Hey everyone. If there is a thread like this already, forgive my ignorance. 

I just thought I need to vent a little bit about how this year has been, and I was wanting to see how others have been doing as well! 

So far I have been fortunate enough that neither myself or anyone that I know personally has gotten the virus (knock on wood). My area hasn't been hit hard yet either... Though I have seen a couple of smaller businesses have to close down completely. To be honest, I'm really worried for how lockdowns are going to affect the smaller businesses and smaller communities in the long run. 

I have been very blessed to be in the position I am right now financially. I have been on disability for a few years due to anxiety and depression, so staying home has not been difficult in that sense. My wife is a substitute teacher on maternity leave. I am actually very thankful that we had our second daughter during the pandemic, so she could take the leave while we anxiously wait for the vaccine. 

The only people who have met our nearly 5 month old baby girl are my parents (besides my wife, me, and our first born). We have been taking things very seriously by keeping our bubble small. I honestly feel like my wife, my parents and I are taking this pandemic more seriously than anyone else I know... Every week when it is grocery time, it is such a stress making sure the kids are in another room while we give everything a wipe down. We only go out for groceries, and always have our masks.

It is starting to take its toll mentally though... My baby girl has yet to meet her 4 Godparents, her other grandparents, many aunts and uncles and friends... I feel horrible/guilty that everybody close to us has been missing out on this very precious stage of our girl's life.  There is definitely a strain on many of my relationships (they are all understanding, but it has strained things for sure). Hearing the news that even after the vaccine things will not be the same... For a moment I had glimpsed the light at the end of the tunnel. But now I am not so sure.... 

Maybe I am taking things too seriously... I don't know what to think anymore. I don't trust the media. It is all hysteria. I don't trust anyone saying the virus is not real or is very overblown... I just don't know who to trust.... Obviously having health related anxiety already, this has only made things worse. I feel worse for my girls though. My oldest hasn't gotten to see anyone her age since this all began. 

Sorry for the long ramble. Thank you for listening... I just needed to vent somewhere. How have you all been coping? I know there are many suffering from this way worse than me. I am very thankful for the position my family and I are in given the circumstances... I just am going a little crazy.  My heart is with all of you who have suffered during this pandemic. 

Forums - General Discussion - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Thread

https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread/241751/coronavirus-covid-19-discussion-thread/1/

It's been mostly OK for me. My town (Population around 23.000) so far has less than 2.000 cases (most of them recovered already).The only changes in my life is the fact that I have to study at my computer instead of going to the college, and we must wear masks when going out of the house. You know, I really miss the college, but gotta follow the rules...

We have a Covid 19 thread already but this seems different enough to warrant keeping open.

Just to set some ground rules though, this thread will only be used for mental check ins. Not a place to debate about the seriousness of the virus, the appropriate measures taken, or anything like that. If you respond to someone else, only do so with positive vibes and support. :)

I deal with anxiety and depression to, so it can be rough. I've actually been somewhat getting over it. I spent the last ten years or so in a funk and I was looking forward to trying to connect with people now that I'm doing better, but then the world was like "nope". Only place I've been in the past few months is to the pharmacy, and the occasional trip to the bagel/chinese food places across the street. I'm in regular contact with my 95 year old grandmother, and my parents are also on the older side. If it was just about me, I'd probably be willing to take a bit more risk, but if I was careless and infected my family members, I don't think I could live with that.

Aside from that though, I've been ok. I started law school a few months before, so I was financially prepared to go without income for a little bit. Not having to commute is nice. And I'm not super social most of the time anyway. Only problem is that when the pandemic started I coped with anxiety by stress eating and put on a lot of weight that I'm in the process of taking off. On the bright side, I had a bad fast food habit that I've now sort of been forcefully weened off of, so hopefully I can take off the new weight and then some, and stay in a healthier routine.

A vaccine is not going to magically make everything exactly the same, but, sadly nothing ever gets back to the same. In the US, particularly in NY, its been almost two decades since 9/11, and still everything is a bit different. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing. We live and we learn. The reason that a lot of countries in Asia are doing so well with this is that they had very bad SARS outbreaks. So, they didn't go fully back to normal, but changed things in a better way, so they'd be more equipped to handle things. Hopefully, we'll do the same. 

Also, not to be annoyingly optimistic, but we live in the best time to deal with this. Pandemics are a tragedy whenever they occur, but at least we have the benefit of being able to communicate digitally, and the cabin fever is eased a bit by the technology available to us. I can't imagine how much worse it was to be quarantined in 1918. 

So, does this mean we have two Covid-19 threads on this forum? One about Covid-19 Discussion and Updates and the other one about Covid-19 Feelings/Emotions ???

For now, yes. I personally think the topics are distinct enough that they can both coexist. If the rest of the mod team disagrees with me, they can close it. Until that happens, if it does happen, you're free to contribute, or to leave.  

Of course! That was my intent. Just a place for people to talk about how they are coping through all of this :). Mental health is just as important as physical!
Thank you for keeping this thread open, I had thought the main COVID thread was more about statistics and what not, but wasn't sure.

I know a lot of people who have put on some weight since. I'm sure in no time you will get back to normal! I need to lose more weight myself. I have been lucky enough to not have put any on during the pandemic though, so that is a bonus! 

Eh... we'll see about that. I've always struggled with my weight. A couple of years ago I had a really rough patch with my depression, and food is usually my coping mechanism. Between that and the weight gain from the anti-depressants, I put on about 60 lbs or so. I'm actually off anti-depressants now, so it has been coming off, but not as quickly as I'd like. 

Fine.

I understand that completely. I've been on antidepressants for 7 years now... I feel like they definitely lower my energy levels and was part of the reason why I put on a lot of weight. I literally went from 175 lbs to 290 in a very short time frame. It was because food took my mind off of things. Half of the time I wasn't hungry, I would eat until I felt sick just to focus on something other than my anxiety... But it just added to the anxiety... I was able to get down to 230 just by calorie counting. I know I still have a long way to go, and it is very hard to do. But I wish you luck in your journey. It is a lifelong battle really. Day at a time.