So my heart started skipping a beat. A lot. It says here it's not dangerous, most of the time, but it was still alarming, and not something I wanted to have happen. I did all the things you're supposed to do to eliminate it....cut down on smoking and caffeine, boosted water, potassium and sleep. Tried to get some exercise in. It wasn't helping much.
Last weekend, the weather felt like it was fall instead of summer. It was just a feeling, but since then, my symptoms are mostly gone.
I think what happened is that I was feeling like I was wasting the summer by not doing summer things, and without me knowing it, it was causing more stress than I was aware of, seeing all that time slipping away. I'm old, so time is something I'm starting to run a bit short of.
So I started to think people who have to go to work, or people who have been laid off must be feeling a LOT OF STRESS compared to me, and might want to talk about it a bit.
Or maybe you know someone experiencing a lot of anxiety.....
You don't have to be specific. Maybe rate your anxiety/worry/troubles on a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being pretty bad.
Maybe it will help you feel better?

I am diagnosed with bipolar disorder II in 2013 and I have a 7-out of-10 COVID anxiety level right now. Not because of getting sick, I'm more concerned about not getting an income due to a job and client losses.

Worrying about money is the worst. I hope congress sends out checks sooner rather than later. Every bit helps. Will you be able to see the Aug 21st Live?

Got laid off, not because of covid but because business was slow and they decided to close our warehouse. It's tough to find a job or even the motivation to get up and look for one. Part of my just wants to stay home in quarantine but I know in the next few weeks money is really going to start to become an issue.

It's probably not very helpful, but Instacart and Amazon Fresh drivers are getting a lot of money out of me. Both services automatically add a 10% tip for the driver, and I'd like to think most people don't adjust it down to zero. That's on top of wages. If you have a car, it might be something to look into.
Were you planning on seeing the Aug 21st Live Stream?

In some way I am lucky since I work in food retail, that me a key worker. But doing same things over again, work, eat, sleep over last few months does take it toll. Only last week I managed to leave my town for first time since February.

All we can hope is see out this bad year and 2021 will be better.

As for Aug 21st Live Stream. I will not able to see it.

Andy666 wrote:

As for Aug 21st Live Stream. I will not able to see it.

Are just not set up to view it properly? Excuse me for asking.

hogradish wrote:It's probably not very helpful, but Instacart and Amazon Fresh drivers are getting a lot of money out of me. Both services automatically add a 10% tip for the driver, and I'd like to think most people don't adjust it down to zero. That's on top of wages. If you have a car, it might be something to look into.
Were you planning on seeing the Aug 21st Live Stream?

I signed up for Instacart over a month ago and am still on the wait list. Hadn't heard of Amazon Fresh, I think I should give Postmates a try. 

And I will be checking out the live stream.

Oh look. The web has nice things to say about Postmates.
https://wellkeptwallet.com/postmates-driver-review/
Your experience with warehouse work should be a plus, knowing about inventory control and stock rotation, attention to detail, etc. Be sure to mention any safety training you got. Employers love that.
It's tough starting a new job, being the new guy. Sometimes it takes a while to get in the groove. It can be hard to strike the balance between being patient and trying to move forward. More often than not, time has been my friend. I hope it's friendly to you as well. Good luck!

hogradish wrote:Worrying about money is the worst. I hope congress sends out checks sooner rather than later. Every bit helps. Will you be able to see the Aug 21st Live?

I don't have a ticket yet. Thanks for asking!

Yep, it even manifested physically in me as a stomach pain and headaches, I went to a doctor to take care of those and feeling better, but things are not easy.
I was in the fence about the live streaming because it's a bit expensive for me now, thanks to the currency exchange, but screw it, this year is bad enough already I need a little gift (hope I can wake up in time as it will start at 7AM here)

Yes, that sounds like stress alright. I see that Brazil is not having a good time right now. I'm sorry. All you can do is do your best to avoid crowds and all that. It says here the rainy season in Brazil starts in September. Not too far in the future. Maybe it will rinse the air and make things safer. It's good to hope!
Oh, and here in Seattle, the show starts at 3am. You are "lucky".

For me, my anxiety is around 6 or 7. China is clearing up now but we had been in lockdown since January and now it's almost September we still have partial lockdowns in certain places. Things are slowly returning to normal but still, there's a fear that it could spike and we will be in lockdown again.

It really aggrevates my bipolar. We still have to wear face masks and get our temperatures checked everywhere we go and although it's not a problem here, it's still a real threat. I'm not good with being cooped up at home. The sight of fences and barriers during the pandemic made me feel trapped and in turn made me feel more depressed.

Still, I'm healthy and I still have my job. Albiet, teaching online. But I miss my students, I miss my classroom and most of all...I miss my colleagues. We are all foreigners in a Chinese university so you can imagine we have our own little community. We used to have lunch together, hang out together and stop for a chat if we passed on the campus...but now...that's not possible. It's the little things I miss, things we take for granted and I'm quite lonely...it's hard.

So, yes I have COVID anxiety...also I'm sorry for all those guys who lost their jobs. I hope it gets better for you and you can find employment soon.

I'm in telecomunications and, consequently, our work hasn't dropped off at all. I could use a break but to go where? Western Australia is pretty much back to operating as normal but our equivalents over east, especially in Melbourne, are doing it hard. And so there's another planned trip that will have to be torpedoed...

Grateful for the good health and liberties I can still enjoy. Even if (when) a 2nd wave hits us, I'll just tell myself that it could always be worse. Grattitude and mindfulness - and a sense of humour - will get you through just about anything.

I am retired now and not rich but definitely not poor so I am a lot more lucky than some, but having to wear a face mask to go shopping and having to queue outside seems so alien and of course I cannot see my kids or grand children.

But not being able to see SCANDAL in London again in September has upset me the most

COVID has affected my mental and physical health a lot. First of all, I've been having very low blood pressure which is causing insanely fast heartbeat and I can barely sleep at night. I've had more than 3 mental breakdowns and panic attacks, which pushed me to visit psychiatrist and I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, neurosis, derealization and OCD. The fact that I haven't left house for five months and didn't have any social communication basically ruined my health and now it's really hard for me to go outside and talk to people, but I'm trying really hard to work on that. 

I've never been an outgoing person, but this whole quarantine thing made me feel horrible and motivated me, in a way, to become more socially active. I'm too afraid that I might have another panic attack and it stresses me out a lot, so I constantly have to remind myself that I should fight my disorders and push myself outside the boundaries that I've created for myself and that's the only way I can feel alright again.

But then again, I know there are people who struggle in this situation more than me and I just hope that everything gets better for everyone, whether it's losing a job or having mental and physical problems.

Yeah, they put people in solitary confinement to punish them, and here we are, whole countries doing the same thing. Humans really are social creatures it seems. I guess that's why people go to football games and concerts. Being in the crowd, sharing the same experience, the feeling of like tribal unity or something. Like, "Yes, I'm normal, I'm doing human things with other humans. I'm on track."
I'm reminded of the joke where a guy asks this other guy why he's hitting his hand with a hammer, and the guy replies, "'Because it feels so good when I stop".
Just imagine how good it will feel when all this stops. When the lights go on again all over the world.