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Default Nov 30, 2021 at 04:24 PM
  #581
I'm back to avoding any type of news due to my own boundaries. If I need to know something important, I will be made aware. I did do a couple decent size shopping trips. I didn't panic buy, my fridge and freezer were actually pretty empty. I was thinking of going out to breakfast one last time for awhile but I didnt have the energy.

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Default Nov 30, 2021 at 05:01 PM
  #582
My T in session today told me to do similar things - limit my news on the pandemic and try to focus on other things I'm interested in, like NASA stuff or math or movies or music.
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Default Dec 01, 2021 at 08:39 AM
  #583
Quote:
Originally Posted by SprinkL3 View Post
My T in session today told me to do similar things - limit my news on the pandemic and try to focus on other things I'm interested in, like NASA stuff or math or movies or music.
Yes that sounds sensible, I think absorbing yourself mentally into other activities is a great idea - I know we don’t *know* each other irl but from your posts here I can tell how intelligent and thoughtful a person you are. I sometimes wonder if extremely active brains can be our own worst enemies with anxiety. Occupying ourselves in other mental workouts seems a good plan!
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Default Dec 01, 2021 at 11:41 AM
  #584
My therapist didn't know about the new variant and we had a miscommunication over things today. She thought I was talking about Delta or something for 45 minutes. I honestly found the whole situation hilarious but now shes freaking the **** out because she didnt know any of this was going on. I didn't know this needed to be explained to anyone who wasn't living under a rock let alone a therapist.

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Default Dec 01, 2021 at 01:12 PM
  #585
Quote:
Originally Posted by SprinkL3 View Post
My T in session today told me to do similar things - limit my news on the pandemic and try to focus on other things I'm interested in, like NASA stuff or math or movies or music.
That is a good idea. I should be doing the same but I've noticed I'm focusing more on the news again. Not because I'm interested in the news or anxious but mostly out of boredom/loneliness. Summer was a brief relief with a few concerts and some travelling but now I'm back to just being at home by mysef
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Heart Dec 01, 2021 at 02:26 PM
  #586
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Originally Posted by Discombobulated View Post
Yes that sounds sensible, I think absorbing yourself mentally into other activities is a great idea - I know we don’t *know* each other irl but from your posts here I can tell how intelligent and thoughtful a person you are. I sometimes wonder if extremely active brains can be our own worst enemies with anxiety. Occupying ourselves in other mental workouts seems a good plan!


My T just told me yesterday, after diagnosing me officially with OCD, that she thought the same thing - that I was intelligent, that I have an academic mind, and that I should try to find a hobby to help me get my mind off of things that I'm obsessing about. I told her that I want to, but my mind wanders right back to the stuff I fear - the Covid stuff. She said it has a lot to do with my PTSD, and that she has helped other clients with these things. She said I need to take baby steps toward desensitizing, so one small step is just not reading the news so much. It's hard though. I use the news to help me figure out how to keep myself safe - but in reality, I'm just reinforcing my need to isolate, overly obsess and freak out, etc.

I do think it's our brains that get us into trouble.
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Heart Dec 01, 2021 at 02:29 PM
  #587
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Originally Posted by Mountaindewed View Post
My therapist didn't know about the new variant and we had a miscommunication over things today. She thought I was talking about Delta or something for 45 minutes. I honestly found the whole situation hilarious but now shes freaking the **** out because she didnt know any of this was going on. I didn't know this needed to be explained to anyone who wasn't living under a rock let alone a therapist.
Your T may have purposely been avoiding the news for her own well-being. But she should have been trained to understand the "shock factor" of new news, esp. concerning Covid. She should have been able to remain calm instead of freaking out in front of you. If my T started freaking out, I'd be freaking out more (since I freak out already over this new variant). I'd be essentially panicked because my T isn't able to help me because she's reinforcing the fear factor I'm trying to get over and she's mirroring or something.

I hope you are okay, and I hope your T is okay so that she can help you be okay.
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Default Dec 01, 2021 at 02:44 PM
  #588
Between dealing with my husband who is still in some pain from the tooth extraction and an elderly senile dog who no longer wants to sleep at night, I am exhausted. Now, they are reporting that Omicrom is in Brazil, so it's only a matter of time before it arrives here, I imagine. I guess we will see if our high level of vaccinations and boosters is effective against the variant.

I started having a fantasy about running away for my life for a bit, until I realized I would need more than a suitcase. I'd need a time machine!
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Default Dec 01, 2021 at 03:35 PM
  #589
First Omicron case detected in the United States: The First Omicron Case Has Been Detected in California - The New York Times
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Default Dec 01, 2021 at 03:54 PM
  #590
It was already here in America when the big reveal unfolded in South Africa. We just hadn’t detected it yet. This is a pandemic after all. Now it’s detected but over all nothing has changed. It’s not worse than Delta. There’s very little actual factual data to suggest panic. It’s just the media pushing big fears to get peoples attention. All those frightening graphics with lots of red on them. The only thing I occasionally check is statistics for my area and hospital rates for my area. I wear masks and make logical decisions about what to participate in and what to avoid but I definitely don’t watch news channels or seek out hype.

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Default Dec 03, 2021 at 03:52 PM
  #591
Just when you thought the corona restrictions couldn't get any sillier, my city has come up with this gem:

Dance clubs will remain open for now but from Wednesday on, dancing is forbidden

Make it make sense, please!
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Help Dec 03, 2021 at 10:24 PM
  #592
OMICRON NEWS UPDATE:

Quote:
Here’s what you need to know:

Fauci and other top U.S. health officials project resolve in fighting the Omicron variant.

Omicron is spreading more than twice as quickly as the Delta variant in South Africa, scientists report.

More states detect the Omicron variant as U.S. health officials brace for community spread.

Short-handed hospitals in upstate New York fill up as Covid cases surge.

A man in Italy tries to get a shot in a fake arm to qualify for a vaccination certificate.

Republican legislators protest vaccination rule at New Jersey’s State House.

A Christmas party in Norway becomes a possible Omicron-spreading event, and other international news.
OMICRON TRACKER:

Omicron has already spread to the following countries since November 2021:
South Africa

Botswana

Zimbabwe

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Ghana

Greece

Hong Kong

India

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Malaysia

Mexico,

Netherlands

Nigeria

Norway

Réunion

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

South Korea

Sri Lanka

Sweden

Switzerland

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates.

Australia

Britain

Canada

Germany

Iceland

Israel

Norway

Portugal

Spain

In the United States, the omicron variant has been detected in 11 states:

California

Colorado

Hawaii

Maryland

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Utah

SIDE NOTE:

Military and Veterans medical facilities will NOT be included in the reports per state unless specified. Those data are also missing from the U.S. data. For more information, visit Military OneSource here or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs here.

Additionally, states like Idaho are lagging behind in updating their data for specific variants. Idaho is barely keeping up with data on positive Covid-19 cases (the preliminary tests) while Idaho prepares for omicron to arrive, if it's not already here. It takes a while for them to finally get around to testing the genome of the positive test cases for the actual variants. By the time they record that data, the omicron variant would have likely spread. It's most likely already here, since it took Idaho over a month to catch up with reflecting delta variants as being the #1 variant flooding this area. It's likely that in states like ours, where the majority of people remain unvaccinated and unmasked, and such people have no qualms about international and domestic travel or even local superspreading events, omicron is already here and very prevalent. It could be the case for other states as well. Our state had just barely ended crisis standards of care in all hospitals, and in some jurisdictions, those crisis standards of care remain. It would be sad to see the levels of cases rise again, especially in areas where there remains unvaccinated persons or under-vaccinated persons (those who only received one vaccination shot out of a two-shot series and decided not to get anymore vaccines).

COPING:

1. To reduce disinformation and misinformation, it's best not to downplay the seriousness of this new variant of concern. Although it is also best not to panic, it is best to err on the side of caution and be cognizant of your health and others.

2. Continue to self-care, get boosted, get vaccinated if not already done, wear masks, improve ventilation indoors (with either air purifiers or HVAC systems and fans and opened windows periodically), socially distance, isolate in place and socialize online, order online for package or contactless deliveries, limit travel, abide by local and institutional rules concerning masking and vaccinating, and/or do the best you can with what you got.

3. Limit reading sensationalized news. However, understand the news is there to inform and help protect and prevent, so choose one reputable news source or two and limit it to that for updates. I use the New York Times and an epidemiologist email listserv to get my information.

4. If you absolutely cannot vaccinate, then wear masks, socially distance, and improve indoor ventilation.

5. If you cannot vaccinate or mask, then consider social distancing, improving indoor ventilation, and only going out for essentials. Avoid traveling unless it's for essential work.

6. Stick with your safety pod - those who hold similar values and risk-allowances during this pandemic, as those will be the ones to validate you and comfort you during stressful times.

7. Do what you think is best for you, since not everyone can adhere to all the safety standards listed above and elsewhere, which is in accordance with the CDC, FEMA (and also here), and the WHO.
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Default Dec 04, 2021 at 09:03 AM
  #593
Yes I agree this is going to become the dominant strain, but we don’t know more than that yet and so it pays to be cautious until we do.

I have only one social gathering in December, 3 very good friends, we’re in the process of deciding exactly where we should go, I’m okay with indoors but prefer spacious. I don’t want to cancel, I’m already a lot less social than I used to be.
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Default Dec 04, 2021 at 01:32 PM
  #594
I am trying to pay less attention to things, but it is hard. For so long last year and earlier this year, you had to be alert because they were constantly jerking us around through the different phases of the "step by step" Covid lockdowns restrictions. And, of course the rules of what you could do in each step seemed to be changing all the time.

Well, we can add Chile to the list. The first Omicron case was just reported in Valparaíso.

@BreakForTheLight - We have had some silly ones too. At one point they announced that restaurants could not play music. After much mockery, the Health Ministry backtracked and said that it was just a suggestion. I guess the idea was that people talk louder with music and spread the virus more. Then we had the famous Step 2, which allowed people to circulate during the week, but required quarantine on weekends and holidays. Does the virus know what day of the week it is? Then, when we had lockdowns, they often would affect one municipality but not a contiguous one, even when there tends to me a lot of movement between areas. Basically, people living on one side of a street might be subject to lockdown, while people on the other side of the street were not.
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Default Dec 04, 2021 at 02:21 PM
  #595
Oh wow, those are so silly @rechu I think there may have been something about music here too at one point.

Yes it’s hard trying to strike the balance of keeping up to date and not being overwhelmed. Has any had success with restricting their news intake to a limit per day?
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Default Dec 04, 2021 at 02:34 PM
  #596
Okay. I just read an article about an anime convention in the US where the rule for attendance was you had to be vaccinated - at least by the previous day. But surprise folks! To the covid cootie, thats the same as NOT vaccinated!!!

What is wrong with people??
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Default Dec 04, 2021 at 04:51 PM
  #597
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Okay. I just read an article about an anime convention in the US where the rule for attendance was you had to be vaccinated - at least by the previous day. But surprise folks! To the covid cootie, thats the same as NOT vaccinated!!!

What is wrong with people??
Did they have a cool, rhyming slogan for it like when the Dutch health minister came up with "Dansen met Janssen?" Google it if you feel like it - that was such a disaster!

No music in restaurants, that's a good one

We've got silly regional divides in Germany as well, but it's per state Because they all make their own rules.

Like when I came back from visiting my family back home. 4,5 hours on an Intercity train - medical mask is fine! Then we reach our destination and they announce "Please keep in mind that Berlin mandates an FFP2 mask on public transport"

And the Netherlands basically has an evening lockdown again - everything except essential stores closes at 5 PM, essential stores at 8 PM. Still don't see the point in that, wouldn't that mean MORE people be in stores at the same time?
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Default Dec 04, 2021 at 05:26 PM
  #598
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Did they have a cool, rhyming slogan for it like when the Dutch health minister came up with "Dansen met Janssen?" Google it if you feel like it - that was such a disaster!

No music in restaurants, that's a good one
Its like there is NO global communication at all. Lets all make the same mistakes!!
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Default Dec 05, 2021 at 07:01 AM
  #599
Things are really weird where I am, like parallel worlds. I go to the grocery store in the rich town and everyone is masked. Restaurants, on the other hand, are extremely crowded and no one is masked. We were out yesterday and it got a little late for lunch so I suggested trying a new place. We walk in, and they have those communal tables - the really long ones where strangers sit together. Those were completely empty. Who wants to sit there now? I heard someone coughing. Nope, no thanks. Picking up take out at another restaurant, they were so busy with a bunch of people crammed into a small waiting area. And they've *added* tables to the aisles where two years ago there were none. Eating just seems so much higher risk to me than breathing on someone walking by in a warehouse type building.


I still hope omicron isn't so bad. The worst will be if we get a mutation that badly affects children. We have wasted all of our lockdown and caring energy and after all the sacrifices children had to make, I don't think people would be prepared to make them same for them at this point.

@BreakForTheLight were the antivax/lockdown protests a big thing there? I've seen news of them floating around but you can never tell. We had a couple of protests locally but the photos made them seem bigger than they were. Also the no dancing rule reminded me of my youth - due to zoning laws, there were some music venues that would not allow dancing, one in particular I went to frequently. You could stand and sway a bit but you would get yelled at for doing much more!

How much transmission ever even happened in stores? I hear about it happening in workplaces and at personal events, like weddings. Can't we change our policies now that we know more?
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Default Dec 05, 2021 at 09:07 AM
  #600
It’s the same here at the moment @hvert mandatory masks on public transport and stores everywhere else anything goes. I do think bars and restaurants are higher risk than stores, people are there longer and face to face, often very close.

I think I the reason behind it isn’t exactly science but economics- hospitality can’t really function or thrive with masks and less people in. Stores are essential, they have to keep open whatever happens - supermarkets didn’t get the government support like hospitality had to. So if they make it difficult for hospitality they’ll need to give government support again - and they really don’t want to do that.
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