Discussions

I wonder how people are doing in general and if everyone has a safe outlet to express and share their thoughts and fears.  
 
This is something we are all in together. People are scared. That fear shows up differently for each person. Whether you are hyper vigilant in following safe measures or you scoff at the measures and go about your day as if nothing has changed. Fear is alway there.  
 
Please use this thread as a place to express our thoughts about what is going on in the world. Share how we are coping or not coping. Support each other by sharing ideas on how to manage.  
 
That said I would ask that people keep comments respectful. If you do not have anything nice to say keep it to yourself. Also practice patience as we all see things a little differently.

I never thought I would be alive to see times like this. My grandpa was a pilot in WWI. He was shot down over Europe but thankfully made it back to England somehow. He never talked about it. Can’t imagine what he went through.  
 
I have been reading Brene Brown’s material and she talks about how as a society we like to know what is going to happen in our lives. But in truth life is paved with uncertainty. Life is always shifting ever so slightly.  
 
Me!? I feel better knowing how things are going to turn out. This whole pandemic has made me step back a lot. I am living more in the moment. I find myself appreciating smaller things in my life. While I am still planning for the future I am doing so with lower expectations. I feel like nature has forced us to slow down.  
 
Anyone else feel the same?

If I'm going to be entirely honest, I've been having a tough time with everything going on. I started off feeling okay and confident we would all get through it, but now that we are roughly a month into all of these protective measures, I'm feeling pretty low.  
 
I graduated post-secondary last May and haven't had much luck finding a permanent job. I worked a couple temporary positions between then and now, but I have been job searching since December. I was already having a tough time staying positive before all of this happened because of the difficulty in finding work. Now that the outbreak has become widespread and jobs have become scarce I decided to just take a break and wait a while, probably until the end of the month before I try again.  
 
I'm lucky in that finding a job isn't currently urgent for me, but it has been wearing at my self esteem/self worth. This in combination with the change in routine, not seeing my family, not being able to go places and do things I would otherwise be doing... it's been difficult. But I've been focusing on my mental health and reminding myself that we are all just doing the best that we can.

Never thought that I would see times like these. My Grandfather fought in Burma during WW 2 and also served in India and Afghanistan, He also never talked about it and would never watch any violence or wartime stuff on TV. I feel lucky that I am calving out cows (although one chased me around the pasture) and soon will fertilize hay land and put the crop in, it keeps me busy, focused, grounded and social distancing is very easy for me (prefer it this way anyway). My wife ( now out of work) and my daughter are coping much better at home then I expected and keeping themselves busy and occupied which makes me very proud of them. Unfortunately I feel that we haven’t started to scratch the surface of the economic fall out from this pandemic yet , the economy will probably get much worse and we will have to adjust our ways of living for many years to come. My thoughts are with those that are suffering and their families wherever they are and those less fortunate then ourselves, also with those working in the medical and emergency services and those working in grocery stores and other establishments to take care of everyone else. It is important for everyone to stay strong and follow guidelines.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2020-04-15 12:25:17

I listened to a YouTube video of a Army General lecturing his troops about the importance of making your bed every morning. If I can find that video I will post it here later. If anyone knows of it feel free to do so as well.  
In short what that video was all about was setting small goals for yourself each day. Accomplish one goal and celebrate it. Then maybe you will feel like doing something else and so on and so on. Then the day ends and you can look back with a sense of accomplishment and purpose.  
 
These times are tough and we do not know how long this will last. It helps to step back and refocus on the little things.  
 
Farmergeorge thank you for sharing about your farm and the chores you do. Yes animals are the best.  
Millennial, what area of work are you looking for? Maybe you need to look at work in areas of need right now? Then once this pandemic is over you can switch back to your goals.  
 
My heart goes out to all those people out of work right now and anyone who has hit close to home by this virus.

I had been applying for all sorts of jobs prior to the pandemic. Mostly I have been seeking out retail positions because there are usually just more of them available. My plans were to simply work and save up more money so that I can go back to school for more education since my area of study is generally focused on a Masters degree.  
 
I check the eBrandon classifieds once a day as well as job postings on Google. There are jobs being posted, but I have let myself take a bit of a break to let myself work through this Covid related anxiety I've been feeling. It's scary to apply for a job working out in the world when I've been staying safe at home, even though I'm at very low risk for severe complications.

Those are great sites.

I think introverts will find this time refreshing and extroverts will find it crazy-making. That being said, I am an introvert and have been finding it wonderful to actually sit down and improve myself in my hobbies, teach my children things they don’t learn in school (cursive, knitting, Spanish), and sleep in  
 
Very sad I can’t get books from the library though. Ebooks just aren’t the same for me.

I am just recently laid off.  
I've gotten some great advice I have been following:  
 
- make a list of projects you've been meaning to get to  
- make a daily list of easy tasks (2 or 3 things)  
-limit your news watching; it's depressing  
-phone friends and family often  
-try online gaming with microphones  
-cook healthy meals  
-walk or workout daily  
 
So far, so good. Stay positive people. We've got this!!

The cow wasn’t in very good spirit lol. I guess she didn’t feel that she needed me to get her calf breathing. For the most part they are good tempered, we work quietly with them and breed to improve temperament but you have to be careful, you can never fully trust them and of course hormones and all at calving time can get them wound up. Weather can affect them too and sometimes if a moose, bear or a coyote should go through the pasture they can get upset.  
Recently started a motorcycle restoration project as well that has been waiting for ten years. After my parts list grew and grew I am beginning to wonder if I should be doing it but I guess that I have committed to it now and it will be pretty good mental therapy.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2020-04-15 17:40:25

The other half has been home for going on a month and I’m going on to week 3 of no work (work from home so part of that didn’t change)....send in the divorce lawyers!!!!! Haha just kidding! Surprisingly, this has been good for our relationship as we pretty much only saw each other for extended periods of time on weekends. We’ve been enjoying each other’s company and doing things that we never had time to do before or forgot about. Video games, board games, cards, puzzles, reading. He’s also enrolled in “cooking school with your wife” and is doing well lol. We’ve been having “visits” with friends and family via FaceTime and Snapchat and that definitely helps!!  
 
He is an extrovert and I’m an introvert. At the beginning it was him having an issue with it but last week it got to me a little. It’s one thing to just naturally stay in because you like it versus being told you can’t go anywhere. I also started to let the anxiety of the virus get to me. But getting outside helped my attitude! Granted, it was just sitting in the driveway pretending we were camping but it worked!!  
 
I’ve had to apply for CERB and I try not to think of the money I’m losing every month this goes on. I feel terrible for people who are in worse situations than I am though!! I think a lot of people’s way of handling money will be different after this! I hope some other stuff change for the better too after this is all over. Slowing down, more family time, watching out for your neighbour, offering help when you can etc etc  
 
I also never thought I’d see something like this in my lifetime and I was thinking about it the other day. This will be in history books. The things we did right and wrong will be documented forever. We are part of the statistics they will talk about. Kinda odd to think about  
 
Hope everyone stays safe and healthy!! See you on the other side....of the street? Hehehe

I am an introvert and I am finding this hard, not so much the staying home but everything else. I have good days and not so good days. I started exercising which has helped my mood overall, I was in a funk at the beginning, stressing about what would happen with work and how the government dealt with my profession. I have a hard time though with not knowing what will happen, I like to have a plan and that’s impossible right now. Homeschooling my oldest, who also has a disability, has been difficult and dealing with my youngest who is often trying (putting it nicely) has been exhausting. I’m definitely ready to get back to a somewhat normal routine.

I never liked history in school, but love it now, and because we are creating history I’m sort of enjoying these times. There are two issues that I’m following, one is health and the second is economic.  
If there is stress I’m not feeling it, my wife works in a grocery store so if it happens it happens.  
If there is fear, it is not fear for myself, but concern for others. My understanding of my destiny came at a very early age, thought it over and then moved on, live with plans for the future, all the time knowing that in just a few minutes I could no longer be here.  
What is happening right now is going to shorten the time our species exists, medical advances can be a double edged sword given the world population, the same can be said about the rate that we are advancing technology and AI. People who are worried about jobs now, have much more to fear in the future. Steven Hawkins warned of technological advancement and especially AI.  
People likely will look at my comment as extremely negative, but I look at it as reality.  
The question about how are you doing, would have to be answered by myself as, I’m doing great, so much information, and so much to study, plus there’s all those cows who are halving calves,  
The world will go on, but expectations will really have too change.

I think that your comments are very realistic. We are living in a time of great change for all of us, especially towards the automation of almost everything in the very near future. Technologies developed during this pandemic and changes to the economy caused by it are going to accelerate this change at an enormous rate and it will be global.

At this point, the most annoying aspect of the situation is ironically unrelated to the pandemic. I love riding my bike in the summer. Last year, I was riding in early March already. This year it seems like I would be lucky to be out in May.  
 
The whole situation is certainly odd (certainly nothing I've lived through before in my 31.75 years of existence), but I don't really find it difficult. But at the same time, I'm somewhat privileged too.  
 
My job is essential, so barring unforeseen circumstances, that remains normal. And even outside of that realm, there is always plenty to do and keep busy. Chores, writing projects, a half dozen streaming services and a filled DVR.  
 
Contact with people isn't important to me. Such is likely a big factor here. None the less, if I were to recommend one thing, it would be to embrace some sort of creative outlet. Doesn't matter what it is. Just that it occupies the mind.  
 
Edited by Simonwalcal, 2020-04-16 08:33:25

For me is not to think about what is going on. By focusing on world events and Covid you can actually make yourself sick. When I get to work and from cleaning so much my throat gets raw. When it starts getting sore all sorts of things come to my mind thinking I am getting the virus. I am in the high risk category and last I want is to get sick. The more I think about it the worse I get. Once home things clear up. When I don't think about it at work I don't feel much. It is amazing how much your mind can influence your health. I try to stay out of the news as much as possible as I hate the sheep mentality. We have a toilet paper shortage due to media hyping things up. Saw a brief article about potential meat shortage due to the US plant workers getting the virus and having to shut down. Well here we go with meat now, hoarding meat next? Already have limits on hamburger.  
I stay positive by looking at the bigger picture. My house is overdue for a spring cleaning. Now is the time better than any. My "Hunny to Do" list is fairly long but manageable. With snow gone and warmer weather on the horizon yard projects are coming up fast. More I stay busy the more this can pass and before you know it I will be in my camper enjoying good times with family and friends. Plus it gives me a chance to work on my boat and get it ready for open water season. Can't wait to reel in some Walleyes!!