[Wild Coyote]

We are all facing some temporary changes, about which many of us are feeling stressed. Fortunately, as an online community, we can still hangout together!

Let's prepare wisely as we look for silver linings!

Maybe we could share our stressors, our fears, along with some of the silver linings involved in this challenge?

I hope we'll each feel supported, some togetherness and maybe even some gratitude as we face the challenges before us.

We are all in this together.

I hope you'll join in!

[Daonnachd]

My biggest stressor is a fear of being a vector and passing the coronavirus on to my in-laws.

A silver lining is the shuttering of my son's uni in favour of online classes. It means we'll have him home with us again.

[unaluna]

I took an uber yesterday (to the pharmacy). I told the driver i was worried that now that there was a corona patient in the hospital near by, that because nurses and students worked in the hospital and lived in my apartment building, that the virus must certainly be in my apartment building. The uber driver said no, the patient is in quarantine, those nurses would be taking special precautions, it shouldnt be that free and easy. That comforted me.

I'm actually more worried about my mom catching coronavirus than I am. I am afraid she will pass it onto my 88 year old grandma (her mom) because she doesn't wash her hands often and doesn't use hand sanitizer. She always gets sick for that reason. It's frustrating, to say the least.

The good news is that lots of places are taking precautions and shutting down stuff (schools, work, stores, etc.) or at least providing hand sanitizer and giving tips to people so that they limit their exposure to the virus. Nevertheless, I am staying home for the foreseeable future because I don't trust people to self quarantine. Some people are very selfish!

[Fuzzybear]

We are lucky on pc that we can talk here.

Papa bear and I have a safe warm cave and do not have to go to any compulsory gatherings

[*Beth*]

It's a blessing that we can talk here on PC.

I'm furious about this media parade. I think that's the real sickness here.We need testing kits available to everyone, and used in facilities where there are elderly people living.

Our economy is going to tank and the news media will be running stories relentlessly about the US being in a recession.

[Moose72]

My mom just got home from a month at Disney World (yeah I know!) and she said they closed the parks starting in the last few days. So they got lucky in a way that they weren't closed while they were there, but yeah I think of Disney World too when I think of large gatherings. There are four parks that make up Walt Disney World and many many resorts on property. They did not close the resorts but like I said, the parks closed. Last time that happened was 9/11. The other thing I think of is Gabriel Iglesias. He's a comedian that I like and I saw him in concert about a year ago. He plays to big, packed, sold-out houses all the time. I looked at his schedule online and he has a show every day to every other day for MONTHS. That's a lot of people standing right next to each other! Then if and when they cancel the show, I don't know if they'll give people their money back or what they'll do.

There's been a whole lot of stuff going on in my town (closures/cancellations, working from home, mass rushes at grocery stories, etc.) Hubby urged me to wear plastic disposable gloves at the grocery store today. Yesterday I briefly went into the other local grocery store. In the dairy section, I saw some guy sneeze violently, not even into his hand, but towards the yogurt containers. I rushed out of that aisle thinking how ridiculous that man was. I mean, he really doesn't know that spraying mucous all over the place is vile, under normal circumstances, but especially now?!?!

All of this has certainly fueled my growing mania. I've had to take more and more Seroquel and Seroquel XR, at my psychiatrist's direction. I'm wondering if my psychiatrist will cancel his European trip. I sort of think that unless this dies down very quickly, which I doubt, it would be best for him to stay home. For various reasons. Who would want to be hospitalized right now?

Add on: I forgot the silver lining. Mine is that my hubby is working from home. I love him with me. I've already read how other people here are happy to have more time with loved ones.

[Sunflower123]

One silver lining is that my daughter’s university told them not to come back for three weeks starting tomorrow and then they’ll be doing online classes so I’ll get to see more of her.

Another silver lining is that with the closures and restricted activities, I don’t feel any pressure to go out. I’m having a vacation at home and getting some stuff done around the house that needed doing. I’m not having to try so hard if that makes sense.

Great thread!

[~Christina]

Thank WC for this We need a place to talk about real fears about this emergency..

People do need to take this very seriously. I dont feel that the media is going over board.. although people at low risk might think so.. But there are millions of people that are at high risk, Myself,Husband and Daughter included. Those at low risk can easily infect others while dealing with minor symptoms.. So wash your hands, stay physically away from people, I would hope we all do that anyway when someone is sneezing and coughing all over the place not even covering there damn mouth.

My silver lining is after months of slowly stocking up on food each month and last weeks run to pick up some extra things, We are prepared to just stay at home and wait this out

[Blue_Bird]

I'm way below the poverty line basically so I couldn't really afford to stock up on things. I have enough to barely get through each month and that's about it. So I might have to ask my sister for some help in regards to that.

However, my apartment complex had an emergency meeting today for all tenants and they said if any of us do end up sick (they gave us a number to call to report symptoms) then they can give us a bit of non perishable food items to help get us through if a 14 day self quarantine is necessary.

So I guess that's the silver lining, that there will be a bit of help if needed. Other than that I've been making myself sick with anxiety over the whole thing. I mean, staying inside is no problem, I have agoraphobic tendencies anyway and am a total introvert so none of that bothers me. It's just the whole situation is scary.

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

I'm way below the poverty line basically so I couldn't really afford to stock up on things. I have enough to barely get through each month and that's about it. So I might have to ask my sister for some help in regards to that.

However, my apartment complex had an emergency meeting today for all tenants and they said if any of us do end up sick (they gave us a number to call to report symptoms) then they can give us a bit of non perishable food items to help get us through if a 14 day self quarantine is necessary.

So I guess that's the silver lining, that there will be a bit of help if needed. Other than that I've been making myself sick with anxiety over the whole thing. I mean, staying inside is no problem, I have agoraphobic tendencies anyway and am a total introvert so none of that bothers me. It's just the whole situation is scary.

I was relieved to read about your silver lining, Blue_Bird. That's a great example of neighborly caring. I do hope that if this cornonavirus becomes even worse, such positive gestures will be common. It has seemed so divided in the US for the last few years, plus. I'd love to see that change quite a bit.

[Nammu]

I'm not worried about catching it but worried for my mum and her siblings. They all have heart problems and they are in their late 80's up to my mums age, 92 and I worry that it's very underreported as there has been a shortage of testing in USA

Silver linings , I live in a small town that's remote not a hot spot but the mayo clinic is less than an hour away. I feel pretty prepared

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by Nammu

Silver linings , I live in a small town that's remote not a hot spot but the mayo clinic is less than an hour away. I feel pretty prepared

Thats a pretty good silver lining!

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

I'm way below the poverty line basically so I couldn't really afford to stock up on things. I have enough to barely get through each month and that's about it. So I might have to ask my sister for some help in regards to that.

However, my apartment complex had an emergency meeting today for all tenants and they said if any of us do end up sick (they gave us a number to call to report symptoms) then they can give us a bit of non perishable food items to help get us through if a 14 day self quarantine is necessary.

So I guess that's the silver lining, that there will be a bit of help if needed. Other than that I've been making myself sick with anxiety over the whole thing. I mean, staying inside is no problem, I have agoraphobic tendencies anyway and am a total introvert so none of that bothers me. It's just the whole situation is scary.

It is helpful they are trying to help, I am sure.
I am very concerned about you, In fact, I was thinking of you this morning.
In my area, most churches have funds to help people in these types of situations . I don't know if you feel okay asking,.. just very concerned about you.
I forget , is your sister nearby? Well, I think she is nearby , but just wanted to double check with you.

Thinking of you.... Lots of Love

[wiretwister]

unfortuntally my job will never be shut down , nor can I work from home . . . . but I usually do not involve large groups either . . . no underlining conditions . . . so I really am not worried . . . taking my vitamins and keeping clean . . .

[Blue_Bird]

Originally Posted by Wild Coyote

It is helpful they are trying to help, I am sure.
I am very concerned about you, In fact, I was thinking of you this morning.
In my area, most churches have funds to help people in these types of situations . I don't know if you feel okay asking,.. just very concerned about you.
I forget , is your sister nearby? Well, I think she is nearby , but just wanted to double check with you.

Thinking of you.... Lots of Love

There's a church right by here that has a pantry, I'll call on Monday and ask about eligibility requirements, and see if I can get some food from them. My sister is nearby, she lives like 15 minutes away from me, she would always help me if I need it, I just hate asking sometimes but I might need to

Thank you, I appreciate your kindness

[Sunflower123]

It’s come to my county now. An Episcopalian priest. Hopefully he didn’t infect a whole congregation of people. Things are shutting down and the mayor declared a state of emergency (if I heard correctly) so hopefully we’ll keep this contained.

I’m not panicking. More vigilant I suppose. It’s really going to get crazy here now unfortunately. People are fearful.

[Fuzzybear]

Only checking the ''news'' etc twice a day maximum is recommended....

Silver lining? I dislike the ''news'' intensely anyway

So much of it is unnecessary and often inaccurate garbage, guaranteed to worsen mood and anxiety

block unneccesary ''negativity''

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

I'm way below the poverty line basically so I couldn't really afford to stock up on things. I have enough to barely get through each month and that's about it. So I might have to ask my sister for some help in regards to that.

However, my apartment complex had an emergency meeting today for all tenants and they said if any of us do end up sick (they gave us a number to call to report symptoms) then they can give us a bit of non perishable food items to help get us through if a 14 day self quarantine is necessary.

So I guess that's the silver lining, that there will be a bit of help if needed. Other than that I've been making myself sick with anxiety over the whole thing. I mean, staying inside is no problem, I have agoraphobic tendencies anyway and am a total introvert so none of that bothers me. It's just the whole situation is scary.

I am so glad that there is going to be help for those in need.. One less stress for you We also have a churchs in town that always had a food food supply for those in need. We also have Blessing boxes around town.

[Gabyunbound]

Thank you so much for this thread Wild Coyote!!

I work in a hospital and I'm very afraid of contracting the virus. I cover the ED when others are at lunch. We are not encouraged to wear masks there, but I do. However, I'm using the not-so-helpful masks we keep in the office, not the N95 one, which are mostly kept stored for TB patients. Suspected coronavirus patients are put in isolation rooms and to see them, we have to use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), which is pretty extensive. But what about when they first come up to the ED window with symptoms, before they are asked to put a mask on? What if we run out of isolation rooms, which I fear we soon will. What if we run out of PPE?

The hospital is currently full, as is often the case during flu season. I fear that we won't have enough ICU beds or ventilators.

And there's a massive shortage of testing kits.

My mother has COPD and MS along with other medical conditions. If she were to get the virus, she would surely not survive it. Luckily, she has a caregiver who does her errands for her; she's self-isolating. I'm afraid to go visit her because I'm afraid of being a carrier from being exposed at the hospital. However, to be clear, my understanding is that neither the CDC nor the WHO is sure whether you can be a carrier absent symptoms. I just worry about it anyway.

As a medical professional, I worry about and care for my patients. Period. This is the first time I've been concerned about my own health in coming in contact with my patients. It changes the dynamic...

In short, I'm scared out of my wits, frankly...

[Fuzzybear]

grrrrrrr

hospitals

my ''avoidant traits'' have a silver lining

I absolutely... do not like... hospitals

I have no idea where

Possible trigger:

the step maternal unit is at this time
She used to be..
a ''nurse''
she was also an abuser

(not about anyone on pc)

hugs and respect to all

[Fuzzybear]

I don't have to worry about being the furriest bear in the forest as all bears are staying home

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by Gabyunbound

Thank you so much for this thread Wild Coyote!!

I work in a hospital and I'm very afraid of contracting the virus. I cover the ED when others are at lunch. We are not encouraged to wear masks there, but I do. However, I'm using the not-so-helpful masks we keep in the office, not the N95 one, which are mostly kept stored for TB patients. Suspected coronavirus patients are put in isolation rooms and to see them, we have to use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), which is pretty extensive. But what about when they first come up to the ED window with symptoms, before they are asked to put a mask on? What if we run out of isolation rooms, which I fear we soon will. What if we run out of PPE?

The hospital is currently full, as is often the case during flu season. I fear that we won't have enough ICU beds or ventilators.

And there's a massive shortage of testing kits.

My mother has COPD and MS along with other medical conditions. If she were to get the virus, she would surely not survive it. Luckily, she has a caregiver who does her errands for her; she's self-isolating. I'm afraid to go visit her because I'm afraid of being a carrier from being exposed at the hospital. However, to be clear, my understanding is that neither the CDC nor the WHO is sure whether you can be a carrier absent symptoms. I just worry about it anyway.

As a medical professional, I worry about and care for my patients. Period. This is the first time I've been concerned about my own health in coming in contact with my patients. It changes the dynamic...

In short, I'm scared out of my wits, frankly...

I deeply appreciate your sharing.
It's important you have an outlet for your stress. It's also important we understand what it might be like for our providers.

I hope and pray both you and your mom will be safe throughout this challenging time.

Don't be a stranger! Much Love

[Gabyunbound]

I'm sick and very scared. I have a fever, sore throat, nasal congestion, terrible body ache, and tight chest. All the symptoms except dry cough.

I work at a hospital and am afraid I've given it to co-workers, who desperately need to be there, or even to patients; I could have been a carrier for a few days.

I'm seeing my doctor through video at 11am. I'm told that she will determine if I need to get tested or not. I'm hoping they have testing kits, many don't, and that I'm not sent to an ER for testing.

I could also potentially go to Employee Health at the hospital (with a mask) for screening/testing, but that's usually where you go if you're already in the hospital; I don't know if my boss will say I can't enter the hospital with these symptoms, even if I'm just going there...

I guess the silver lining is that I'm very fortunate to live in a nice apartment, and to be an introvert, so staying home for some time will not affect me as much as some others. Also, I have a friend who said she could go grocery shopping for me and leave the bags at my doorstep. That was very sweet and I think a good idea.