Struggling With Anxiety During This Time Of Uncertainty

During this time of increased uncertainty and rapid change, it can be difficult to cope. I heard a lot of people are struggling with anxiety due to self-isolation, financial hardship, working on the frontlines, or just simply feeling scared about the future. Coping with Covid-19 is not easy.

 

I listen to audiobooks while playing solitaire, don't know why but it helps me ease tension while keeping me engaged enough to keep my thoughts from wandering. That and taking a break from 24/7 politics has helped. It felt like I had the flu for the first six months of this pandemic.

 

When you're old you hope you live long enough to enjoy some of life's simple pleasures again as you did what seems like a long time ago.

 

I feel great!

 

https://www.boredpanda.com/coronavirus-quarantine-jokes-memes/

 

that's a wonderful idea, will try it one of these days.

 

Watching the TV news raises one's anxiety quotient. I've been off it for 2 months now and feel very much better. TV news is nothing but propaganda and fear-mongering. They WANT people to be afraid and anxious.

 

Coping w/ the anxiety of the obliteration of Constitutionality, the prospect of a rigged Banana Republic x 1 party system empowering themselves for perpetuity through redistricting, court packing, adding state senators, dissolution of balance in our 3 tiered system ~ that is what gives me angst... It's not about one or two election cycles here; we are potentially at the tipping point, precipice here - point of no return with a biden / HARRIS administration.

Not to diminish your Covid concerns, however, if you look at the numbers the mortality rate (total yearly deaths) is unchanged this year from last year... Miraculously, no one dies of the flu anymore - even homicide victims, car crashes, motorcycle accidents, shark attack et al. victims are somehow killed by 'the Rona'. Co morbidities aren't responsible for deaths either ~ tis 'the Rona'. If you are relatively health you are more likely to die as a result of a myriad of other calamities in life... just saying.

Our "leaders" have us where they want us - scared & obedient - they have have never wielded so much power & they are drunk with it. The quaint notion of them (our Governors, Congressional representatives etc.) being OUR public servants doing the peoples' will as an extension of OUR voice is completely flipped on its head... Perverse

 

In times like these, it is important that we protect ourselves physically and mentally as well.

 

I'll try to lessen watching news on TV, maybe it would help.

 

If you succeed, it is certain that it will help.

The trouble is that many people turn on the TV first thing in the morning and turn it off last thing at night.

It damages peace of mind, by design.

 

This is so utterly, completely, and incredibly wrong... No, it's not unchanged. It is VERY MUCH CHANGED.

Excess deaths by all causes, contrary to what you are saying, are very much up in the United States precisely due to the pandemic. Look at this link and scroll down to the graph, paying attention to the last part of it, from April 1st on. Whoever is saying this to you is LYING.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

And no, there isn't ANYTHING going on about other deaths not happening, as the excess deaths graph above will show you (the area below the the excess continues to be just as big).

And no, comorbidities are NOT the cause of death when someone dies of Covid-19, as you'd know if you knew how death certificates are written, something I explained in detail here in other posts, including, using an analogy of a tornado and a fat guy. Do a search with the terms Death Certificate and tornado me as the author and you'll see numerous posts explaining it. I don't feel like explaining it again, but if you REALLY want to learn about it instead of repeating misguided lies you've been told, then by all means, look it up.

And no, nobody is calling car crash deaths and shark attack deaths, Covid-19 deaths. That is just a silly conspiracy theory.

Why in the hell do these LIES keep popping up here from time to time, when it is so easy to debunk them???

 

Very true. One way is to connect with friends and family via Zoom and similar applications.
Don't despair, the vaccines are coming and 2021 will be a better year than 2020.

 

I take pills...

One anti-depressant, one anti-anxiety (both low dose) and one sleeping pill since most of my panic attacks happens at night, which is normal since I can't use any of my daily technique/routine to lower my anxiety or flashback while I sleep.

 

Very trying times.
It has been exhausting for me to keep the spirits of my employees up and show everyday a very spirited positive attitude. Exhausting, 7 days a week, 12 hours. Luckily no financial issues to worry about.
Got a lot more gray hairs.
But with the vaccines coming, I got a new spring in me legs. Feels good.
But now the race to keep everybody healthy, will get even harder and convince everybody to take the shot voluntarily, so I do not have to take measures.
To stay sane, during this winter, I plan for Spring and all the great projects I will do at the farm.
Looking towards the future, keeps me going.

 

I've been doing 50 hours week since that bloody virus came to be. My company only pay me for 35 and the rest I've got to take as day off, which would be nice, but since said company and the gov consider me an essential service worker I can't take day off... Also, we're supposed to be able to cumulate a max 35 hours in our extra time bank and I'm way, way past that so I'm getting daily email from HR and the union that I've to reduce that bank bellow 35, WHICH THEY WON'T LET ME DO!!!

 

I have a essential business, luckily I am the Boss.
Before C19 hit I had reduced my hours to 6 a day and had 2 days a week of. One for the office, half a day and one just for me. I have the wrinkle card, which means I am old enough to officially to retire. Sell and enjoy live in a new way. 35 years of the small business rat race.
Now it is full time again and some, added responsibilities. I lost 3 employees to covid, 5 lost family members, over 20 positive tests in the families of my employees. Very testing times. I wish I were 50 again, hihihihihihihi.
Selling in those insecure times will be impossible. So I have to drag me old ars back to full time work. Who knows how long.

I learned a long time ago as a younger person, when I fought cancer, 25 years ago, you can only win the fight if you develop a positive attitude for live itself. It became my live style.

 

That’s been my lifeline, Zoom conferences with my hobby groups in lieu of the usual face to face meetings. It’s better than nothing. The Christmas party of my quilting guild left something to be desired without the usual potluck dinner and gift exchange, but it was better than nothing.

My husband and I are retirees with a steady income, so we are fortunate that house arrest, while tiresome, is doable. We have each other and our pets for company, and we have food and shelter. The gym I belong to has reopened under the state’s limitations, and the owner has been extremely diligent about disinfecting everything. So I felt comfortable about resuming my personal training sessions, and my trainer disinfects every piece of equipment that I touch.

 

I started on an antidepressant not because of the pandemic, but because I was also having difficulty coping with my mother’s dementia, and my husband’s initial tentative diagnosis of a fatal disease. Fortunately, for my husband, the doctors have changed the diagnosis to something that, while disabling, is not fatal. The pandemic and the illness of two people I love was pretty overwhelming. I’m doing better now.

 

I posted a personal anecdote about this:

http://www.politicalforum.com/index...bioterrorism-campaign.582914/#post-1072325239

 

Imagine working your whole life to have your own little business, a small clothing store - finally successful and your old age income source - and the governor orders by a non-legislative edict that your business is illegal to operate indefinitely - though you still have to pay all the bills.

The total authoritarian governor or mayor instead orders people should go to WalMart and buy clothes there because it is safe in a WalMart store with 1000 people, but lethal to be alone in your little store with you - for which you will ending up being nearly a pauper the rest of your life because the politicians agreed that the mega billionaire WalMart heirs and Jeff Bezos - who contributed to the politician who ordered your life be destroyed - don't have enough billions yet so must have all your few customers too.

Imagine the stress. Can pay your mortgage so lose your home. Can't pay your income taxes. Can't make your car payment. Broke, in debt, homeless and no car - having to live on $1200 a month social security until the day you die - not even having Medicare co-pay for medical care. Literally, you were ordered basically killed so Jeff Bezos and WalMart can have your few customers you developed over years.

 

Good for you.

But I would advise against going to the gym right now. The issue of disinfecting surfaces is not sufficient to ensure your safety. Actually transmission by surfaces is only 2% of all transmissions. What is bad about gyms is that it is a space where people breathe forcefully as they exercise, and it is indoors. So, it's a space that can be rich in Covid-laden aerosol. The problem is, if you are wearing a cloth mask or a regular face mask with no other enhancements, you are not protected against aerosol. With the new and more infectious strains coming, this is too much of a risk, right now (and so close to the vaccines, it would be a pity to get infected right now weeks before getting the vaccine, after surviving 10 months).

The only way to be relatively protected against aerosol is to wear either a professionally fit N95, or N100, or at least an ASTM level 3 mask with seal enhanced by rubber bands or neoprene braces or silicone braces. While this is possible, I doubt that this is what people wear to gyms.

Look, the vaccines are almost here. As retirees, you'll get them soon due to your age group (and your husband's underlying condition). Please, that's not the time to go to the gym unless you do wear the masks I'm mentioning.

My wife and I stopped going to the gym and we work out at home, using a Mirror Home Fitness device (and we do have professionally fit N100 masks; still, gym is too much of a risk).

 

A very good friend of mine watched as his wife had all the symptoms of a heart attack on Christmas day. Following the ER docs examination and diagnosis, he called the cable company and had their news outlet channels blocked. The doctors said it was all stress-related. In this case, she watched MSNBC and CNN 24/7 for the last two years. I asked him why she would be stressed as her side won the election. He responded, now they have shifted their fear campaign on to driving people insane over catching the China virus.
Go figure.

Turn off the media people and go for a walk every day with some sane people that make you laugh.

 

You should never go outside again and instead order anything you need online. An N100 is a super spreader mask and does not block all virus. The vaccine does not work for everyone and therefore going outside would be an act of suicide by you. Never go outside again. Don't take the risk and kill yourself!!!!!

 

I research the medicinal properties of certain well-known restorative elixirs from my ancestral homeland
(I am nearly a purebred Scot)