How does COVID-19 impact your life?

[Tine]

I am with my family, and we have a garden. We are short on toilet paper, and there's no flour, milk, nor pasta in the supermarkets. We can work from home and so far our salaries are not affected too much. Every day when I check the news, I feel so much gratitude for the privileged situation we are in.

Nevertheless, I do feel anxiety creeping in now and then. Then it sits with me like a bad taste. I am worried about my parents who live several hours away by themselves, and I won't be able to see them any time soon. And I am concerned about all the people out there who are affected directly and harshly by the virus. I donate money, order from little shops and participate in online events of all sorts, but I also do get overwhelmed.

[Veronika]

I am with my family as well, we have been in Lockdown in Spain for three weeks and weirdly enough, after this time it feels almost normal. We can go outside to walk the dog or to go to the shop. I am very glad that none of the family members has the urge to meet friends, so there are little to none issues with missing others. What I do miss is going outside as a family, stroll through nature and just spend time outside the house.

Mentally I have had different states. At first I was quite overwhelmed and needed to consume all the news which are out there. I almost became obsessed about new information. Then I felt, it's no good for me and I just checked the news once a day. I still have these overwhelming moments that  @Tine also knows, but it has lessened. I feel very worried and moved by the force how COVID-19 stroke the country I live in and I'm worried about the neighbours and their families. Also about my own extended family, but not as much as in the beginning - I am in contact with them every day.

What I found interesting, is that I have found some aspects of this situation, that seem to suit my family. We often have the urge to not participate in all kinds of social events, but in the end we "jump over our shadow" (I don't know how to say that in english) and we go out. So what we notice now is that a lot of this pressure of "we have to meet/invite/go" has gone and how good that feels for us. I am not sure on how to perceed with that, because I'm afraid it would set many people off after life has gone back to normal. Just funny how we are known as a very social family and personally feel so different from the inside and would really enjoy this "social freedom" if it wouldn't be for these sad and serious reasons.

Can someone relate to this or do you maybe feel the opposite? I'd like to hear your thoughts on that.

 

[Si****]

It is challenging I have not experienced this before. I have survived many tropical storms/ hurricanes but this is so different. I really think about germs more and not to pass on my germs to people I come intact with as going to the grocery store simple things. I used to do security work in the past but now I,m using more sanitizer than I did when I was working. How do you explain this pandemic to a child? It,s mind boggling.

[Calvin77]

Hey Angelina! Yes, it's truly a testing time in many ways. I don't have kids but imagine it must be really challenging to help them understand as their natural instinct is to be super curious and touch everything! I hope you are coping well!

[Li****]

The situation definitely both new and challenging. I can definitely relate to your thoughts on germs; I really think about it a lot more too and am more aware of what I've touched since I last washed my hands.
I don't have kids, but I think it's important to be honest and communicate what's going on because they will hear about it and pick up on stuff anyway. So better to have a conversation about it at a level they can fully comprehend appropriate for their age of course.

[Si****]

Sorry it,s been awhile since I have been on the site.

I would like to know how the pandemic has affected you?

 

 

[Tine]

Dear Angelina,
This is an excellent question.

I catch myself pretending that it didn't affect me much as infections and deaths are (for now) far away, and there is also no economic impact in our family (yet). Despite me being lucky and privileged in the crises if I am honest, it does come with a psychological cost. I am more nervous, I feel more pressure, and in the back of my head, there's more worry than usual. Worry about family and friends but also about the state of the world in general. An additional layer of uncertainty about almost everything that requires conscious work and subsequent action.

To me it seems like this crisis is, on the one hand, making things way worse, and on the other hand, it makes ongoing injustices even more visible and grave and gives us the chance to finally make the steps towards a world that is more just, equal and supportive. At least that's what I am hoping for and working towards.

How about yourself?

 

[Li****]

Welcome back and thanks for posting this question! ?

I was actually talking to someone about this just the other week, and we both agreed we were a lot more affected by being under lockdown than we realized while we were still in it. Isolation and uncertainty had a huge effect on both our headspaces and wellbeing, but I guess these things sometimes become apparent first when you reflect back. 

I have also noticed how the pandemic has made me worry more, and made me feel a bit more anxious in general. I worry for elderly family members and friends and those who are in 'risk groups' who are so much more vulnerable. I'm sad for feeling I have missed out on time I would have spent with family and friends, but I guess that has perhaps made me appreciate it even more and not take for granted being able to do that whenever I feel like it.  

It's definitely been a strange year, how do you feel about it? 

[Bj****]

This is the most weird year ever. We had the kids 6 month 24/7 with us, which has been a struggle. One day we will look back and we’ll be happy to have spend so much time together, but just now this has been hard. Still we don’t know if school will run „normally“ and now people expect times even worse, once we get into autumn/winter.
Kids lost their ability to socialize easily and have to re-learn it.
The most that affects me personally is, that I’m not able to see my parents and they are not the youngest anymore. I used to visit them once per month and we plan to go in December to visit, but it doesn’t seem, it will be possible. So that is really sad, for us and for them, maybe not being able to be together not even on Christmas, and that affects me the most. Maybe it will work, but it really doesn’t feel like..
Anyways i always try to stay positive and still not follow the news too much, as someone for sure will tell me if there is something i really do need to know. Life is still good, but with some bigger rocks on the road now ;)

[Mi****]

6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other. I know I am luckier than most people in this situation. Since I am disabled/retired staying home watching TV or being on the computer is pretty normal for me, so I don't feel as cooped up as many people do, nor am I really missing out on much. i hated the library being closed, but it's open now, no contact pickups & stuff. I got a bonus $400 on my July GST rebate check & my disability has been bumped by $300 a month, that was just extended until December. So financially I am actually doing really well, which is kinda weird.

The downside is my husband lived 10 miles away, on the other side of the closed border?? I had to come back when the border closed in March. They made an exemption for family in June,  so my husband has been able to visit me 3 times now, which has been awesome. I really don't mind the 14 day quarantine. But I miss being able to visit him there & I definitely miss being able to shop in Bellingham??

We took some pictures when he was here in early October, here's a Christmas card that I designed:

[Re****]

It seems to me that a lot depends on the country of residence. People have different mentality. It so happened that my job involved frequent business trips to Canada. I am used to living in two countries and I feel the difference between them. A lot of small businesses were closed this spring. People could not pay for loans and rent without an influx of clients. This was especially noticeable in the restaurant business. Quite a lot of ordinary people work here. However, in general, there was less panic than in the United States. City officials provided assistance to those who lost their jobs. Landlords did not immediately reduce the rent for commercial buildings (offices, cafes, shops). Everything came into relative balance. If you look at the streets of Toronto now, you can see the new franchise. This means that people are tired of being afraid despite the fact that we are experiencing the second wave of covid. I believe that we will all return to normal life next year.