Keep an eye on yourself. Even without Covid19 - stress can do the body a lot of damage I'm sure. Hopefully you can figure out some self-care even if it's just in your back yard with your feet up.
On BD H52, W50 T27, M26 S21, D23 BD-9-Mar-16 D-15-Jan-18 Final-19-Apr-18 I am a storyteller. The story may do you no good. But a story is never for the listener. It is always for the one who tells
Yeah this is extra tough on extroverts. Is introverts just think “yay, an excuse to stay home and read a book!.
But even I, am introvert, and one who still sees my coworkers in the office and conducts telemedicine visits with my patients, am getting a little antsy, so I can only imagine how hard this is for extroverts.
I realize I’m a bit depressed. As always , a highly functioning depressed and you would never know it if you interacted with me, but I’m down. This area of country I am realizing is so much different than others. Other places are reopening and resuming life as normal. I was shocked to see that from these boards. But here, it’s not happening, nor should it happen that way, nor will things ever be close to the same. I get up, I go to work, I come blame. The things I used to look forward to as a single woman and an extrovert are gone. And will be gone a long time. Gathering with friends and family, going to a concert, a bar, going on a date, a vacation. They are gone. Running to my friends house to hang out? Gone. Spa day with the girls? Gone. Gone for a long time. And I come home and n adults. Love my daughter. But she isn’t an adult. I got some adults at work though.
But the reality of the new life is making me sad. I feel like I’ll be pretty lonely forever. And just having nothing to look forward to is really rough. I don’t even have the will to look nice anymore. I go to work, wear a mask most of the day and scrubs. No one ever sees me. On the rate occasion I go to the store, I wear a mask, no one sees me. I don’t have anyone to look good for at home, so why bother ? I shave only in case I need to go to the hospital, lol. And last night I almost went as I was having the worst right lower quadrant pain all day. Thought I had appendicitis. It’s better today, but I had a rough night. I felt feverish and achy. But I was off today and even though I was up early, I took a 3 hour nap because I was oh so tired.
So yeah, I’m depressed. And lonely. And a little scared, quite honestly. But it what it is. At least I still have an income and my health . But I sure as heck could see how people’s mental health is going downhill at this time
Sorry but we can't keep living this way.
I am now quarantined from my hero nurse as she has covid too.
OMG! Please let your hero nurse know that we love her and are praying for a speedy recovery!
Sit quietly, the answers will reveal themselves when you least expect them to. The past is gone, the present is a gift and you need to focus on today, allow the future to reveal itself when it is ready.
Sadly this is what I and others have been fearing all along. By me suicides are up by 80%. Homicide is up by 71% and overdose is up by 69%. That is not coincidence. Worse yet in NY 66% of recent covid cases happened AT HOME. Not in public but where we were told it was “safe” - at home. This is right out if the governor’s mouth. So much for quarantining the well.
Thankfully I really believe we have turned the corner. Here in my state our supreme court just struck down the unlawful stay at home order. Right or wrong we will soon see the results - good or bad. My point is so much if this is moving so quickly. Look at how much has changed in weeks to a month or two. It will continue to change Quickly. This will only be our new normal if we let it. True we won’t go to a concert for awhile but we will again. You can CHOOSE to go visit friends if you want to. The risk to your physical health may be outweighed by your mental health. It may be your best choice.go do it. Do it safely. Take reasonable precautions. But having a few friends over will not end your life. Clearly children are the least vulnerable so that’s not a worry.
As for bars and restaurants, yeah currently out by you that’s tough. Your area has been hit the hardest. But there is light at the end. Florida has opened and is doing fine. Other states never closed and have done just fine. Better than fine. Your location may not be your location forever. I know it is for years yet. That stinks for you. Hopefully you can change that some years down the road. Just taxes alone would have me out of there. Your states pension debt is killing you.
My message is it really will get better. Hopefully soon. Looking at the calendar, unless things have shifted, I think you’ll feel a little better next week. 😉 hang in there and invite a friend or two over for drinks this weekend - maybe even two coworkers since you are with them anyhow. It’s okay to chose to do something fun with others. You’re not a band person if you do.
DonH Midwest Me 56 WAW-EXW 55 Met 11/95 / Married 5/00 Bomb 6/20/05 / She Filed on 6/2/06 / Divorced on 10/9/06 4 who'd qualify as GF since D & dated about 25 women since D
Worse yet in NY 66% of recent covid cases happened AT HOME.
Don I think you are misinterpreting the significance of this. Of course everybody who caught it at home caught it from somebody else in the household who went out and contracted it. The significance of this data is that in China, people who were sick with Covid but not sick enough to require the hospital were quarantined in facilities designed for them, to reduce the risk of them infecting family members at home. We chose not to do this in the U.S. and as a result, transmission to family members in the same household has been a problem. This has nothing to do with the safety - or lack of it- of going outside. I suspect you, and most Americans, would have been highly resistant to being forcibly quarantined away from your family once infected, but this WAS a highly effective strategy in Wuhan. Without it, and without proper PPE and training of family members, spread in households has become a major problem. (Even Chris Cuomo, who was quarantining in his basement, managed to infect his wife.)
Thank you guys very much for the support. Honestly, it is really tough at times. It’s tough some days outside of lockdown, tougher inside.
But it has to be done. This isn’t caught in the house. This is caught by those going out and bringing it home. I guess not many could truly understand it unless you live in the NY/Nj metro area and work in the hospital and on a COVID unit.
Going to friends houses is NOT happening. You are not a welcomed guest. Especially if you work on a COVID unit and immunocompromised family members live in was there. My daughter can’t play with her friends. It is not acceptable here at all. It’s taking a toll on her as well. And I get it . Things are changing. And it scared me in my position in life. I thought dating was hard before, ha! Thankfully I have begun to really accept being alone and it is not something I am fearful of.
My friends and activities and the gym, ignited my soul. It’s all gone. But it has to be this way. I’m fortunate my family and friends are healthy, because it is knocking out while families here .
I just have to get used to the new norm. I just could have never ever imagined this
Yeah it's crazy, for all the apocalyptic sci fi stories I've read, the closest to this I've ever been before was the slo-mo AIDS pandemic which started in my med school days.
We have to find new ways to be in the world for a while. You have to find new ways of being connected to friends - I liked bttrfly's idea of having weekly Zoom meetups with her girlfriends.
You're doing such important work G and I know you're a blessing to the families of your patients. Take comfort in that.
Also get your vitamin D, that is starting to look more and more like a big factor in who gets mild disease and who gets serious disease.
