Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Coronavirus
Twoapenny:
It's madness here. I honestly feel like I'm living in another dimension. Random lockdowns and rule changes are being introduced at very short notice, whilst at the same time people are being told to get back to work. Shielding deliveries and sick pay are being stopped from today so people who are at risk may have no choice but to go to the shops or back to work themselves. Masks are now mandatory but not being enforced. They issued a notice on Twitter - Twitter! - that indoor visits are now banned in certain parts of England because of cases rising, but are keeping the pubs and shops open. Some businesses are taking social distancing, hand sanitising, contact tracing and so on very seriously, some aren't. One place even has a sign up telling people they must remove their masks before entering. Schools are being told to prepare for four different scenarios from September, each of which has to be ready to implement at short notice. Most schools are re-opening in stages and on part time timetables, so working parents are still not able to rely on them for childcare. Predictions are milling around that we'll be seeing 1980s level unemployment once the furlough scheme ends as many small businesses won't be able to afford to keep going. We have the highest death toll in Europe and the third highest in the world, I believe, and Johnson keeps insisting we're doing a great job and has decided now is a good time to launch an obesity campaign - at the same time as launching buy one, get one free meal deals to get people going out to eat. The daughter of a tax dodging billionaire has been on Twitter giving advice to people on low incomes on how to make meals out of potatoes. I've genuinely never witnessed anything like it. And there are still people who think the government is doing a great job!
On the plus side, the area that I live in is (at the moment) without a single diagnosed case. It's relatively rural so we have a population spread out over a wide area and people have been very careful for the most part so I think that's helped. We are continuing to stay in, simply because it's a holiday area so people are coming from other parts of the country so that could change but as we're enjoying the staying in that's fine. I've pretty much given up trying to get a handle on any of it now and have retreated to a world of books and music.
sKePTiKal:
I concur Tupp. It's pretty insane - and I might add, the new "guidelines" are entirely unenforceable. Where it's starting to get scary, is we've had some rare, scattered occurances of "self-selected" mask vigilantes shooting people who aren't distancing or wearing masks. Madness may be a side effect of the stupid virus... or perhaps the stupid management of it. I use that word, interchangeably with insane and evil. The differences between all 3 are sometimes extremely subtle.
I wish I could make a good argument for things getting back to normal in X number of months. (For my sake, as well as a pep talk for everyone else.) Given the strong opposing opinions about what is fact or even real (as in data/medical research)... I think we all need to regularly give ourselves a prophilactic dose of "normality" just to keep concern & anxiety feelings in check. When I was grieving hard, I used Game of Thrones for that purpose. It seemed way more "normal" than the world I was experiencing. I know the Tolkein stories - book or film - would do the same. Fact is: Tolkein wrote/created that world as an antidote to the horrors/trauma he experienced in the war. Anything that engages one in imagining things that have clear cause & effect seem to be useful.
And I think it's a strengthening tactic; self-care -- to give yourself those kinds of breaks during times like these. I think that's one reason I got into the Downton Abbey series recently. It was a quietly stable world and I could be engaged in how the characters struggled to keep some tradition vs. adapting to the massive changes around them. Carson & the first telephone in the Abbey is one of the scenes that stuck for me.
One of the hardest things around here has been being able to keep to a regular daily schedule/routine. It's partly 'coz of the kids being here... and their clocks are different than mine. My "new normal" routine that I'd created for myself after moving... was too new to not adapt to whatever was going on around me. It'll be quite interesting to see what B & I come up with after the kids leave my household and start their own.
I'm also doing something I've relied on for a long time - whether with the kids or myself - during long stretches of "undedicated" time... and that's go learn something. The online language sites aren't too terribly expensive; and there are massive amounts of information about science, pioneer skills, history, growing things, animals, etc. that can kill two birds with one stone: you learn something new, keeping that old gray matter flexible and also give yourself a break from trying to solve the puzzles & problems of these "interesting times" we're living in.
Hopalong:
--- Quote ---I've pretty much given up trying to get a handle on any of it now and have retreated to a world of books and music.
--- End quote ---
That sounds REALLY healthy to me, Tupp! In my health district (my town with surrounding counties), today's count (updated daily at 10am) is:
16 new cases
1685 total cases
135 hospitalized
31 dead
The "new cases" number on a day has varied from single digits to actually 46 one day (but that may have been a data catch up, not sure). The curve marches steadily upward. Other areas in my state are true "hot spots" with steeper rises. These are the only numbers I watch because for my own decisions I just have to keep it simple. When it's down to 2 or fewer for a couple of weeks, I might come out of my self-quarantine. Until then, staying right here, except for super-careful backyard distanced socializing.
I feel incredibly fortunate that I can have literally everything I need delivered. I wish that were secure for everyone.
It's tragic. Dr. Fauci is testifying right now, and listening to his rational, matter-of-fact voice is a comfort, even though our peril remains. (People in his party keep referring to "the president's plan." That would be the oblivious and indifferent president who started wearing a mask last week after bullying, macho dogwhistles about them for months....)
Stay safe. Enjoy the music and the books. I am positive those are good for the immune system, and most definitely for mental health.
Lastly, I faced yesterday how profoundly out of shape I've gotten. Pushed back in a very small but meaningful way by taking a walk for about 20 minutes this morning. Sounds ridiculous, but psychologically, it was a huge step. I'd gotten paralysed again and my addictive, sedentary avoidance is scarier to me than the virus. I've turned to pudding and I'm too old to risk letting this get any more serious.
hugs
Hops
Twoapenny:
--- Quote from: sKePTiKal on July 31, 2020, 09:39:41 AM ---I concur Tupp. It's pretty insane - and I might add, the new "guidelines" are entirely unenforceable. Where it's starting to get scary, is we've had some rare, scattered occurances of "self-selected" mask vigilantes shooting people who aren't distancing or wearing masks. Madness may be a side effect of the stupid virus... or perhaps the stupid management of it. I use that word, interchangeably with insane and evil. The differences between all 3 are sometimes extremely subtle.
I wish I could make a good argument for things getting back to normal in X number of months. (For my sake, as well as a pep talk for everyone else.) Given the strong opposing opinions about what is fact or even real (as in data/medical research)... I think we all need to regularly give ourselves a prophilactic dose of "normality" just to keep concern & anxiety feelings in check. When I was grieving hard, I used Game of Thrones for that purpose. It seemed way more "normal" than the world I was experiencing. I know the Tolkein stories - book or film - would do the same. Fact is: Tolkein wrote/created that world as an antidote to the horrors/trauma he experienced in the war. Anything that engages one in imagining things that have clear cause & effect seem to be useful.
And I think it's a strengthening tactic; self-care -- to give yourself those kinds of breaks during times like these. I think that's one reason I got into the Downton Abbey series recently. It was a quietly stable world and I could be engaged in how the characters struggled to keep some tradition vs. adapting to the massive changes around them. Carson & the first telephone in the Abbey is one of the scenes that stuck for me.
One of the hardest things around here has been being able to keep to a regular daily schedule/routine. It's partly 'coz of the kids being here... and their clocks are different than mine. My "new normal" routine that I'd created for myself after moving... was too new to not adapt to whatever was going on around me. It'll be quite interesting to see what B & I come up with after the kids leave my household and start their own.
I'm also doing something I've relied on for a long time - whether with the kids or myself - during long stretches of "undedicated" time... and that's go learn something. The online language sites aren't too terribly expensive; and there are massive amounts of information about science, pioneer skills, history, growing things, animals, etc. that can kill two birds with one stone: you learn something new, keeping that old gray matter flexible and also give yourself a break from trying to solve the puzzles & problems of these "interesting times" we're living in.
--- End quote ---
Aw I love Downton Abbey, Skep! It's so other worldly and yet so much of it is what people can relate to in their own lives, in terms of their relationships and social standing, etc. I've been watching enough episodes of Silent Witness and Waking The Dead (BBC dramas) to qualify as a forensic pathologist now :) Yes, I think the 'insanity' of it is that we live in an age of unprecedented knowledge and at a time when that knowledge can be moved around the world in a matter of seconds and yet so many people are rejecting science and information in favour of - I'm not even entirely sure what. If the economies were thriving anyway then I could understand the approach of allowing a high death rate (I wouldn't agree with it but I would understand that someone made a decision and the decision was to protect the economy). But the economy's crashed and we have a high death rate and I just can't get my head around that being anything other than catastrophic incompetence. Such a lack of clarity and consistency. And yes, it is impossible to know when the virus will be contained (unless you live in New Zealand, it seems), plus we don't know how bad it will be financially for everyone until it has been put back in its box. We just all need to hunker down and get through it as best we can.
I was never able to get into Game of Thrones, I found it too complicated for my little brain! But I'm enjoying doing things I haven't had the time or the energy for. Really listening to music, instead of it just being on in the background. Reading. Watching films and box sets. Sewing, a bit of art work, writing a bit. I will be digging out the boxes of photos before long to start arranging into albums; it's a job I really enjoy but rarely get time for. I've been keeping a journal but I wonder if I'll look back on it in years to come and think I must have made some of it up because it doesn't make sense! Lol xx
Twoapenny:
--- Quote from: Hopalong on July 31, 2020, 09:47:13 AM ---
--- Quote ---I've pretty much given up trying to get a handle on any of it now and have retreated to a world of books and music.
--- End quote ---
That sounds REALLY healthy to me, Tupp! In my health district (my town with surrounding counties), today's count (updated daily at 10am) is:
16 new cases
1685 total cases
135 hospitalized
31 dead
The "new cases" number on a day has varied from single digits to actually 46 one day (but that may have been a data catch up, not sure). The curve marches steadily upward. Other areas in my state are true "hot spots" with steeper rises. These are the only numbers I watch because for my own decisions I just have to keep it simple. When it's down to 2 or fewer for a couple of weeks, I might come out of my self-quarantine. Until then, staying right here, except for super-careful backyard distanced socializing.
I feel incredibly fortunate that I can have literally everything I need delivered. I wish that were secure for everyone.
It's tragic. Dr. Fauci is testifying right now, and listening to his rational, matter-of-fact voice is a comfort, even though our peril remains. (People in his party keep referring to "the president's plan." That would be the oblivious and indifferent president who started wearing a mask last week after bullying, macho dogwhistles about them for months....)
Stay safe. Enjoy the music and the books. I am positive those are good for the immune system, and most definitely for mental health.
Lastly, I faced yesterday how profoundly out of shape I've gotten. Pushed back in a very small but meaningful way by taking a walk for about 20 minutes this morning. Sounds ridiculous, but psychologically, it was a huge step. I'd gotten paralysed again and my addictive, sedentary avoidance is scarier to me than the virus. I've turned to pudding and I'm too old to risk letting this get any more serious.
hugs
Hops
--- End quote ---
Well done on that big push and getting out there, Hopsie. It is hard to push through it and really make yourself take the step but then you know in your mind that you really need to, so it's great that you did it. I have made a big effort this week to stop eating biscuits, chocolate and toast because my weight has really gone up quickly and it's soooooo hard to lose it again. So I'm making an effort now - even if it just means I don't get any bigger that will be something.
Yes, the data catch ups are disconcerting. We have the same here where nothing gets done over the weekend so you have a big surge on a Tuesday that looks scary. We are lucky that we can have everything delivered as well; the only thing I've been out for is the Post Office but it's a small local one and I was the only person in there so with that and no local cases that felt fairly safe. Crazy, crazy times. Really glad I've got you guys along for the journey! xx
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