What affects has social distancing / isolation had on you?

edited March 2020 in General

We are all feeling the impact of this in some form or another . How is your mental health holding up ?

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  • I for one am accustomed to being active outside of the home and going places where there are people / crowds . I also love to travel to see friends when able , as many are a fairly long distance away . I had plans to for example go to Baltimore and to Denver within the next couple of months . However now the plans have been halted and I really have no idea when I can think about rescheduling.

  • [Deleted User]Bles (deleted user)
    edited March 2020

    Well I'm used to being active driving long distances to visit family and to cuddle. And I do miss being able to meet for a cuddle . I had plans to go cuddle someone in North Carolina and Connecticut. But COVID 19 cancelled all my plans.

    Still I'm enjoying the hiatus from constantly juggling cuddle sessions with long work shifts and family time with my children. Ever the adaptive, creative spirit, I'm enjoying more virtual "cuddle" time in online chat rooms, email conversations and video Scrabble games with folks I hadn't connected with in a long time. It's been so long since I played a Scrabble game and now I'm rediscovering it online. So I'm in a very happy space even as I dearly miss being able to go physically cuddle with folks.

    And I'm still maintaining my connections with my regular cuddle buddies by phone. We talk to each other whenever we can and keep our conversations full of fun and laughter.

    I guess you could say I'm adapting to a new normal of sorts.

  • [Deleted User]ImajenMoon (deleted user)

    "Adapting to a 'new normal'." That's what I've been calling this time: a Reset. A time to reconsider this materialistic, hyper-consumerist mindset that has left us separated and sad. Maybe some dark clouds really do have silver linings...
    Because my current work has me on the ground, in people's homes, I've been effectively shut down as far as work is concerned. They're still calling me (they miss me! :)), but I have to gently explain that, for now, I can't come see about them. :(
    With that said, I find that this time has given me the chance to be introspective, to examine how I wish to have my life go forward. I KNOW I would like to include cuddling and interacting with new people---this is a new, more intimate level, for me. I have also discovered, during this time of social isolation, that possessions don't hold NEARLY the punch that in-person interactions do, and that I value my fellow human beings FAR MORE than I do the possessions that I own.
    I think it's sad that it took for the whole world to get "sick" for me to understand, through my need for fellowship and tenderness with others, for me to--finally-- get "well."
    Imajen

  • edited March 2020

    This is my normal

    I pray that when we through this, we will be a kinder, gentle society. Life is a gift. I hope somehow we can understand this and slow it down, not get caught up in the nonsense.

  • I'm stressed by the amount of time I need to spend watching press conferences (I watch the US ones and the UK ones). And I don't want to miss any of them in case they disseminate some vital fact that I want to know. The alternative is blissful ignorance, but I find that hard to take.

  • Mine is pretty good but it sure would be nice to get a phone call or s message so that I can actually interact with someone. Seeing thatvred notification always helps me. Simple honest conversation would be nice. 😊

  • [Deleted User]SoulcuddlerZ (deleted user)

    I'll admit - I'm rather displeased with the restrictions in play to combat COVID-19. Still, I accept that many of the restrictions are needed and for me it's just an inconvenience at best. I feel more for those who have to put themselves out there in the pandemic, whether it's they're working essential businesses and services, shopping for essentials, or other essential causes.

    For right now, I would note that access to the Internet is vital more so than before, between working from home, keeping in touch, and keeping up to date with events.

  • @SoulcuddlerZ it is a fine line between precaution and hysteria indeed

  • edited March 2020

    What impact? This is my normal. The only difference is I don't have income currently because of it.

  • Even if you are normally socially isolated , there's something to be said re the oppressive feeling of not having the option.

  • @ImajenMoon If you're finding yourself less delighted by material things... can I have your stuff?

  • Nah, no oppressive feeling here.

  • edited March 2020

    I just want live sports & casinos back !!

  • edited March 2020

    I’m working from home, so no big deal for me so far - plus lots of home projects to do keep me occupied. Cancelled two cuddling get-togethers, and did not plan any future ones yet. Texting virtual cuddles 🤗. I’ll appreciate the real thing even more when the isolation is over.

    I cancelled a trip to Italy in April, or should I say it cancelled itself! Maybe next year.

  • [Deleted User]ImajenMoon (deleted user)

    lol
    No, SD, you can't "have" my stuff...but I'd consider a trade! For every item I give you, you have to give me a squeeze. Simple, easy barter system. You up for it?
    Oh, but you have to bring your own Uhaul...I've got a LOT of stuff! heehee
    Imajen

  • I am considered an essential employee so I haven’t been isolated, per day. I go to work and then come home. However, I do miss the simple things like going to sit inside a coffee shop and sip my coffee with friends. Missing other things as well like a day at Disney World. It’s been an adjustment but I understand that the more we comply with these regulations, the sooner life will hurry back to normal.

  • edited March 2020


    I have a roommate so I have a little social contact.

    I'm cooking a lot.

    I'm unexmployed and will be for awhile with no benefits, unemployment, etc., so I'm embracing frugal living even more than usual. Getting to love black beans and rice and corn tortillas again. I'm making fresh masa from scratch, watched a couple of movies with my roommate, have been cleaning a bit, and spending way too much time on the internet.

    Oh, and I'm not much of a seamstress but I made a mask for when I go out.

  • I think we have learned basic stuff like; Personal space, having rainy days savings, think ahead and invest wisely. School needs to show this to the kids and not the nonsense they do nowadays.

  • @pmvines "Even if you are normally socially isolated , there's something to be said re the oppressive feeling of not having the option."

    I'm not feeling that way and maybe it's because I did it voluntarily before it got imposed on us. I've felt oddly calm and I feel like I'm doing something by staying home. By being here, I'm avoiding exposing myself and avoiding exposing others and that feels like a good thing to do. It's like I'm waiting out a storm.

    I have relatives and friends in northern Italy and I'm very aware of what's going on there. I feel a little like I'm hiding out from a storm only the storm here is hidden. There - they have military trucks lined up in the street with dead bodies because the crematoriums can't keep up with them and the morgues have run out of room. They have military in the street enforcing that people need to stay indoors. It's a modern-day version of The Plague or the 1918 pandemic.

    Our city is now on a stay in place order. All non-essential businesses are closed. I'm glad they finally did that because on their own people don't.

    I'm not complaining. . . . yet . ;-)

  • I like the line in Taken where Brian Mills has hired an interpreter and they are sitting in his car.
    The interpreter says "I do not know what the job is".
    Brian Mills says "For the moment, the job is to wait here".

    As they used to say during the war "They also serve, who only stand and wait"

  • Like with most things in this life, isolation/social distancing will have its good days and its bad days. I am having a good day today. Unfortunately, this is life on this earth. It is a part of the human condition

    In memory of one, my school friend who understood all too well what being isolated and social distancing was all about this was a way of life for him, my Itune is loaded up with Americana tunes.

  • Paranoia...setting in...finished the trip wires six feet from the front door...hired my own chaplain in case I need to get religion...false ID—I am now George Clooney so I can get the star treatment from the hospital—and a cloud of Lysol lavender scent hovering above the roof.

    Life as usual.

  • It is difficult to define the line between caution and hysteria when we have no baseline of comparison due to the newness and unknown factors that we are dealing with.

  • Try to live in the moment as best you can

  • [Deleted User]ImajenMoon (deleted user)

    Shhhhhh...There there... So fussy...Come to Mama... but first put on this clear plastic poncho, this HazMat Particulate Mask, spray yourself with Lysol, slip on these neoprene, triple-layer gloves and hard-toed insulated work boots.... and I'll make it allllllll better! lol
    Couldn't help it!
    Imajen

  • [Deleted User]ImajenMoon (deleted user)

    Ain't it the truth?? hahahahhahahahhaha!!
    My kids gave me that nod ALL. THE. TIME!!!!
    Glad they turned out so well!
    Imajen

  • I’m on hold for now, hoping all this mess ends soon.

  • I miss my mom 😣

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