Space. I need my space. I need space to unwind, to educate my children, to do my work, to support my family, to make space for connections of loved ones. My space has gone from the world to my home. It is constricting, overwhelming, frustrating, scary, fun, new and so much more. There is no normal. The days blend, the hours blend. It could be worse. It is worse for so many others. How can I help but still be true to myself, family and networks? My family needs space.How did we get here?
Gender: Female
Stress
Its impacted my life alot. I work from home now. I fear for my childrens and my health everyday. I fear our residents and employees will be affected in a negative way. A lot of stress
Rapid Changes
The corona virus has changed my method of teaching to remote, from home. I miss all of my students, but was able to meet with one third of my class this morning on Google Meet. My two college-aged daughters had to move out of their sorority house and dorm to come home and do online courses through the summer. Things have certainly changed overnight!
To be human together
Ive been impacted by anxiety since childhood. When I was young, I felt a lot of shame about not being able to tell my brain to stop worrying (as well meaning adults suggested). When my two older children were in their early teens, they were both diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition that runs in both sides of my family. Although I had already worked on my anxiety in therapy, my childrens diagnoses motivated me to deepen my research, and do whatever I could to learn to manage my mental health and theirs. When their doctor wrote mindfulness meditation on a prescription pad and suggested it for all of us, I took it to heart. My children and I became vocal mental health advocates, and I trained in trauma-informed yoga and meditation to help others learn a skill which had helped me and my children. I went to work for non-profits focused on mental health and trauma, both as a yoga/meditation teacher and a mental health peer specialist. When people ask me what I do for work, I summarize it by saying I help both adults and children with big feelings by sharing my own experiences and tools that have helped me. Now with COVID-19, I cant interact with the people I serve face to face. Individual meetings have been replaced with phone calls. Classes have been replaced with YouTube videos and live video-conferencing. I am adapting everyday, as are the people I serve. It isnt easy, but Ive noticed a resilience coming to the surface. Ive noticed that skills that Ive developed over many years to manage my general anxiety (and trauma) are also helping me to manage this situational anxiety. I see the same in my children, my friends who identify as being in recovery from mental health conditions, and in many of the people I serve. It isnt universal. Others are really struggling. Seniors in isolation share their fears with me, and they are real and heavy. We practice breathing and grounding together (which is different on the phone but not impossible). We talk about gratitude and hope. We do what we did before, which was to be vulnerable, to sit with big feelings, empathize and acknowledge suffering. To be human together.
Multiple-family social distancing
When we first heard about social distancing it sounded overwhelming to think that we would be away from extended family and friends for an undetermined length of time. A good friend and I decided that we would combine our families and social distance together. We made a commitment that we would not expose ourselves or our families to other people outside of our 10 person combined family. This has afforded us the opportunity to have the children play together, go to each other’s houses for a break, get some work done when necessary and have social interaction with people other than the 5 immediate family members living in my house. We had to cancel our spring break plans and then this past week we decided we would go to explore nature with our social distancing family. We have spent the last week tubing and letting the boys be boys. It has turned a stressful time into some of our favorite family memories.
I am going through, moving forward, and discovery new activities.
I have not been able to participate in several of my favorite activities, swimming, Zumba Yoga and walking in the park. But I am encouraged , I read more, clean out my closets, (I am gathering things that I don’t need or want, and I am looking forward to getting them out of my space.) I am journaling, and I crotchet and I reach out to family and friends and friends who are family more frequently. (I text, call and/or email.) I spend quality listening to music.
Budding friendships
My two year old son was really enjoying school and playing with our neighbors outside. He was just starting to play with others and enjoy people’s company. Now, we have to tell him ‘no’ when he sees them playing next door. He wants desperately to join them and it feels awful to deny him that socialization! We’ve tried to play in our backyard while they play in the front. He can still see them through the fence, but we keep a good distance away.
A Not-So Gentle Reminder to Slow Down and Connect
I feel like I should be more concerned about the Corona Virus but I can’t help but feel a certain sense of calm around the whole situation. Maybe it is the connectedness – everyone is in it together and thinking of neighbors and loves ones. Because we are limited in where we can go, our home is filled with family time. Board games, pool time, and yoga have dominated the past weeks. When I walk my dog, everyone says hello now – or at least respond to me when I say hello (which I normally do). The sense of Unity that we are together in all of this is a feeling I enjoy – reminds me of a holiday – like the week before Christmas. Schedules are different and everyone is on a different, more thoughtful, mindset. Although it is an awful, tragedy of global proportions, I can’t help but enjoy the energy around me. Everyone is just on a slower pace, more mindful, more compassionate and looking to nature and simple activities to fill their days. If it weren’t so awful, its actually kind of nice.
#togetherwecandividedwefall
My 92 year old father lives with me full time. His daily routine includes exercising in our community pool at the building where we reside. Unfortunately, there are people coming down to Florida on vacation to escape the pandemic up north or for what reason, I am not sure. But what they are failing to realize is they are putting our elderly and compromised at risk. They are not self quarantined. I have been quarantined for several weeks as I have a responsibility to my father and to the other compromised individuals who live in my building to keep them safe. Together we can, divided we fall. It’s disheartening that people are not learning that right now. Secondly, how important is food security right now? How important is it to teach people to grow their own food at their homes right now and if they don’t have a place to grow food, having a community garden where they can get fresh produce and fruit. How important is it to be able to feed people fresh produce from an accessible green space? It is relevant now, more than ever. Now is the time to provide people who are at home with the knowledge and supplies to be able to grow their own food and if they don’t have a home to grow their food, providing a space where they can grow their own food and learn from those who can teach them! Losing resources at any time is difficult but now, when people do need access to fresh produce and tools to help them manage their stress, it is incredibly difficult. And for me, personally, I am three classes away from completing the Mindfulness Training Course and without the tools provided to me through this class, I am not sure how I would be able to manage my own stress and be able to keep my father safe and our staff feeling secure. I am personally grateful for the knowledge our educators provide and am hopeful that we will reach more people and spread this knowledge that does feel so relevant and important during this crisis.
Family Forst
My boyfriend just moved to Florida and was excited to find a job. But cant find any openings. My sister works as a waitress. She lost her job as they closed. I am very fortunate to still have a job and am fortunate I can help them through this time, whether that is buying fresh veggies or paying for rent this month.