Dear Everyone

Quirky, I hope you are managing. I feel quite concerned about your well-being as you have gone through so much in the past year. I know the isolation is frustrating, don't we all. It has given me time to reflect on my life and what is happening. Not all cheery thoughts but not bad considering. I just read a report that said in journal keeping research project, those who counted the good things that were happening in their lives were more resilient and coped with life better than the two other groups. One kept a daily general journal and the other wrote about their emotions. Interesting.

PhoebeWings I enjoyed your post. It was good to read about your insights as Quirky commented. I think many people are changing how they live their lives. Not just because of isolation rules but because they are finding different ways to live and spend time with their families. It would be lovely if we could carry the change of focus forward when restrictions get lifted. I am wondering if I will go back to my old hectic life. Some things of course are not negotiable. I will still have to go grocery shopping whether in person or online. Not my favourite occupation. I feel I will have less time for my hobbies. I have been able to do so much more these past few weeks and actually finish some of the projects. Yeah! Still, it's up to us to do what we feel is best. It's a shock to drive into a supermarket car park and find it half empty.

Pepper I find myself getting irritated with the slightest thing. The amount is quite disproportionate to the event. Perhaps I need to get out more perhaps sitting in the garden if it gets warm enough. Trouble is I am such a cold frog I need lots warmth around me. I feel some apprehension about lifting restrictions too quickly. I do understand many people have no income and this is causing lots of hardships. I don't know the answers. I am more than a little afraid of a second wave of infections. I live alone, retired and have a serious medical condition. My treating doctor tells me I would not survive getting corona flu. So a bit of a worry.

I hope everyone is staying well and continues to post here. It is such an interesting thread.

Mary

Hey everyone!

Today and everyday for the past few weeks has been feeling like groundhog day.

I get up and get ready, walk to get a coffee, work, go for an after work walk, relax and chat with my girlfriend and go to bed. On the weekends its almost the same. I mix things up, get out and exercise as much as I can and keep myself occupied. Its just getting a little tiresome? I'm taking each day at a time and soldiering on, I do feel hopeful for the future.

I get excited when I go to the shops or get takeout haha. I wish I had a garden! Im thinking about buying a portable raised garden bed thing so I can plant some plants and grow things haha.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Confusion like many here I am confused at the way different gvts are reacting by removing restrictions and others are warning if a second wave.

being extra sensitive and impatient. I think so many feel like this because we are all stressed.

problems . I Think many people had issues before the virus.This makes it very hard for so many. I just take each day and some days are great and I am doing an online course for writing. It is hard to get into a routine,

please if you areading and want to post just write anything about yiur day.
quirky

Thank you for this space Quirky.

This thread has the feel of a living and interactive journal...🙂

I’ve been reflecting over the past eight weeks - and there is no doubt that I’ve been treading water, have lost momentum, I wish I could say I’ve done something wonderfully creative, but I’ve achieved little.

I text chat with friends on and off through the day ( we’re big on keeping in touch) about light and fun stuff.

Being involved here had been a massive support as like many of us, my world/life is many faceted.

In offline life, I can be many faces to whatever the circumstances require, often genuinely engaged and happyish - but also periods of serious anguish where it’s exhausting to be upbeat, to smile through pain, to listen to everyone else and their problems but me.

My ‘problems’ are not the kind you can just repeatedly talk over - the issues are too intense, the trauma from the issues is too uncomfortable to ‘air’ without hearing well meant but triggering responses amongst friends and such. People dont want to be touched by the deeply uncomfortable stuff... they want to help with what they know and understand.

But here, I can let it all hang out.

And I love it that everyone else can write what is happening in their hearts and minds.

Lockdown had brought me here on a daily basis, and throughout the day sometimes.

I’ll always, always be grateful for the insights and wisdom, the sharing and compassion - the humour, the fellowship...

It’s a very precious space on the web.

So that’s my diary entry for today 🙂

It’s a long one. Sorry!

Hi Quirky & all,

Thank you for this space :)

Mary: I’m thinking of you & I feel for you. I understand what you are saying.

It is very worrying if that is what your doctor has warned you...I feel it must be a very rough but sobering potential reality . Sigh, I hope you don’t ever get it...I really hope that.

I think time will tell how all this plays out...but yes, there are no easy solutions or only one correct response or answer.

I can relate to feeling irritable. I’m on a very short fuse too these days...

Highlights: ?

Concerns: I have concerns about some of our clients. The situation is sobering & confronting, but of course it’s even harder for them & their loved ones.

I don’t even know how I feel about it yet. Think I’m feeling a bit emotionally vacant around this...

Reflections: I wish there was some kind of manual or script for coping with a pandemic.

Horrible as a lot of other issues are like grief, trauma, relationship issues, depression, family issues, etc. I have a mental map of how I can cope with those things. I, to a large degree, know what to do. I know how to carry that pain, even if it’s horrible.

But I don’t know how to cope with a pandemic. I have no mental map to use. No script. No manual. I don’t know what to do.

Thanks for reading though...

Kindness & care to all,

Pepper

Hello Everyone and a wave to Pepper

Thanks for your kind words Pepper. It is confronting to be told how the virus would affect me. I am grateful however that the doctor is honest and does not waffle. I feel I am being treated with respect and given all the information I need and want.

Today I go to the hospital for my weekly treatment and afterwards see the oncologist to get the results of some tests from Monday. I am a bit nervous about this. The people at the hospital are very kind and caring and look after anyone who gets distressed. It's so nice to feel you are cared for.

A manual for coping with a pandemic? It would be very nice. The problem is that the nature of the beast does not allow for long term plans except very generally. The govt needs to contain the virus as much as possible and has worked out some guidelines. Many of these were developed some years ago when there was a possibility of another pandemic. It did not happen and the plans were shelved. However the general guidelines were still appropriate and I remember the 1.5 metre distancing then. Lots of discussion on how offices could achieve this when people normally sat much closer.

I think the best guide to follow is to be aware of the changes the govt make and follow them. Where we have lock down we need to provide ourselves with meaningful activities to stop feeling claustrophobic. Those with gardens can get out into them, weather permitting. Gardening is so therapeutic. Getting out of the house is a priority for many. Those who go to work do have a break. Those who work from home need to pay attention to their mental health.

I know I am saying nothing new. I want to reiterate that we do have a routine of sorts and can plan the days around these things. Perhaps that's the best solution, decide on a routine and stick to it. Sorry Pepper I do not think I have been much help. Here I am still in my nightclothes because I am not going out for several hours. Being dressed and ready for the day is something I aim for because it makes the day more normal but there are days when I just cannot do it.

Highlight I received a beautiful bunch of flowers from my children for Mother's Day. For various reasons it did not arrive until Tuesday. A lovely vase and a message that made me want to cry because it showed they love me very much. So what have I got to complain about?

Mary

hello all

Pepper,

Mannual for pandemic. I thought the government and beyond blue have produced article to hepl prcatically and with mental health. May be you mean something more specific

I feel a manual is a one size fit all approach and makes no allowance for individual difference. We all grieve differently we all experience adversity differently.

Excuse me if I misunderstood you. Just my opinion and I am confused. I feel many will need help getting back into a routine when restrictions are stopped.

I wonder what the young children of today will tell their grandchild about covid?

Hello Quirky, hello all,

I havent written here before, but have read all your posts.

I am feeling very lost at the moment.

This pandenic has impacted me with loss of income, but in other practical ways i am absolutely fine.

I am feeling very lost right now, with other things going on in my life and i am hurting.

That's all for now.

Thank you for letting me share.

I haven't been posting much because I have been very busy. Lockdown has meant the activities my husband used to attend are no longer running so I don't get a break and appointments are often online saving the travel but I find it more stressful setting everything up for him and participating.

Highlights Yesterday restrictions were lifted so my son invited us over after tea. His wife cooked dessert. We played a couple of games with the grandkids and after they went to bed my son helped me with something on my computer which had really been bothering me. I was surprised how it impacted me. I arrived home feeling relaxed and slept better than I have for months. In contrast on Mothers day we had an online meeting with my kids arranged by my son and I couldn't wait for it to end it was so stressful and just emphasised how isolated I am from my children during lockdown.

Reflections I drove to the GP (had a face to face visit which was so much better than over the phone!!!!) On the way I noticed a couple of people flying model aeroplanes over the field beside the road. The people where physically apart obeying all the rules. It made me think how good it is people can go about doing things they enjoy but can find ways to do it while keeping physically distance to keep all of us safe.

Birdy thanks for writing your post. Sorry yo feel lost. Hope you can find some routine and direction.

Elizabeth thanks for explaining how makes more work for do telephone health appointment.

Your insight helps us to understand how people are affected.

I think we will all appreciate face to face interaction.

Hi Birdy,

You were so sweet to me on Pepper’s 30 second thread - just wanted to say I hope this lost feeling doesn’t last too long for you.

Doesn't it seem that our lives have all been dealt a shock in some way or the other? Oh boy.

Thank goodness for the little moments we look for, the little life saving moments of joy in our natural world... you know?

Just wanted to send a kindly thought to you and a little hug, if I may.

Hi Quirky & all,

Mary & Quirky: Thank you for taking the time to write to me :) I appreciate your kindness & desire to help me.

Sorry, I wasn’t very clear. I realise that was my own fault. I didn’t mean a literal manual, but I can definitely see why it was interpreted as such.

Sorry, it was a (poorly worded) figure of speech. I just meant that I wish there was more general guidance & help in a broad sense, not necessarily a manual.

I‘ve seen a lot online about routines, regular exercise, using technology to keep in touch, distractions, activities, etc. I completely agree that all helps and it’s important to maintain, but at the same time, I also don’t think that’s everything.

For example, I don’t think there’s much available about how to deal with the psychological fallout. I haven’t found much online about how to deal with our own minds, in & of itself, during the pandemic.

Also, I don’t think there’s much available online for workers who handle positive cases in some capacity; I think that can be its own kind of stress.

I, for example, don’t always know how to do my job sometimes anymore. I know as restrictions are lifted, things will only get more intense at work.

But it is what it is...and it’s no one’s fault either. Just how things are right now.

Everyone is figuring it out as we go along...

Thanks again for making time for me and chatting. You are both appreciated :)

Beautiful birdy: I would like to join lovely Phoebe in giving you a hug.

I know you’re hurting & struggling, & I know words sometimes have limited power, but just know many of us here care deeply about you.

You matter very much xoxox

Dear diary,

I can feel the anger and frustration of people keen to get their routines back.

plans I cant plan ahead as my plans always get changed so one day at a time.

Just thought I would sya hello and see how people are coping with the changes.

wnet on my first train in 3 months, well first public transport in that time. I was so excited I almost forgot to ap on!!

I had to sit on a green stickered seat but a woman did not observe that.

I simple trip on train seemed so exciting.

I think when we have not done something for a while the ordinary seems so special.

I wonder what you have enjoyed recently which you have not done for months?

Quirky

Yesterday visited my brother for the first time in months. A couple of times during lockdown he came here so we could go for a walk but kept our distance but haven't been to his house . It was nice to relax and catch up with him & his wife. He put on a couple of funny videos he thought I'd like. One was a British comedian really mocking the British. I am English so I found it very funny. Today I feel guilty because I haven't done much. got up late. Rang my daughter to see if we could get together but her youngest is sick so unsafe for us to visit. Should go for a walk but waiting to see if my husband is able to go. He had a nasty coughing episode. I thought he was going to need hospital but eventually stopped & took medication to help him breath which worked so I think he is OK. I still worry about taking him to hospital because of the risk of them thinking he might have Covid rather than dealing with the real issue.

Quirky your train trip reminded me of our trip into the city by train recently for an appointment in a city hospital. It felt strange trying to do the right thing but not being clear because everything is so different. The hospital visit was also strange. I had to keep close watch on my husband as he can't see the signs so was trying to walk in the wrong way because now there is entrance & exit at the doors & temperature tests. I needed special permission to go in as they only let in the patient but because of his blindness I needed to guide him. It was nice that staff went out of their way to accommodate us & make us feel comfortable with the changed circumstances. We had thought the procedure would be cancelled but the lifting of restrictions allowed it to go ahead.

Elizabeth

thanks for sharing how you have spent your time.

You dont need to feel guilty as you have so much to do each day.

whathave others been doing,?

Hi everyone

just thought people maybe interested in doing a dear diary post highlighting the things that are good and working and the things that you want to change, or write how you feel.

dear diary,

I am worried about the people in Victoria,,

I find volunteering in a op shop helps me.

i find uncertainty hard,

I am worried about our situation in Victoria. I hope the authorities can stop people breaking the rules & spreading the virus to other areas in Victoria & interstate.

I worry particularly about reports of increased numbers of people in hospital & hospital workers & aged care care facilities being impacted. I feel for people who have treatment delayed for any health issue due to staff being infected at hospitals. I am also concerned about people in aged care & their families in Victoria where they are unable to see loved ones because of the risk.

I wonder when it will end if ever.

I spoke to me sister today. It was nice to speak to her but I worry I may not see her again because she lives overseas.

Elizabeth,
How is everyone coping..
Has anyone started a hobby or a project and given up.

i noticed at the op shop many sketch books coming in hRdlt used, colouring books and lots of sewing and craft items.

This 2nd wave in Victoria is far worse than the first. the first seemed to be controlled fairly quickly & people tried to do the right thing to get through it quicker. this time seems never ending with more & more bad news with no end in site. The problems seem to be caused by people doing the wrong thing ignoring the rules & the industries with the big cases are aged care, hospitals & food industries (meat works suppliers etc) so they are essential so can't be shut down.

I haven't had the time or energy to take up a new hobby.

Hi everyone

I'm not watching the news and am not on social media but I still know it's incredibly difficult in Vic atm.

I'm sending you all the best thoughts I have for this to come under control soon.

How can we think during these times?

I know Moonstruck speaks of 2 pandemics; the physical one and the fear one (psychological).

How can we allay fears inside our minds?

I really need to hold on to whatever MH gains I've made, even if they're fragments tbh, so I can be okay for my children, family and work place DURING this time and on the other side of it all.

Uncertainty is difficult for anyone but we have TODAY.

Dear Diary

I'm feeling very lonely and isolated. Many friends are ill and I am grieving for them. Work is so difficult with everyone feeling super anxious, depressed and or plain angry and volatile. I can't find "groups" to join but don't have the time or energy for them anyway lol.

Maybe I can get our bikes fixed?... IDK.

For today I will nourish myself and my family with good foods.

I will hug everyone and tell them I love them.

I will do lots of laundry and spend some time in the garden repotting some plants.

I will be present for my children and text some friends to check in.

Love and peace to you all, I Pray we all get through this.
EM

EM

thanks for your diary entry.
I think the calmer we can be will help others,

doing daily chores, thinking of others and getting on with life can help us and others.