How are you all dealing with coronavirus and the restrictions many of us have to live

The best teacher since you also know my language. Thanks

I'm having a bit of a bad day. Woke up at 6 AM, too restless to sleep but too tired to get up. I'm feeling really down. I don't have the energy anymore. I've been fighting for so long just to not sink into a deep depression. Fighting and fighting, but there is no reward. And no end in sight. The loneliness is killing.

And if we do eventually all get vaccinated and go back to the office.... I'll still have AvPD. I'll be the weird, quiet one who takes a long time to connect to anyone. We'll all have been working together for some time and I'm sure most people will quickly adapt. But I can't :/

Gigs take time to plan. So that won't be happening for a while either, even when it's allowed. And my favourite band - I doubt they will be back after 2 cancelled tours. Who knows which venues will even survive?

I miss the positive interaction with people. But I do still get the negative Customers complaining in my job. Constant noise from my neighbours.

I know everyone is struggling. And people might not have the energy to spend on anyone outside of their direct family/partner/whatever. But it would be nice to know the people in my life haven't all forgotten I exist.

The roller coaster is driving me insane. Last week we had some sunny days and I was feeling more positive. I ordered a whole bunch of cosmetics online - new face wash, cream, mask, bodybutter and whatnot. Today I can't even look in the mirror. Feel like I wasted a ton of money on that stuff

@BreakForTheLight we are here for you at least.

I'm sorry you're having a bad day and I was reading today your country isn't doing too well at the moment either. It really does impact on us, and it's been almost 1 year now.

You're right of course, aside from the pandemic many of us have other issues in life that we need to work on and live with, and yes you're right even when we're all vaccinated those issues will still be there.

Yesterday I went for a walk and it was nice and sunny but also very busy - even though we are in lockdown and supposed to be staying at home the roads were at a standstill leading to the beautiful beach near my home. I felt quite rattled by all the activity and noise and could not wait to get away to quieter place. I live in an urban/suburban area so there seems no where I can go to be quiet!

I was reminded my issue wasn't really people ignoring lockdown as the risk is low outdoors - I just hate crowds and chaos and noise and I always have. Other people crave it - they must really have suffered this last year. Anyhow it was an old issue and reminded me I need to work on coping with noise and activity, and tolerating it.

As for you Break, yes you have challenges but I want to remind you that you are a very strong person - you have pulled yourself through a pretty awful situation this year. You reached out to us here. I know there will be lots more too (positive things you have done), that you haven't written about here.

I hope in a while you feel good about using those pamper products you got yourself - you deserve it.

@Break, I can’t forget how hard is to go back to work after being distant for along time. This is very hard I normally had such a bad time when I was sick leave or after a period of isolation because of vacations. I know it will very tough.

Think that you already got it in the past, and you will get it again in spite of the hell that is to face to this situation.

I heard Germany is taking severe safety measures and that’s why the country is going at the lead of Europe in what managing with the virus regards but I understand how difficult is all this being for you, guys.

Apparantly the lockdown wasn't enough to make me miserable and the universe felt the need to add on MORE.

There's construction work going on in my street. It's surrounded by buildings, so all sound really gets amplified. This constant, grating sound is going to drive me INSANE. It's like nails scratching on a blackboard - but louder. It's been going on for years - are they not done yet?! Obiously there was a break during winter but last week it started up again. And there's no escaping it when you have to work from home

I have Covid fatigue and have become tired of reading, talking and thinking about it--though I know I do need to get the vaccination when it becomes available for me so I can't totally stop consuming information about it.....

@BreakForTheLight - That sounds awful. Where I used to live they spent a whole summer tearing up a street that was very close to the house and then repaving it. I worked from home then too and it was impossible to concentrate That street was always so loud. The houses were duplexes with small yards, so there was noise everywhere. The guy next door ran an electric saw at all hours. The woman on the other side, our landlord, was elderly and would watch TV with the door open at maximum volume. Then, the woman across the street was a music teacher and held choir practice with about 10 people. Sometimes we had all three of those going on at once. We couldn't even sit out in the yard. It was a big factor in our decision to move.


Well, this is not good. There was a Covid outbreak at a nursing home. All of the residents had been vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine. The media is trying to spin it as a positive because they were mainly mild to moderate cases and no one died. However, my take on it is that it could mean that the vaccine is not good at preventing transmission, so it's going to take us longer to come out of this than places using better vaccines. The trial in Brazil only showed 50.4% efficacy in keeping people from getting Covid. I also wonder that if vaccine passports become a reality to travel, will a less effective vaccine be accepted by countries that haven't approved it?

And, the government's press secretary just came out to say it's very likely they will extend the state of catastrophe and health emergency, which expires on the 13th of this month. I read yesterday that two municipalities in greater Santiago, including downtown, are among those with the highest active case numbers and have almost the same per capita active cases as my municipality. However, they are in phase 3, which is more open. We are eternally stuck in phase 2. This country is so Santiago-centric sometimes. I am back to thinking the government has forgotten that we are in phase 2 and we won't move to phase 3 any time soon.

@rechu it's the same here regarding transmission and infection after immunisation.

I volunteer for a charity which supports the elderly and they send out newsletter emails. A week ago 7 residents and 7 staff tested positive despite immunisation. They too had mild symptoms and no hospitalization.

I don't know which vaccine they had, it could only have been Pfizer or Astrazenica, probably Pfizer as they would have been in the first phase of vaccination when only Pfizer was available.

I think this is why we must all still be very careful as not everyone has been protected yet, so those who have been vaccinated need to take the same care as before.

@Discombobulated. Interesting. I hadn't heard about cases like that. I definitely think we still have a while for things to get back to normal.
@AzulOscuro - On the topic of clandestine parties, this happened yesterday where I live. Bailaron 18 en una fiesta clandestina de Buin pero solo detuvieron al organizador

It’s just the same that it’s happening here. People rent flats and tourists and people from here have their parties. Many times, the person who rents the flat knows it’s gonna be used for a party.

There is even people who make perfect business because they occupy a house or a chalet, so they are not even the owners, and organise parties. lol!

I am sure someone must have asked this before, but I cannot find a thread. How do you tell the difference between not being able to breath because of corona vs a panic attack?

Ah, yes. It's like who are you to tell me these things when I turn on the news. I guess it's just beautiful in its own special way for some people. Oh the drama ! I'm glad not everything is closed. It's nice to read and reply on this forum. I'm hurting from the negativity with my personal life. I just don't see things eye to eye. This too shall pass?

At the beginning of the pandemic, I bought an oximeter -- you can get them for $10. IMO, this is a good way to see if you need emergency care--if your oxygen saturation gets below 90%, then it might be time to call 911. When I bought it, I reasoned that most people who get COVID recover without hospital care. This might be a good way to figure out if you need a physical type of medical help. Hope you are seeking ways to treat you panic disorder.

Thanks for this! I'll research it.
Yes, I am, for the first time in my life, in therapy. It would feel like a crushing defeat if I dind't think I really have little to no choice.

Now ordered and on it's way

Well, they just sent a whole bunch of municipalities back a phase. A lot of new strict quarantines are starting on Thursday and those areas that were in phase three got sent back to the same phase as my are, finally. Back to weekend quarantine for them, haha! While they are doing that, they are allowing municipal schools to open if they choose to do so, although parents can decide if they want online or in-person classes. I am guessing quarantined areas aren't allowed to open schools. Most teachers have one vaccine only at this point, so I don't know what the rush is if they are at the same time increasing the restrictions on many areas. Our municipality decided to keep classes online for the first semester. I heard only about 5% went back overall nationwide.


My wedding anniversary is on Friday. I am trying to remember if we did something last year. Tomorrow is one year since the first case was detected here, so it was a strange point in time. Going anywhere is out, of course. I guess it's a bbq and a nice bottle of wine again. We have a few bottles of this left from a boutique winery up the road - LOF Wines | LOF is the result of a small vineyard planted in the garden of our houses, located at the foot of the Andes mountain range, in the Maipo Andes Valley, Chile. In this place we coexist with the Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon plantations, two varieties well adapted to the stony soil conditions of this land.. So I guess we will crack one open. The owner himself delivered our order.

Happy anniversary. That's a very pretty landscape on the link you shared.

Speaking of drink, I attend AA meetings...& have for many years. Everything went to Zoom for quite some time, but in-person meetings started again a few months ago. I made due with the Zoom meetings for a long time, but have gone back to two small, in-person meetings the past few weeks (6-8 people). They require masks & social distancing, but yesterday there was a guy who commented that masks are just a "security blanket." It made my blood boil, to be honest. We don't talk politics in meetings (a founding principle of the program), but one can tell right away what someone's political views are based on such comments. I'm tempted to go off on a political diatribe right now, but I'll resist...some people just have dung for brains.

That sounds like it could be reassuring!

I think if you had covid you would probably have other symptoms too, all the people I have spoken to have had a cough/fever/headache/loss of taste smell and fatigue.

If you have testing available that may help reassure too. I get tested weekly as a key worker, it's just routine for me now, but yes it's reassuring for me to know I'm not unknowingly spreading it to people. I worried a lot before that I might do that to my family. Anxiety is a horrible tiring thing to live with - but there are things we can do to cope with it thankfully.

I can get tested, but it still costs a lot more than the oximeter and I doubt that I have covid as it is. Still, the thought is not fun and your suggestion much appreciated.

Good that you are tested regularily, though I hear it's quite uncomfortable. I am eagerly waiting for my therapist to tell me what I can do tomorrow

Oh I'm sorry to read you would have to pay to take a test, that seems unfair and counterintuitive to me.

If you ever do have to take a test then don't worry, it's a little uncomfortable but if you take it slow you'll be fine. I've got used to it now and it no longer worries me (it did first time though!).

Good look with your T appointment!

Thanks, @buddha1too. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful areas.

Ok, for this I have no sympathy. A Chilean family living in the UK came here to visit family. The UK banned travel from South America right before they were supposed to go back. Now they can return, but they have to pay for a hotel quarantine. They are in the media whining that they can't afford to pay for the hotel and they are stuck here. Sorry, but if you decide to travel for leisure during a pandemic, you have to be prepared for these sorts of situations. It's been going on for over a year in a lot of places. Here it's one year since the first cases and they closed the border to everyone but citizens and legal residents on March 18th. How many countries have limited travel and/or required some sort of quarantine on arrival during this time? They took a risk because they only thought about what they wanted to do and now they are paying the price.


Five newly opened schools had to shut back down due to COVID outbreaks.