The Official Coronavirus Discussion

[LaceSensor]

I hate to say it but a lot of people are gonna probably have to start dying for people to start taking this things as serious as they need to.

newsflash, over 30,000 people are already dead

[matmosphere]

I hate to say it but a lot of people are gonna probably have to start dying for people to start taking this things as serious as they need to.

newsflash, over 30,000 people are already dead

Did not mean to sound insensitive there.  I'm well aware to many people have already died. I was making a point about the states specifically. I think a lot of people will have to die here before people in the states take this as serious as they should.

[gordo]

My wife is a nurse and put it in a perspective I hadn't thought of.

The news media has kind of scared me silly. I thought that was a tad irresponsible. She reminded me that if they don't scare people nobody is going to take it seriously. Especially in light of mixed messages that the authorities are floating. The media is walking a fine line between getting people's heads in the game and not getting them to panic.

[matmosphere]

My wife is a nurse and put it in a perspective I hadn't thought of.

The news media has kind of scared me silly. I thought that was a tad irresponsible. She reminded me that if they don't scare people nobody is going to take it seriously. Especially in light of mixed messages that the authorities are floating. The media is walking a fine line between getting people's heads in the game and not getting them to panic.

Gordo, tell your wife we said thank you. I can not fathom how stressful this must be for her right now.

[cooder]

My wife is a nurse and put it in a perspective I hadn't thought of.

The news media has kind of scared me silly. I thought that was a tad irresponsible. She reminded me that if they don't scare people nobody is going to take it seriously. Especially in light of mixed messages that the authorities are floating. The media is walking a fine line between getting people's heads in the game and not getting them to panic.

Gordo, tell your wife we said thank you. I can not fathom how stressful this must be for her right now.

Spot on. My wife is lab scientist working in microbiology at the Nelson Hospital lab. One of the many eyes of the storm. They have split the staff now in two separate teams which don't even see each other. After every shift the lab is disinfected for the next team. They enter the hospital from separate entrances.
So if one team goes 'down' the other is at least still able to work... fingers crossed.

[benny_profane]

My wife is a nurse and put it in a perspective I hadn't thought of.

The news media has kind of scared me silly. I thought that was a tad irresponsible. She reminded me that if they don't scare people nobody is going to take it seriously. Especially in light of mixed messages that the authorities are floating. The media is walking a fine line between getting people's heads in the game and not getting them to panic.

Reposting this from earlier:

Public health in outbreaks/epidemics is always tough. There's always a concern of balancing public information but avoiding panic. Also, ensuring the proportionality of the response is an incredibly difficult task. If the response is inadequate, public health systems and leadership failed to address a threat; if it works or the threat proves to be less serious than that for which the response was designed, they failed by going too far. Both can damage public trust in public health systems. In the moment, no one has the benefit of hindsight. Also, the best outcome(s) with public health interventions and programs are seen by most people as just everyday life. It is difficult to express in times like this that measures are constantly running behind the scenes to ensure health and safety for populations.

"Taking things seriously" is the liminal space between indifference and panic with epidemics or outbreaks. I think that the callous or flippant comparisons to the flu demonstrate this. The flu is an annual epidemic that has a considerable disease burden, incidence, and mortality. COVID-19 being minimized as 'just a flu' was the indifference stage. I think we're now in place where many take it seriously, but substantial numbers are either indifferent or panicking. Official USG communications have been inconsistent and generally poor. I'd suggest getting information from state/local authorities and health authorities (i.e., CDC, NIH, WHO) rather than having the media report it. The primary information is available and contains information without the added spin.

The media are not the public alert system meant to deliver this information, nor are they trained to be able to communicate the information correctly and clearly. A simple re-wording of an answer given during a Q and A session after a briefing can easily change the meaning of a statement. There are official channels and public information is a primary responsibility of public health organizations and institutions.

[alanp]

Every government is in a cleft stick, as far as the worldwide lockdowns go.

If the lockdowns work, and the spread of chinavirus is stopped, people will just say, "But nothing happened! What a waste of time!"

If the lockdowns don't work, and everyone gets the kung flu, people will say, "What on earth was the point of that?!"

I had to explain to someone at work that part of the reason for the lockdown was to spread infections over time, so that the health system was not overloaded.

[dawson]

I took advantage of an opportunity to have physical contact today. It felt amazing.

[EBK]

I'm officially losing my mind, and not in a joking way.  I haven't been the most efficient at work (ok, I've been one of the least efficient in my unit) before this pandemic, due to a lovely trio of adhd, depression, and anxiety, but I've been able to scrape by and even earn bonuses at the end of the year.  Now that I am stuck at home without most of my work resources (a printer, two large monitors, a quiet office, a desk where I could arrange papers containing the most pertinent information for the stuff I was presently working on without having to clean it up nightly), my productivity has dropped to pretty much 0% with no real hope of recovery.  My boss emailed me about this today, and I actually had a panic attack, my whole body becoming instantly drenched with sweat and shaking.  This really really sucks.  (To answer the most important mental health question: no, there is no threat of imminent harm to myself or others.)

[jkokura]

I'm officially losing my mind, and not in a joking way.  I haven't been the most efficient at work (ok, I've been one of the least efficient in my unit) before this pandemic, due to a lovely trio of adhd, depression, and anxiety, but I've been able to scrape by and even earn bonuses at the end of the year.  Now that I am stuck at home without most of my work resources (a printer, two large monitors, a quiet office, a desk where I could arrange papers containing the most pertinent information for the stuff I was presently working on without having to clean it up nightly), my productivity has dropped to pretty much 0% with no real hope of recovery.  My boss emailed me about this today, and I actually had a panic attack, my whole body becoming instantly drenched with sweat and shaking.  This really really sucks.  (To answer the most important mental health question: no, there is no threat of imminent harm to myself or others.)

Need someone to talk to? I am up for an online conversation. Send me an email. jmkpcbs@gmail.com

acob

[matmosphere]

I'm officially losing my mind, and not in a joking way.  I haven't been the most efficient at work (ok, I've been one of the least efficient in my unit) before this pandemic, due to a lovely trio of adhd, depression, and anxiety, but I've been able to scrape by and even earn bonuses at the end of the year.  Now that I am stuck at home without most of my work resources (a printer, two large monitors, a quiet office, a desk where I could arrange papers containing the most pertinent information for the stuff I was presently working on without having to clean it up nightly), my productivity has dropped to pretty much 0% with no real hope of recovery.  My boss emailed me about this today, and I actually had a panic attack, my whole body becoming instantly drenched with sweat and shaking.  This really really sucks.  (To answer the most important mental health question: no, there is no threat of imminent harm to myself or others.)

Hang in there man. Remember, it seems like we're all isolated right now but we will all get through this together. You can absolutely get through this.

You can always order a cheap-o printer from amazon, and if you hit up craigslist or a thrift store you could probably have another monitor for cheap too (but take some choleric wipes). Grab some folders from your kids backpack and use them to organize your papers so you can get them back out easily the next day. Find the things you need to make it work.

Find some way to break up your routine a bit. Do you exercise at all? I speak from experience when I say that it can really help with this type of problem. If nothing else just throw on a pair of shoes, your phone and some headphones and go outside and take a walk. Listen to some good music while you do it. Don't stop until you've reached 10k steps or so (your phone can count it for you) it'll help, I promise. Believe me a couple days of that will pay off exponentially. Exercise can really help with depression.

[cooder]

I'm officially losing my mind, and not in a joking way.  I haven't been the most efficient at work (ok, I've been one of the least efficient in my unit) before this pandemic, due to a lovely trio of adhd, depression, and anxiety, but I've been able to scrape by and even earn bonuses at the end of the year.  Now that I am stuck at home without most of my work resources (a printer, two large monitors, a quiet office, a desk where I could arrange papers containing the most pertinent information for the stuff I was presently working on without having to clean it up nightly), my productivity has dropped to pretty much 0% with no real hope of recovery.  My boss emailed me about this today, and I actually had a panic attack, my whole body becoming instantly drenched with sweat and shaking.  This really really sucks.  (To answer the most important mental health question: no, there is no threat of imminent harm to myself or others.)

Hang in there man. Remember, it seems like we're all isolated right now but we will all get through this together. You can absolutely get through this.

You can always order a cheap-o printer from amazon, and if you hit up craigslist or a thrift store you could probably have another monitor for cheap too (but take some choleric wipes). Grab some folders from your kids backpack and use them to organize your papers so you can get them back out easily the next day. Find the things you need to make it work.

Find some way to break up your routine a bit. Do you exercise at all? I speak from experience when I say that it can really help with this type of problem. If nothing else just throw on a pair of shoes, your phone and some headphones and go outside and take a walk. Listen to some good music while you do it. Don't stop until you've reached 10k steps or so (your phone can count it for you) it'll help, I promise. Believe me a couple days of that will pay off exponentially. Exercise can really help with depression.

Yes that's real tough and I can only agree to Matmosphere's comments of excercise (and walks!) and then also of course good on you for speaking out and reaching out! Do that whereever it feels anywhere near good.

[madbean]

Need someone to talk to? I am up for an online conversation. Send me an email. jmkpcbs@gmail.com

acob

I'll echo "acob's" comment. If anyone feels themselves in the trough of depression or despair we are here. Don't wanna talk in public? Lotsa ways to communicate in private. You just have to reach out.

I had a bit of a downturn a few days ago myself but came out of it pretty quick, thankfully. Actually, I had two or three days where I just was tired all the time. Could not keep my eyes open, I was taking daytime naps, had no motivation, etc. I thought, "welp, I'm either getting depressed or sick and neither is a good thing right now".

Turns out I accidentally bought decaf at the previous store run. True story. I switched back to regular and felt fine the next day, haha. Point is, sometimes it takes very little to put the rail car back on the tracks.

[Aentons]

I'm officially losing my mind, and not in a joking way.  I haven't been the most efficient at work (ok, I've been one of the least efficient in my unit) before this pandemic, due to a lovely trio of adhd, depression, and anxiety, but I've been able to scrape by and even earn bonuses at the end of the year.  Now that I am stuck at home without most of my work resources (a printer, two large monitors, a quiet office, a desk where I could arrange papers containing the most pertinent information for the stuff I was presently working on without having to clean it up nightly), my productivity has dropped to pretty much 0% with no real hope of recovery.  My boss emailed me about this today, and I actually had a panic attack, my whole body becoming instantly drenched with sweat and shaking.  This really really sucks.  (To answer the most important mental health question: no, there is no threat of imminent harm to myself or others.)

Try to keep your mind on the bright side of the situation. Things change and that's ok. I used to work from an office and saw the value in having all those resources around you, but I've been working from home for about 4 years and I don't think I could ever go back to working in an office. Take a look around and find the perks in the situation. For instance, I play guitar when I'm on mute during calls. I do have a dedicated office (which also happens to be the music room), but I'll sometimes drive somewhere with my laptop and just sit in the car and listen to music while working. I can turn off at any point if I feel like it and don't have to worry about anyone breathing down my neck or trying to see what I'm up to. Working from home is great.

[EBK]

One of the reasons I felt free to share what I am going through personally is because I know this community genuinely cares about its members.  So, thank you everyone, for being here and listening.

I just got done writing a long email to my boss, explaining that I was writing it in a panic, so it would be conveying a lot and also not enough to fully explain the situation (I would be absolutely unable to say it over the phone or in person, and saying it imperfectly was better than hoping I could make the problems go away).  I hate the thought of self-medicating with alcohol, but a beer after sending that did actually help. 

I have no idea what will happen next, but I will find order among chaos where it allows itself to be seen.  At the encouragement of my wife, I have occasionally taken some walks outside by myself to get fresh air and sunshine.  We live right next to a cluster of what must be a dozen cemataries.  It is a peaceful place to walk without being near potentially-infected people.  It is not much as far as exercise goes, but as my primary doctor would say, we don't make rules saying certain forms of exercise shouldn't count as exercise.

(I can't think of a clever way to end this post, so I will end with an unpaired parenthesis to let everyone know I'm not finished yet.