked only 3.9 km all inside my house. gained 2 kg. this week also never went out (voluntarily)
week 15 is apr 6 started my in house slow jogging. 7.8 km. no weight gain. Japan started its mandatory stay at home orders.
week 16 is apr 13 mandatory stay at home. inside house slow jogging. 10.2km. lost 1 kg.
week 17 is apr 20 mandatory stay at home. inside house slow jogging. 15.8km. no gain/no loss.
week 18 is apr 27 inside house slow jogging. Japan ends its 1st mandatory stay at home order. 21.3km. lost 3 kg.
the short term goal of getting back to a normal work week of steps was met - all in doors.

the rest of the lock down periods had more km all inside my house but didn't lose or gain weight any appreciable weight.

i discovered something while doing this.
you know the sub-genre of SF films where there is a crew in stasis for like a 15 year journey and someone's pod malfunctions and s/he either does the stuff of a hero/heroine or else goes crazy and kills everyone?

i found out i could do the journey.

but i chalk it up to being able to get a supply of basic pasta (with a latest "best by" date of until march '23...) so that i didn't need to worry.
the plan shaped into how will i emerge. what kind of person will i be on the other side.
i even went back to doing my Burmese language study for 15 minutes per day with an on-line tutor.
it was an amazing and intense period.
kind of like a state of perpetual lucid dreaming.

but i am sincerely starting this thread as i am interested in how others coped.
what did you find out about yrself?
how did you emerge?

 

[Renzatic]

As it turns out, I'm not handling myself too well. I'm finding myself having to say words I never thought I'd say, mainly "I might need to find some professional help."

Turns out long stretches of isolation haven't been too good for me. I don't want to get into it any more than this, but I'm not at my best at the moment.

 

[Eric]

As it turns out, I'm not handling myself too well. I'm finding myself having to say words I never thought I'd say, mainly "I might need to find some professional help."

Turns out long stretches of isolation haven't been too good for me. I don't want to get into it any more than this, but I'm not at my best at the moment.

Sorry to hear that, it is indeed a depressing time for many of us I fear. Don't be afraid to reach out and get some help.

 

[Alli]

As it turns out, I'm not handling myself too well. I'm finding myself having to say words I never thought I'd say, mainly "I might need to find some professional help."

Turns out long stretches of isolation haven't been too good for me. I don't want to get into it any more than this, but I'm not at my best at the moment.

My daughter talks to a therapist once a week. I’m not sure she could have gotten through the last (how long has the pandemic lasted now, 18 years?) without the therapist. It has made her a much better person. My sister-in-law has also started using one of those apps that lets you talk to a live therapist, and she’s doing well. Things have not been easy for her.

Personally, I plug along. I learned a lot about myself when I had cancer. I can survive anything. If you ever need to talk, give me a shout.

 

[SuperMatt]

I have not emerged yet. I don’t know when that will happen, because I still work from home. I’m glad my job is secure. I feel bad for those who lost jobs and I hope they get relief soon.

 

[Alli]

I have not emerged yet. I don’t know when that will happen, because I still work from home. I’m glad my job is secure. I feel bad for those who lost jobs and I hope they get relief soon.

I just get angry all over again that the Republicans managed to ram through a SCOTUS pick, but didn’t have time to take care of all the people who have lost jobs.

 

[SuperMatt]

I just get angry all over again that the Republicans managed to ram through a SCOTUS pick, but didn’t have time to take care of all the people who have lost jobs.

Me too. I already voted, and I agree with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. Expand the court.

 

[Mark]

As it turns out, I'm not handling myself too well. I'm finding myself having to say words I never thought I'd say, mainly "I might need to find some professional help."

Turns out long stretches of isolation haven't been too good for me. I don't want to get into it any more than this, but I'm not at my best at the moment.

@Renzatic

appreciate the sincere reply within this thread. its why i started it as a part of the Health thread.

so much of what is happening to us now, more than pre-covid times, is not only beyond what we can control, it can approach what looks like just one bad thing after the next. we can be easily overwhelmed by what is happening.

day to day, critical moment, support can become tenuous.
here in japan, telephone support hot lines became overwhelmed during the mandatory confinement periods. especially women, wives, and children bore a lot of the outward effects.

for me, it all has been bound together in one complex situation: activity level; health care for myself; career disruption; family isolation; family members' illnesses becoming exacerbated due to their not being able to get proper medical care; worries about what is going to happen next month; wondering what does the end of this thing look like; et cetera.

we all are going through this. alone. together.

for me, i remembered back to points in my life that i needed to get something back on track.
for me, in these kinds of moments, it comes down to the basics firstly doing one small task that i could say i did. i accomplished that. i did that. the next day, doing another basic thing.
that becomes a stream that carries me.

its strange. about the pasta. for me, sourcing that pasta allowed me to be able to forget worrying about something as everyday as food.
for each of us, whatever that "pasta" is, for you and everyone, that "pasta" will be different.

and don't stress about nov 3. if trump wins. we will have ever more wonderful on-line commiseration sessions.

 

[Clix Pix]

What is sustaining me and has been, through this pandemic and other stressful issues of our time? My photography. I have been able to get out and shoot and then spend time tinkering with editing the images in the computer, plus then share some of the best in various places, etc. My timing back in November 2019 of choosing and purchasing a new camera and lenses was perfect, as by the time the shutdown came along in March, I was pretty comfortable with my new gear and could always find something interesting to shoot..... Thankfully we were at least still allowed to walk around in our own neighborhood, so that helped significantly, plus the fact that my particular neighborhood offers a lot of photo ops.

Aside from that, books and reading have been another huge source of relaxation and distraction from what has been and is going on in the world. I can easily get lost in the world developed in a good book and there's just nothing like that experience!

I don't watch much television so am spared from a lot of the commercially-oriented adverts and also the television news reports of the latest awful disaster or crimes....

Food is not something that features largely in my life at this point; I buy, prepare (usually in the microwave) and consume what I need to keep myself going and that's about it. I have so many other things I'd rather be doing than messing around with food!

Oh, another big thing which has definitely been keeping me sane through all this is being able to get online and connect with other people through the various forums to which I belong, plus look up anything I suddenly have an urge to learn more about, etc., and shop for something that I need..... So much easier to hop into Amazon and order a particular item rather than going around from store to store in the hopes of finding it, and also it is just so convenient to have the thing arrive on my doorstep a day or two after having placed the order.

 

[Eric]

What is sustaining me and has been, through this pandemic and other stressful issues of our time? My photography. I have been able to get out and shoot and then spend time tinkering with editing the images in the computer, plus then share some of the best in various places, etc. My timing back in November 2019 of choosing and purchasing a new camera and lenses was perfect, as by the time the shutdown came along in March, I was pretty comfortable with my new gear and could always find something interesting to shoot..... Thankfully we were at least still allowed to walk around in our own neighborhood, so that helped significantly, plus the fact that my particular neighborhood offers a lot of photo ops.

Aside from that, books and reading have been another huge source of relaxation and distraction from what has been and is going on in the world. I can easily get lost in the world developed in a good book and there's just nothing like that experience!

I don't watch much television so am spared from a lot of the commercially-oriented adverts and also the television news reports of the latest awful disaster or crimes....

Food is not something that features largely in my life at this point; I buy, prepare (usually in the microwave) and consume what I need to keep myself going and that's about it. I have so many other things I'd rather be doing than messing around with food!

Oh, another big thing which has definitely been keeping me sane through all this is being able to get online and connect with other people through the various forums to which I belong, plus look up anything I suddenly have an urge to learn more about, etc., and shop for something that I need..... So much easier to hop into Amazon and order a particular item rather than going around from store to store in the hopes of finding it, and also it is just so convenient to have the thing arrive on my doorstep a day or two after having placed the order.

It's amazing how much photography has helped me during this time as well. It's one thing we can go out and do that doesn't require us to be around other people, the drives are enjoyable and it gets you out of the house.

 

[lizkat]

I've been fortunate so far in not feeling too much affected except in missing those occasional outings for a potluck supper or a long lunch with kin or friends. Because I retired some time ago and was already engaged in mostly solitary activities like my sewing, gardening, music, reading etc -- exactly what I used to daydream I'd be able to do more of in retirement-- things are pretty much the same as before.

Things would not be so simple were it not for shopper/driver services for grocery delivery, however. So I'm really grateful for that way of keeping perishable produce on hand, and for the folks at Walmart and Amazon (and the UPS and FedEx couriers) who sell and deliver my staple goods.

The only thing I've done way differently this year is finish up my winter pantry re-ups a couple months sooner than I usually do. I never liked having to worry about winter-time deliveries of staples anyway, so this was an adjustment I'll probably retain --even after covid-19 either fades away or becomes more like an annual nuisance instead of a major public health and economic threat.

As far as social contacts, it's not the same just talking on the phone w/ pals and kin, but it's not like we were getting together even every month anyway... and the same with friends from the city who usually come upstate just in summertime, and mostly did not do that this year.

This experience has to be much, much harder on younger people and especially on parents trying to juggle joblessness or working at home and dealing with ongoing and sudden changes in venue for their kids' education, or struggling to help deal with issues their own elders might be having trouble coping with.

If I were in that sort of situation, then I suspect that my own fury with the federal government's response so far would be have me needing therapy instead of just feeling it as a low level anger requiring extra exercise to dissipate. On balance for me it's a time of gratitude and empathy mixed with annoyance at feeling like there should be more ways for us to help each other out without risking getting the coronavirus. I guess only time and a vaccine can fix that.

 

[Clix Pix]

Exactly, Eric! Photography gets me out of the house and (at least right now for the time being) around the neighborhood looking for something interesting to shoot, although I have ventured to a local botanical gardens as well, mid-summer, with plans to get back there one of these days soon. At home on a rainy day I can also always find something to shoot to keep myself occupied, too. Beyond the shooting experience, then there is the post-processing and editing, something else which can be very absorbing and take a fair amount of time as well. I've just purchased and downloaded the newest version of DXO PhotoLab Elite, 4th iteration, which upgrades and updates my previous version 3. I've only tinkered in it a little so far and haven't really checked out all the new features but it seems to offer a lot of possibilities beyond what the earlier version did. All of this stuff takes time and definitely is a great way to keep myself happily busy and preoccupied so that I am not dwelling on the ugly scenes presenting themselves around the world right now, especially here in the US or allowed myself to get caught up in the drama around everything.

It is definitely a different life than we were all living say, a year ago....the pandemic has absolutely wreaked changes and put us into different scenarios than we could have imagined back then. Yesterday I was thinking how unfortunate it is that right now I can't just hop into my new car and drive an hour to a good friend's house, show off the new vehicle and take her for a ride in it, and then we'd go out for a nice lunch or dinner.... Not happening, because both of us are in a sort of high-risk category and neither of us wants to become ill or make the other ill. Neither of us wants to take chances on eating indoors in restaurants (or outdoors, either, for that matter)..... And, yes, talking on the phone or via texts and emails just isn't quite the same!

 

[fooferdoggie]

I was commuting on my bike before it hit that was 20 miles a day but when it hit and I could not go to the movies on Saturday or go with the wife to do stuff on Sundays I started riding on those days. but my wife was stuck at home as she is blind and we don't drive. so with the stimulus money we bought our tandem and now we ride every day. though once it gets dark before I get home it wont be every day.

 

[Thomas Veil]

As it turns out, I'm not handling myself too well. I'm finding myself having to say words I never thought I'd say, mainly "I might need to find some professional help."

Turns out long stretches of isolation haven't been too good for me. I don't want to get into it any more than this, but I'm not at my best at the moment.

I’m so sorry to hear that, @Renzatic. Please do reach out for help. Many years ago I had to, and I have never, ever regretted it.

 

[Mark]

@fooferdoggie tandem bike sounds great. and what a nice way to use the Stimulus money. sounds well used.

@Alli there's been a lot of articles about what kind of permanent changes COVID might cause throughout society. certainly distribution systems will be streamlined.

@Clix Pix photography can be so absorbing. like embarking into a worm hole and ending up hours later in a different location.

@ericgtr12 your shots of the Bay area are so nice to see. need more !

@Alli indeed. survivors of what you have gone through can survive through anything. its really true. surviving a life challenging event makes you stronger in all the good ways. focus. determination. purpose. joy.

 

[fooferdoggie]

ya I have been going to work on Saturdays just for something to do as my wife works on Saturdays. I work by myself so I worked all through the pandemic or sat around waiting for work. if it was not for biking I would have some serious issues I have a very hard time entertaining myself. what was worse for me was when the smoke came in from all the fires the air quality was so bad it was like at 500 the air was so thick I had to stay in for 2 days and I should not have ridden at all took the bus a couple days but the wait was about as long as it was riding so I rode to work. my wife would not
ride at all cant blame here. had to break out the lego millennium Falcom that was sitting around for 2 years. the first few months of the pandemic bike riding was great hardly any cars I could ride places I would not try otherwise.

 

[Alli]

@Alli there's been a lot of articles about what kind of permanent changes COVID might cause throughout society. certainly distribution systems will be streamlined.

The changes to business and education will be felt for a long time. It’s going to be an exciting new field.

what was worse for me was when the smoke came in from all the fires the air quality was so bad it was like at 500 the air was so thick I had to stay in for 2 days and I should not have ridden at all took the bus a couple days but the wait was about as long as it was riding so I rode to work.

That must have been horrible.