For those who are doing OK, what is one thing you think has helped?

[Rally Gorilla]

I've seen a few posts now from people who are not doing so great emotionally these days.    My heart goes out to them.  I've shared that my family has been getting up at a set time each day and going for a long walk.    We've been doing this for a few weeks now and it seems to be really helping to get some exercise and sun.   Just as importantly, it gives us some structure.    A reason to not stay up all night.   A reason to not wear pajamas all day.   A reason to keep up appearances.     A reason to take a break from screens.  I'm basically getting fanatical about making sure it happens.   Luckily, the rest of the fam is on board.

Is anyone else doing a certain thing that seems to help them be ok these days?

[DCAngelsFan]

Personally, I'm kind of used to working at home, so guess I'm better equipped than some extroverts to deal with this.   But on the other hand, I always had lots of outside activities to compensate for being alone all day - and that's been shut down.  

The problem is many of our existing structures and habits don't work anymore - our routines are upset.  And many of us feel a kind of ennui because we're used to going/doing all the time - and can't do that right now.  Those upsets can cause depression.  Personally, I miss my gym routine - with no equipment, I can't replicate much of it here.  And the classes I went to were a kind of social thing, too - never realized how much 10 minutes of chatting with 'gym-friends' meant to me.

But exercise, fresh air, sun are all good things - do that every day.  (Seriously - a lot of us will become vitamin d deficient - that's not good, at all - may want to supplement that.) 

Routines and structure help, too.  Comfort eating isn't good in the long run.   I find a certain zen pleasure in planting some vegetables and herbs, getting a garden going, and baking sourdough bread and the like (wish I'd had the foresight to get some home brewing supplies.)    

There are many organic communities that have sprung up over zoom to do things like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, church services, etc - some people are finding some comfort in these if only to talk to and see people.  Heck, you could hold a virtual baseball happy hour or what have you.  People *miss* that interaction.  Ben Gibbard had been doing a daily 1-hour home concert from his home - take advantage of stuff like that.  Oh, and turn off the damn news  once in awhile.  

I think it's also helpful to not stress over what you're not doing - I know some asshole is gonna tell us how they finished their PhD in quantum physics and learned 3 new languages while locked-in - not gonna feel guilty about stuff I haven't done or won't do.

This will pass.    Make sure you're here to enjoy the other side.

 

[nate]

[Brandon]

A reason to have more spaces to start sentences than @angelinkc

[Rally Gorilla]

1 hour ago, nate said:

This reminds me of the old Twilight Zone episode where a guy agreed to live in complete isolation for a year on a bet.    His friend would pass him whatever he wanted through a revolving door device, but there was no human interaction.    Initially, the guy just got completely hammered all day.    

[failos]

Watching old games while lighting a doobie. Video games too

[Justin]

Yep, same. I have eschewed the treadmill in my garage in favor of rucking (something I did frequently years ago but stopped for some reason I cannot remember). I put on a 20-40 pound pack and walk 2-4 miles, depending on how I'm feeling. For me, it is impossible to feel anxiety or depression when in nature. 

Also, while I have always loved cooking, of late I have been creating recipes instead of just the same old "bacon cheeseburger" or what have you. (Next up: bison empanadas with red wine barbecue sauce.) 

[Adam]

1. Coffee

2. Energy Drinks

3. @red321's return to the spin board

4. daily trips to the store

[ettin]

32 minutes ago, SoPas Angel said:

Yep, same. I have eschewed the treadmill in my garage in favor of rucking (something I did frequently years ago but stopped for some reason I cannot remember). I put on a 20-40 pound pack and walk 2-4 miles, depending on how I'm feeling. For me, it is impossible to feel anxiety or depression when in nature. 

Also, while I have always loved cooking, of late I have been creating recipes instead of just the same old "bacon cheeseburger" or what have you. (Next up: bison empanadas with red wine barbecue sauce.) 

Oh invite me! Invite me!

 

Wait....

 

Goddamit Coronavirus!!!!

[red321]

10 minutes ago, Adam said:

1. Coffee

2. Energy Drinks

3. @red321's return to the spin board

4. daily trips to the store

laugh...just that one thread

 

Let's see, so far we've been eating a helluva lot better, when you have to plan out your meals, don't eat out, and shopping is a hassle...it's easier to plan. So, I've lost 10+ lbs. Set up an exercise routine every day.

Some other items

1. Focusing on hobbies

2. Wife bought an xbox one...so woohoo...Star Wars Fallen Order

3. Dogs are happy as hell, the humans are always around and lots of walks

4. Side project helping father in law get his martial arts business set up online, giving me a distraction from things like the news

5. Was already working from home, so no real change there

[floplag]

Im one of the lucky ones, this really hasnt uprooted my norms.  I generally telecommute, play a lot of online games, and my regular bike rides were generally solo runs anyway so, its pretty much life as usual for me. 
For me its the litle things, simple pleasures, going out to dinner with the wife, visiting friends, but my family is largely already distributed so we were used to using a lot of facetime.
Im certain for some this is much harder... whether we agree about baseball or not if anyone needs a chat to feel normal, let me know 

[red321]

oh, but one of my bigger fucking nitpicks about this whole thing...hands are a dried out mess from all this hand washing

[kevinb]

Not staring at the news constantly has helped me a lot. I look at the news once or twice a day. If I read stuff every 15 minutes from the media/news media I think my brain would combust. Theres always some new this prediction or that, and I just can't. Another thing that has helped has been trying to stay preoccupied, whether with work, read, video game, run, clean etc. Both of which have contributed to me not completely losing my mind. 

[nate]

Aside from Scotch

1. Cleaning and re-organizing the basement, garage and shed
2. Hobbies - rebuild and tuneup my 3d printer, writing custom firmware
3. Yelling at squirrels and threatening to shoot them with my pellet gun for eating from the bird feeder
4. Filling the same hole I filled yesterday that my Husky keeps digging in the front yard
5. Automating Minecraft server creation because my Daughter and her friends want another server daily during this quarantine
6. Watching stuff I haven't gotten around to yet like 1917, The Boys, The Mandelorian and The Good Place

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

1. Running - 3-4 miles 6 days a week and walking on the day I don't run.  Great weather is one of the benefits of SoCal but it's been even more beneficial at times like this.
2. Reading - I look at a computer screen all day during the week for work and can only watch so much TV.  Reading in a hammock in the backyard is a nice reprieve from being stuck inside.
3. Cleaning/organizing - I've done a bit of this and my plan is to do more of it this next week particularly shredding old stuff I filed away that I no longer need

Bought some games for PS3 6+ months ago that I'm going to get into this week.  I may also look to buy some dumbbells so I can do some weight lifting at home but most places have been completely picked over as far as exercise at home stuff goes.  Could order online but by the time anything non-essential arrives via amazon it's projected towards the end of April and I'm hoping in May some of the stay in place orders ease up and I can start going back to my classes.  I don't count on it happening right away so that's why I'd like to find some weights.  There's some adjustable ones online but I don't want to drop $300+ for something I won't use  much once things get back to normal.   

[Chuck]

7 minutes ago, nate said:

Aside from Scotch, Bourbon, Vodka, Red Wine and some Craft Beer

My work has been extremely busy, so I'm actually working a full 8 hour day throughout the entire day. 

I've utilized my home gym even more than before now that I'm full-time WFH. I have also found that doing air squats throughout the day or doing some dumb bell work for forearms, biceps or triceps help with the bloodflow during your work day to keep you active and focused. 

I make sure to shower in the morning, get dressed like I'm going to work. 

I walk the dog 2-3 times throughout the day, even if it's just for 5 minutes to get outside in addition to my 30-45 minute walks a piece in the morning and then in the evening. Archie loves me being home 24/7

I've been playing OOTP 2021 in my spare time and I'm enjoying it. 

Been cooking like a kitchen ninja. Creating new recipes and following others. I found that I'm eating WAAAAY more than usual, but that's OK since I'm working out more. I just love to cook TBH.

I'm hosting a virtual happy (going on week 3) with my good friends and family every Friday. We had @Brian Ilten on with us last Friday and we did music trivia. I also use my Zoom account to connect with my kids and cousins in New York/Las Vegas and my sisters abroad. This has been great! 

Like others, I've limited myself to one hour of news a day on television. Maybe about 30 minutes of online news. But Tucker Carlson is my go to pm tv. 

Also like others, I've been utilizing my Netflix, Amazon, Disney +, HBO Go, YouTube TV and other streaming services for entertainment. I just started season 5 of Better Call Saul on YouTube TV. 

Lastly I spend my time checking in here throughout the day like you all. Thank you for being loyal members/readers guys. 

[Justin]

30 minutes ago, red321 said:

oh, but one of my bigger fucking nitpicks about this whole thing...hands are a dried out mess from all this hand washing

Trader Joe's Ultra-Hydrating Gel Moisturizer. It's a quarter of the price of comparable stuff and works wonders. (For several years I lived with a woman who worked in fashion and wrote reviews of similar products, so I have way more knowledge of these types of things than I probably should.)

[Jeff Fletcher]

27 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

Not staring at the news constantly has helped me a lot. I look at the news once or twice a day. If I read stuff every 15 minutes from the media/news media I think my brain would combust. Theres always some new this prediction or that, and I just can't. Another thing that has helped has been trying to stay preoccupied, whether with work, read, video game, run, clean etc. Both of which have contributed to me not completely losing my mind. 

I figured this one early. You just can't keep reading the doomsday scenarios. Once you get to the point where you realize it's a serious thing and you need to take all the precautions they say, there's not much else you can do, so there's not much benefit in constantly reading the horror stories. Mental health is important.

I also am trying to RT whenever I read encouraging news, like about scientific advances that give hope. I want to give equal time to that stuff.

If you think about it, there is probably the most brainpower in the history of the earth concurrently working to address one problem. That's my reason for hope.

[LetsGoHalos]

I think there was a pretty good thing posted by a comedian (Andrew Schulz) where he talked about using this time to be creative.

If you have the time, learn to do something you've wanted to do whether that be playing an instrument or just a song you enjoy, write a short story, create a podcast. There's plenty of things out there to put our time and attention to instead of just bringing down our mental health with the negativity in the world.

[Blarg]

44 minutes ago, red321 said:

oh, but one of my bigger fucking nitpicks about this whole thing...hands are a dried out mess from all this hand washing

The one thing that hasn't been hoarded at the stores is hand lotion. Eventually people will come around to moisturizing like Bill Burr did and that too will become a scare commodity.

 

[Stradling]

I think this week I will be able to work around 60 hours instead of the 70 plus of the last few weeks.  

What has helped would be to get away, even if it is just a take out lunch that my wife and I eat in the parking lot of a local food place.

Taking the grand daughter into the back yard and letting her run around.  Taking her for walks around the neighborhood.  

Communicating at a higher level at work, to help people feel trusted and empower them to make decisions. 

Just coming to grips with having to reschedule the trips I had planned, which is hard because I am the type that needs to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  

[Blarg]

42 minutes ago, nate said:

Aside from Scotch

1. Cleaning and re-organizing the basement, garage and shed
2. Hobbies - rebuild and tuneup my 3d printer, writing custom firmware
3. Yelling at squirrels and threatening to shoot them with my pellet gun for eating from the bird feeder
4. Filling the same hole I filled yesterday that my Husky keeps digging in the front yard
5. Automating Minecraft server creation because my Daughter and her friends want another server daily during this quarantine
6. Watching stuff I haven't gotten around to yet like 1917, The Boys, The Mandelorian and The Good Place

Time for that fun, cheap, project car.

[Blarg]

23 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I figured this one early. You just can't keep reading the doomsday scenarios.

So avoid any Angelswin pitching threads. Solid advice. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

22 minutes ago, Blarg said:

So avoid any Angelswin pitching threads. Solid advice. 

 

[Tank]

biggest change has been converting schoolwork from physical handouts to google docs. not really looking forward to grading things online but that might be easier than i fear. will start doing that later this week.

been taking walks again. got injections in both knees last week so i have more comfort walking and the arthritis hurts a lot less. preparing to have knee replacement surgery in june, but everything that's not a life-saving surgery is on hold for the time being.

have also started using my total gym more. 

best thing was setting up a golf driving range in my backyard. bought a reasonably priced net and hitting mat from amazon and have a chance to play some golf in my yard.