COVID-19 is kicking my butt...

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I need somewhere to vent my frustration and feelings...

When I got my noise-cancelling headphones I thought me being stuck in the house doing nothing but watching TV or YouTube and playing video games to cover the pain would be over. Then COVID hit and now I'm back where I started from when I didn't have the headphones: depressed, stuck in the house, and bored all the time...basically no life.

I finally got my freedom and then got it taken away from me right when I got it. My anxiety goes up going places cause some people aren't as cautious when it comes to COVID and I fear getting sick(and getting my family sick as well since I still live with them).

This pandemic is slowly sucking the life out of me and I don't know what to do...

I've tried my social group but, it's making me feel worse cause it's people I could be talking to in person if it weren't for the virus, making friends is almost impossible cause there aren't many places to hangout, I have trouble just taking walks or riding a bike with no actual destination in mind, I'm starting to have trouble with wanting to eat and drink and I can't keep a regularly scheduled bedtime. I feel like this pandemic is slowly killing me.

TLDR: I feel stuck in my life right now and my mind and body feel like it's slowly deteriorating.

I feel your pain bro. I just posted a similar topic on the haven earlier today.

It’s kicking my butt, too.

Even though I’m lucky I haven’t lost my job, and I have the antibodies after contracting COVID early on.

I bet you two can benefit from each other by talking to each other.

About your social group, you guys just meet over zoom like, once a week, right?

We meet on an app called Lifesize. The staff actually do it Monday-Thursday, I just haven't been attending cause well like I said, it feels depressing to talk to people you could meet in person(some would probably think I'm being a hypochondriac).

But besides that for me it's more about being stuck back in the house and having nowhere to go when I just got out of that situation.

Really sorry to hear that. It's causing some trouble for me too, but the problems I get from it seem rather small compared to yours. Let's hope that things will calm down soon. Try to stay healthy.

I understand how you feel. It's been very hard. For me things have been feeling pointless and hopeless. I wish I were more like my cats, because they are blissfully unaware of the pandemic.

It's especially hard when you're being appropriately cautious but others in your area aren't, which then prolongs how long you're shut in.

Doing research is an excellent hobby.

f**k COVID.

Hi AquaineBay

I hear where you are coming from, I feel for you. A few key things I think are important.

1. it's absolutely Ok to vent, not just here, but to your friends as well. I don't know culturally what the situation is in other contexts but in Ireland, there is a very large tendency for people to give formulaic responses i.e. "How are you getting on?" "Ah you know yourself, grand all things considered, sure aren't we all in the same boat."

I think this type of interaction is death. If someone asks you how you're getting on and if you think this is formulaic, be honest. I've said "I'm doing s**t, I hate Covid, I'm doing f**k all, I haven't seen my friends in months and I'm pissed off."

More often than not, the response received is "Oh thank God" and that person vents as well. I think because Covid is a universal problem, people think that they cannot complain because everyone is also dealing with it, but we are all repressing that frustration. Gauge the situation but don't be afraid to let it out and be honest, you'll be surprised, the other person could be feeling the same and may be relieved that they don't have to maintain the facade.

2. Easier said than done but if you can't necessarily find the hobby of activity which you can point to say "Oh that will stand the test of time" or "That's productive and a worthwhile use of time", or if you have but you can't necessarily face into it that day, I ask that you try not to punish yourself for doing something you enjoy which you may count as frivolous. If you find something that you are happy that you enjoy that passes the time e.g. reading, movies etc, don't put the pressure on yourself that you "need" to be doing something more productive, this is a global crisis that is impacting everyone's wellbeing, including you, give yourself a break.

3. On your interests - please do read "Thinking, fast and slow" by Daniel Kahneman, fantastic book. A number of podcasts out there as well, good one for your interest may be "Freakonomics" and "Radiolab". On food, I don't even really cook but I follow the likes of "Tasty", "Binging with Babish" both for the food but also the personalities . Given your interests, I would maybe recommend philosophy, you will either love it or hate it but if it's something you love, then it will stand to you to read up on it, no time wasted becoming versed in it. On music, sorry I can't be of any help, my music taste screeched to a halt with Kerrang in 2005.

4. If you cannot have deep social interaction, I'm finding it useful to have broad social interaction. Ireland is pretty f**ked at the moment with Covid and we are facing into total lockdown. I find that if I cannot have face to face meetings with my very close friends, it's useful to have shallower but more multiples interactions with multiple sources e.g. Whatsapp groups, texts, phone calls, writing on WP (tbh I don't think I would have come onto WP without Covid). You may find that if you cast the net wide, one or two of those social interactions may go deeper and become more real rather than shallow (refer to point 1 above about honest responses and people dropping facade).

I really hope you do OK mate.

Please know that your honesty about your feelings and situation is not only good for you to vent some of your emotional pressure, but helps those of us with similar situations and feelings.
It helps me to know that others are scared and lonely and angry.
I feel the same.