How is everyone feeling? (31)

[Mo34]

I've had quite a nice day. Drop in went well. Was just me and the service coordinator running it which was nice. Felt better to be running it without all the staff being there, like I could be more myself and not over shadowed by everyone else. Was a nice group of service users as well.

[choirgirl]

Consolida, hope you had a nice time with your mum for her birthday.

Toxic, ugh, I feel like they need to hire another person to help you. I know that is not realistic. It sounds like they'll keep throwing stuff at you until you break or leave and then they'll be screwed. I don't know, it seems like if you are so essential to them then you must have some negotiation power.

[alpha]

Originally Posted by biscuits

snap! these parts of your post are incredibly relatable, rn!!! Totally takes you over, doesn't it?!

Then when the situation or event is over, straight away I go back to being calm and my thoughts are still. Strange!

Not sure of the solution. Perhaps just knowing it will all be okay once it's over can be something to hold onto. But I know nothing really helps once you're in the midst. I have things that I usually put into place to lessen the anxiety like knowing what's going to happen and having some sort of plan etc. But sometimes that isn't possible and freaking out ensues . Also talking to people about it can help to organise your thoughts a bit and to think about what you can do. I tend to bottle stuff up though for too long and then it's usually too late to leave the land of irrational worries!

Hope you're alright! You're not alone with this

Thanks, that's some good ideas. The best solution that I know of during times of such extreme waves of anxiety is taking a liberal dose of something like diazepam. Unfortunately most doctors don't like handing that stuff out these days.

Other than that I just keep insisting to myself that I'm having a panic attack and that these thoughts and feelings I'm having are not reality. I wouldn't say it works perfectly at all but it's better than trying to argue to myself about the content of the actual thoughts, which generally doesn't work at all and just makes it even more intense.

I'm OKish at the moment thanks, I can still feel a remnant amount of adrenaline from the last major panic attack I had earlier. But hopefully I will become calmer from here onwards, who knows though lol. Hope you're OK too!

[Rocket Spud]

Pooped out, ready for bed.

[Jam]

^Hope it passes soon. Stay strong.

[humphrey]

Stressed Eric!

I traded a laptop in with PCWorld, but the Post Office have lost on route, made it from the local Post Office to the main mail centre, but has now disappeared!

I am waiting for an email to fill in, to claim my trade in money, but they said the whole process could take 3 or 4 weeks.

[Professor Willow]

Agitated and bored, I don't know what to do with myself.

[Toxic]

Originally Posted by choirgirl

Toxic, ugh, I feel like they need to hire another person to help you. I know that is not realistic. It sounds like they'll keep throwing stuff at you until you break or leave and then they'll be screwed. I don't know, it seems like if you are so essential to them then you must have some negotiation power.

We tried one of them at xmas, it was someone my boss knew outside of work. the guy was a complete chocolate teapot..his only use was keeping me full of coffee hes gone now. My job is weird, its kinda niche..you can't just walk in off the street and do it..because we manufacture things..you need to spend a good amount of time in the business to get a rough idea what we actually do..alas thats no good to me..I need someone whos already been with us a while

I could have a tantrum and walk out and I'm pretty sure I'd cripple the entire business, but the thought of applying for jobs and attending interviews stops me trying to scare them

[Professor Willow]

Concerned.
Just spoke to my mum on the phone and she told me she's had a bad throat for a few days and feels a bit meh.
She insists it's just a bug but my anxious mind has got hold of it and I think it's Coronavirus.

[choirgirl]

^Can you at least get more money out of them? Eh, I suppose that doesn't help, it's more of a compensation. Maybe you can make some kind of smoothie in the morning to take in for lunch and keep it cool in a thermos and have it at your desk. I don't know man, I'm just thinking out loud here.

[Moksha]

Worried about my mother. She is 73 and has had a cough for three weeks that won’t go. I don’t want her getting Coronavirus on top of this. I am also a bit freaked out by some of the things I have read. The death toll in Italy seems really high to me (over 8% - that’s nearly one in ten). In other countries it does seem lower, but it could be because it can take two weeks for the patient to become critical. It’s just so hard to know what to think. Is this a mass killer, or just a new dose of flu blown up out of all proportion by 24 hour news and social media?

[anxiouslondoner]

^ Italy has a much older population than the rest of Europe. Also I wouldn't worry about a cough for three weeks. If it was Covid it would have probably turned into something worse by now. That said you do need to be careful, obviously, and check up on her in case she does catch it from somewhere.

[LittleMissMouse]

^^Yep, but, but, that the mean age of corona fatalities in Italy is over 80 years, and Italy was woefully under-prepared for coronavirus. Every other country in Europe has had a bit more time to get their shit together, and Italy has a very, very high proportion of old people.
I'm not down-playing the seriousness of it, but Italy got taken by surprise, we're getting to know the enemy in terms of coronavirus and put a strategy in place to deal with it.

[Tembo]

With current world events surprisingly causing me anxiety, I'm worried about work next week, as being anxious about this thing is likely to make the rest of my anxiety, and my depression, worse. I'll just see how it goes though!

[Jen.]

^ That's great! Do you think it's to do with daylight getting longer? I remember you saying it was getting to you a while ago, and it feels like mornings have finally been getting lighter recently. Did you ever try a SAD lamp?

[Tembo]

Originally Posted by biscuits

^ yes, take it a day at a time. Limit your viewing habits of the coverage to just the guidance or perhaps a friend or family member could relay the key info to you. Make sure you follow the guidelines and then you know you're doing all that you can.

Thank you biscuits. I'm trying to do that, but it is tricky. I also think I'm going to have to try and discover some new coping strategies, and most of mine might not be possible, as it usually involves leaving the house!

Originally Posted by biscuits

Kind of okay. I'd been experiencing very low moods for a number of months and it seemed as if that was my default mood. It negatively impacted upon everything. It was like this heavy feeling, really heavy and dragging me down. And I just kept crying so much, which isn't really like me.

But after attending a few social events that went sort-of okay and I was actually chatty, I feel a bit more optimistic. It's like I can feel my brain is slowly changing back to its sunny default mood. My thoughts and ideas are changing to positive ones and I feel a bit more alive inside.

So I think I need to keep pushing myself to be sociable to maintain it. I hope it works.

I also feel very awake. Had a few too many cups of tea today. Whoops.

That does sound promising biscuits!

[Moksha]

Shaken. I just went into my local Sainsbury’s (literally one of the biggest in the country) and it is ****ing stripped clean. Bearing in mind that this is a massive store, there were...

No eggs
No tinned fish
No oranges or lemons
No toilet rolls
No rice
No pasta
No potatoes
No fish fingers
No bread

People were wandering around looking shell shocked. Like they had just emerged from a nuclear bunker.

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by mutedsoul

the youtubers I've looked up too seem to not appear overly affected by coronavirus and just doing their thing. It's almost like they don't fear death too much and just care more about being the best version of theirselves. I know that a video isn't 100% reality though. But I think my ego and the ego of many other people stops them from being who they really are and makes them more.

But they are probably young and healthy. I am worried about my 73 year old mother who has a cough that just won’t go. She has had it for a month now. Last week she freaked out because she could hardly breathe. And now there is a deadly virus floating about that attacks the lungs. Of all things!! I just cannot believe this

[far north]

Originally Posted by Moksha

Shaken. I just went into my local Sainsbury’s (literally one of the biggest in the country) and it is ****ing stripped clean. Bearing in mind that this is a massive store, there were...

No eggs
No tinned fish
No oranges or lemons
No toilet rolls
No rice
No pasta
No potatoes
No fish fingers
No bread

People were wandering around looking shell shocked. Like they had just emerged from a nuclear bunker.

Yep its the same where I am up in Scotland RE the Shelves. Tinned Veg seems to be the Hoarders target today (to add to your list above). Nobody looks particularly bothered about it here, though. And It seems to be a rather "calm" and polite form of Shelf stripping in my neck of the woods too. No ranting and raving or anything like that. In fact some folk seem to be finding it all rather funny, (gallows humor I imagine).

And empty shelves could easily be sorted out by a bit of Sensible Rationing by the supermarkets. They may have to be TOLD to do this mind, by the Authorities.

Thankfully, there is no shortage of basic Provisions as such, its just a question of distribution and selling practices really. It can be sorted (quickly) if the right people act soon.

[Dougella]

Originally Posted by Moksha

Shaken. I just went into my local Sainsbury’s (literally one of the biggest in the country) and it is ****ing stripped clean. Bearing in mind that this is a massive store, there were...

No eggs
No tinned fish
No oranges or lemons
No toilet rolls
No rice
No pasta
No potatoes
No fish fingers
No bread

People were wandering around looking shell shocked. Like they had just emerged from a nuclear bunker.

Don't go to the big stores, people seem to be stocking up there. Go to smaller places, they have most things available still.

[Jen.]

The bigger the supermarket, the more customers they're designed to cater to. They'll run out of stock first in these situations.

[far north]

Originally Posted by Dougella

Don't go to the big stores, people seem to be stocking up there. Go to smaller places, they have most things available still.

Yes, Ive noticed that too. Ime guessing thats because people using the small stores are more likely to be on foot, rather using a car. Just a question of load carrying capabilities probably.

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by far north

Yep its the same where I am up in Scotland RE the Shelves. Tinned Veg seems to be the Hoarders target today (to add to your list above). Nobody nobody looks particularly bothered about it here though. It seems to be a rather "calm" and polite form of Shelf stripping in my neck of the woods . In fact some folk seem to be finding it rather funny, (gallows humor I imagine).

And empty shelves could easily be sorted out by a bit of Sensible Rationing by the supermarkets. They may have to be TOLD to do this mind by the Authorities.

Thankfully, there is no shortage of basic Provisions as such, its just a question of distribution and selling practices really. It can be sorted (quickly) if the right people act soon.

It’s kind of frightening though. I mean how quickly people can be whipped into a panic - and how fundamentally irrational and selfish we truly are. Food has never been an issue. No one has suggested for a moment that there will be a disruption to the food supply. And if contamination is the worry they could have it delivered. So why are people behaving this way

[Dougella]

Originally Posted by far north

Yes, Ive noticed that too. Ime guessing thats because people using the small stores are more likely to be on foot, rather using a car. Just a question of load carrying capabilities probably.

Yes I think that's true, I went to the little corner shop near me the other day and it was full of toilet rolls!

[far north]

Originally Posted by Moksha

It’s kind of frightening though. I mean how quickly people can be whipped into a panic - and how fundamentally irrational and selfish we truly are. Food has never been an issue. No one has suggested for a moment that there will be a disruption to the food supply. And if contamination is the worry they could have it delivered. So why are people behaving this way

Its just basic human nature, nobody wants to be the one faced with the empty shelf, so they keep on buying. Of course this is what is causing the empty shelves in the first place!

State intervention will be needed methinks

[Moksha]

Originally Posted by far north

Its just basic human nature, nobody wants to be the one faced with the empty shelf, so they keep on buying. Of course this is what is causing the empty shelves in the first place!

State intervention will be needed methinks

Anyone who tries to profit from this, selling food at inflated prices, or buying up handsanitizer to sell on Ebay, etc, deserves a beating from masked vigilantes.

[anxiouslondoner]

Awful. Wish I could just switch off my brain for the next six months, go into a coma or something.
I don't want to exist at the moment.

[Dougella]

^

[Consolida]

Virtual hugs to everyone physically and/or mentally poorly here :group hugs.
(I know these don't help whatsoever help but they are at least safer than real ones during this current climate )


Hyper stressed.

Planning to get to the supermarket when it opens at 5am. From the sound of things the world and his wife will have the same idea. I heard that the shelves had been stripped bare yesterday. The selfishness and aggressiveness of some shoppers has made me feel very anxious and panicky.

I only want to do a normal weekly shop but I need to pick up a few essentials for my mum who, at last, has agreed to start self isolating. Her bone marrow biopsy results have just returned so I need to stay mentally and physically strong to get her to a hospital appointment in the week. I am totally bricking it. Depending on the results, the hospital will discuss a treatment plan but I've heard from other Myeloma sufferers that chemotherapy completely wipes out the immune system. The road ahead is looking so damn bleak.

Also, my son is still having to attend College and choosing to go to the gym. Should I advise him not to? Just want to keep him safe

I almost think it might be easier if I didn't have any loved ones to worry about because I think then I might have decided to press the opt out of life button

[Consolida]

Originally Posted by anxiouslondoner

Awful. Wish I could just switch off my brain for the next six months, go into a coma or something.
I don't want to exist at the moment.

You and me both AL
Just need to keep hanging on to the thought that this time will (eventually) pass...