[SprinkL3]

Both civilians and veterans can download the Department of Veterans Affairs COVID Coach App. On there, there's a section called "Finding Meaning." I clicked on it and hit the ">" tab, which brought me to a section called "Filler Feelings."

Until tonight, I had no idea that I was using filler feelings to cope with my emotions during this pandemic. According to the app,

"This period can leave you feeling strapped for time, making the few moments you have free feeling extra precious. Think beforehand about how you want to spend that time and what emotions you want to feel during it. Too often we use this 'filler' time to check the news (again) or do a chore, which can feel stressful. Consider using it to meditate, read an article you are interested in, color, rest or cook."

Being disabled, alone, unemployed, and homebound means for me that I have tons of time to fill. Although I'm not as stressed out over my daily schedule as those who work, volunteer, or go to school; I am still stressed out over my inability to get even basic household chores done. I spend most of my gigantic filler time with reading the news again and again, which my T calls a PTSD response because I'm constantly looking for danger (such as our crisis standards of care status, the uptick in both C19 deaths and cases, and the uptick in racism - since I'm Asian and mixed with European American). Although these activities help me feel more in control of the danger that surrounds me, they also stress me out and worsen my physical and mental health conditions. My T suggested to me to find some balance. So, in my journey for finding some balance, I've limited my time with reading the news, I've deleted all my mainstream social media accounts (including the apps on the phone), and I've paced myself with household chores and makeshift home projects. I do the best I can and rest intermittently. However, upon resting, I realize that I've used reactive filler feelings (e.g., reading the news to find out what might be dangerous to me) versus proactive, self-care, self-soothing filler feelings (the kind where I use my new aromatherapy, or the kind where I'm coloring or playing a logic game). I forget that I need to have some play and self-care in between house chores and appointments. So, this is my new goal - to find better filler feelings throughout the day.

I shared this in case it could help someone else.

[sarahsweets]

Originally Posted by SprinkL3

Both civilians and veterans can download the Department of Veterans Affairs COVID Coach App. On there, there's a section called "Finding Meaning." I clicked on it and hit the ">" tab, which brought me to a section called "Filler Feelings."

Until tonight, I had no idea that I was using filler feelings to cope with my emotions during this pandemic. According to the app,

Being disabled, alone, unemployed, and homebound means for me that I have tons of time to fill. Although I'm not as stressed out over my daily schedule as those who work, volunteer, or go to school; I am still stressed out over my inability to get even basic household chores done. I spend most of my gigantic filler time with reading the news again and again, which my T calls a PTSD response because I'm constantly looking for danger (such as our crisis standards of care status, the uptick in both C19 deaths and cases, and the uptick in racism - since I'm Asian and mixed with European American). Although these activities help me feel more in control of the danger that surrounds me, they also stress me out and worsen my physical and mental health conditions. My T suggested to me to find some balance. So, in my journey for finding some balance, I've limited my time with reading the news, I've deleted all my mainstream social media accounts (including the apps on the phone), and I've paced myself with household chores and makeshift home projects. I do the best I can and rest intermittently. However, upon resting, I realize that I've used reactive filler feelings (e.g., reading the news to find out what might be dangerous to me) versus proactive, self-care, self-soothing filler feelings (the kind where I use my new aromatherapy, or the kind where I'm coloring or playing a logic game). I forget that I need to have some play and self-care in between house chores and appointments. So, this is my new goal - to find better filler feelings throughout the day.

I shared this in case it could help someone else.

You don’t by chance have a link I can copy ? Like sometimes I am able to use the share button from the App Store to share a link to the app.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SprinkL3]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

You don’t by chance have a link I can copy ? Like sometimes I am able to use the share button from the App Store to share a link to the app.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here are a few links, @sarahsweets

VA Mobile App: COVID Coach - PTSD website

VA's 30 Days of Self-Care with the COVID Coach App

VA's Flyer on the COVID Coach App

Apple iTunes COVID Coach App

Google Play (Android) COVID Coach App

VA Mobile COVID Coach App

Peer-reviewed article: Jaworski BK, Taylor K, Ramsey KM, Heinz A, Steinmetz S, Pagano I, Moraja G, Owen JE. Exploring Usage of COVID Coach, a Public Mental Health App Designed for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evaluation of Analytics Data. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Mar 1;23(3):e26559. doi: 10.2196/26559. PMID: 33606656; PMCID: PMC7924218.

Military website with flyer on the COVID Coach App

[SprinkL3]

When I tried to look up "filler feelings" or "feeling fillers" on Google, I kept getting Botox links. LOL.