Follow
Share

I am trying to be a good citizen and have hunkered down with DH for the last 2,000 days (maybe it just seems that long). I wear a mask if I go anywhere and really limit shopping or errands. So, although I am not perfect, I'm definitely trying!


My problem is--I can 'fake' it during the days. I make goodies every week and take them around the neighbrohood, I made cloth masks for everyone who asked.. I made 100 medical grade masks in a huge group effort to get more of them into the system...people actually look to me as a voice of reason...BUT


I am a mess. I go to bed, have a hard time falling asleep and then BAM, almost every night I wake up in full heart pounding panic attacks. Last night it went on for over 2 hours. Since my chemo last year I am more prone to these, one of the lovelier side effects that doesn't appear to be disappating.


I got up, prayed, walked around, tried all the things I usually do to quell a panic attack and finally, at about 5 pm, it calmed down enough that I could sleep.


I DO take a benzodiazepene for anxiety, but there are only X many I can have per month and the worry I will run out before the end of the month adds to my anxiety. I ended up taking 3 mgs last night--and that didn't STOP the atack, just kind of zoned me out.


Has anybody else just felt this sense of, well, not doom, because I know we're going to come out of this sooner rather than later--I don't know how to describe it---like a huge black cloud has settled over my soul. Maybe I should talk to someone about this (I also have a therapist that will do online visits-but I'm not sure that would be the same as being in her office.


I guess I need to know I am not alone--My Dh pretty much ignores me and does what he wants/needs to do. Most days he's not out of bed before noon. The WFH thing hasn't been to good for him, he NEEDS to be on site. I'm not used to having him home, so we're trying to work through that.


I guess I just need some words of support. I am not afraid of catching this, but I respect the rules.


I'm just sick, sick, sick---just got over chemo for cancer and this hits--I guess I just want some normalcy after a year of 'not normal'.


Many of you will relate to this: what are you doing to quell the anxiety?

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
I'm not proud to say this, but I am consuming rather large quantities of alcohol.

I take melatonin at night which helps me sleep. I am currently involved in a community fundraising project which gives me some focus.

We had Zoom services this morning at my synagogue. That helped some.

((((((Hugs)))))))).
Helpful Answer (9)
Report
AnnReid Apr 2020
I am imbibing a bit too, but my beverage of choice is Sardinian wine, which is said to be VERY GOOD FOR YOU. We all gotta treat ourselves right, RIGHT?
(4)
Report
See 1 more reply
Mally I agree with many of the points you make about the drawbacks of the international response to date; it's a dreadful time for farmers, and horticulturists too; and I see firsthand what suffering is caused by restrictions on access to routine primary medical care. But there has been very little time for us (societies collectively, I mean) to develop a strategy and gain perspective on how best and most effectively to organise ourselves. So little time! - it is only a few weeks. We are figuring out better, more proportionate, less damaging, and more effective ways. This will improve, fast, and the end of the world is not nigh.

I do not for a nanosecond believe in the sinister governmental plot theory. Though I will admit I've got no problem at all with the serious disruption there has been to the "county lines" illicit drug trade in this country: it's been impossibly difficult for dealers to send 10-14 year olds out from the cities by train to our little towns and villages, because those children stick out like sore thumbs and can't even claim to be visiting their grannies.

I don't know if this will make you laugh or not (I laughed like a drain, I'm afraid) but the Man Who Did The Modelling, the epidemiologist from Imperial who's responsible for our being cooped up like battery hens, had to resign the other day. Apparently he and his married lady friend could not bear the separation any longer and were caught in flagrante by the press when she visited his house for the second time. There you are, you see - love will find a way!
Helpful Answer (7)
Report
Midkid58 May 2020
Oh, that's RICH!
(1)
Report
This brings up a very good point. This eternal shutdown has a cost, not just economic but to peoples physical and mental health. Things had to be shut down for a while until we got our hands around this, but people were not designed to live this way long term.

Society should open up more, with precautions like distancing, not shaking hands, wearing masks etc but there is no free lunch. This is beginning to cause more pain than the virus itself.
Helpful Answer (5)
Report

Taking magnesium and zinc nightly helps tremendously.

Combined, they help your body produce melatonin, magnesium is the mineral that is important for our nervous system, among many other things. Zinc is good for the immune system and supports other bodily functions.

I wonder if you are not deficient in some vitamins and minerals because of the chemo.

I always try the natural solution when something gets wonky.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report
Tothill Apr 2020
Magnesium is not ok for everyone. I know it is a necessary mineral, but it is also very important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking it.

Speaking from personal experience.
(2)
Report
See 1 more reply
MidKid, does music soothe you? If so, try that; it works wonders for me, as does reading gardening magazines or fast paced novels. Small housing projects help as well; just cleaning out an area can refocus the mind, which I think is the basis of avoiding and controlling anxiety.

Do you dance, or work out? Tai Chi is relaxing, good for the body, but not demanding or potentially dangerous like going to a gym.

Are you eating any foods that might aggravate anxiety? Do you eat something like turkey with tryptophan at night to help you sleep? Don't drink coffee in the evening?

I won't deny that I often have sleepless nights, so I try to dream of my garden and the elaborate plans I have for it but probably won't ever be able to accomplish. Planning is a good diversion.

When my sister was dying of cancer, we both had sleepless nights, so we played CDs of specifically calming music, such as waves lapping on a shore. Later I used those as well as harp music to calm me before I went to bed.

Or I think about how much worse it could be. Gov. Cuomo made some good points today, citing the duration of WWI, WWII, the Spanish Flu and Great Depression. He pointed out that this pandemic in the US, has only last 56 days so far. (I think he was referring only to NY though as it's just beginning to affect some states.)

I often remember my father's tales of standing for hours in bread lines, in cold weather, or my mother tale's of being cold b/c they had no coal to heat the house.

Perhaps because we haven't experienced anything like this in our generation, we're also not experienced in coping, and I won't deny that it is frightening. I sometimes wonder how long I'll be here if I become infected. That motivates me to inventory my possessions and decide who I want to have them, as well as to start big cleanup projects. (I wouldn't want my heirs to see all the accumulated fabric and yarn, quilting, knitting and crochet magazines and books I have!)
Helpful Answer (4)
Report
jacobsonbob Apr 2020
GA, I enjoyed reading in the first paragraph how you really live up to your name!
(0)
Report
(Laughing) I don't drink alcohol and I don't drink coffee. If I drank, I know it would be to an excess and that's not helping anyone.

I am completely obeying the orders for our state. we have a very small # of cases and very few deaths--and I believe all were older, ill people.

I understand the 'math' and I do not listen to Dr Fauci at all--I think he's enjoying his time in the spotlight, but he's just terrifying us all.

I laid down to rest after delivering the masks and hitting the grocery store. Konked out for 3 solid hours. I'm up now, but feel like I could just go to bed, for the night.

Having my DH home all the time is really hard. He's messy and loud and is not the least bit sympathetic (not shocking to know, this is definitely just as hard to be quarantined with as I had thought).

I think I am just going through something--probably doing way too much to keep myself distracted. And I am still heaing from chemo, so I don't know what it chemo 'leaving' and just being anxious.

Appreciate the comments and will try some meditation pocasts my daughter swears by!
Helpful Answer (4)
Report
Tothill Apr 2020
Midkid, I went through an ugly separation and divorce 6 years ago. During that time I had anxiety attacks, I had never had one before and did not know what was happening to me.

I got an Rx for Ativan and learned that I had to take it as soon as I felt like things were ramping up. Someone had put the fear of addiction in me and I was waiting too long to take the medication.

I called our Provincial Crisis Line several times. Some of those calls were an hour or more, but it gave me a lifeline.

I had months of intensive therapy.

People tried to push meditation on me, but it caused me more frustration.

What eventually worked was the Ocean. Being near the Ocean has always been the place that soothed my soul. I would take the dog at the crack of dawn and watch the sunrise at the beach. I would walk until the sun was high in the sky.

All my senses were soothed, the smell of the salt water and seaweed, the feel of a breeze and sea spray, the sound of the waves, birds and the wind, the rhythmic sight of the waves, the birds in the sky and the sun rising into the sky and yes, even taste, I would pick berries along the shore.

I read a post on Facebook the other day that really resonated with me. It was refuting the comment that we are all in the same boat with Covid-19. It went on to say we are each in our own boat, that has different provisions in the same storm. I was doing ok, until my son was called back to work. Now I am alone with the critters and struggling to accomplish the most basic task.

Just as you came through your cancer treatment, you will come through this, but it is not easy.
(1)
Report
Yes yes yes! I get scared and my heart pounds and I have trouble breathing and want to go hide under the bed. I am the caretaker for my elderly mother and am fearful of getting sick because of her. I scared about getting sick period.

I am single and retired, Moms in a nursing home. Stressing about making choices for her is adding to all the virus stress. I visit her almost daily. We sit by her window and talk on the phone. Being calm and understanding with her dementia is getting more difficult and I want to go home and scream.

I am dealing with the panic by keeping active, walking daily. I have been keeping up with my exercise classes, tuning into live/virtual sessions. I attend a Zoom yoga class and can see and interact with the instructor and other students. I bought a math text book and am working my way through elementary to high school math, never my best subject!

I have found sheep and goat videos to play in the background, silly but calming. I only check email once a day, and stay away from social media, and limit watching the news.

Most important for me is stepping back from the daily deluge of bad news and looking at a wider picture. The world has lived through much worse epidemics. Plague killed 25-30% of the people in Europe in the Middle Ages, Corvid is about 1%. The stock market is holding fairly steady, Warren Buffet is positive about the future. Houses are selling, babies are being born, the earth keeps turning, the sun will come up tomorrow.

As I sit here typing I can feel the tension building in my chest so it’s time to go do something to take my mind off my worries.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

Many of the people you don't think are "good" and "aware", are much more aware than you are onlyonethereis.... Yes, the virus is very catching, and it kills people. That is not why the world has come to a stop; THAT is because people at the top grabbed the "crisis" and instead of having elders, people at risk, and those who were afraid stay home, wear gloves and masks, and social distance, they had EVERYONE do it! From time immemorial those who were sick were quarantined, NOT all the rest of society. Not only that, but no one has been able to prove if masks and gloves, or even social distancing, really do help much. So certain people just decided to decide for all the rest of us what life would be like going forward, and now look at the results! Starvation in some countries, people unable to pay bills, being depressed and suicidal, domestic abuse skyrocketing from too much togetherness, just like we have been talking about on this site. The food chain has gone crazy, with farmers and ranchers having to kill livestock for no reason, and just bury them - millions of them. People can no longer afford their pets, their equines, who are going to kill; I see that happening here. So, many people see all this and realize that this virus, among all the other severe illnesses in the world that have been happening for many years, has been used to CONTROL all of us, in a way none of us could even have imagined. A war and foreign troops didn't do it - it was just a VIRUS! That's why so many people don't wear the (probably useless) masks/gloves, and kick against staying home, and social distancing - they can see the whole picture.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report
movingforward19 May 2020
"THAT is because people at the top grabbed the "crisis" and instead of having elders, people at risk, and those who were afraid stay home, wear gloves and masks, and social distance, they had EVERYONE do it! From time immemorial those who were sick were quarantined, NOT all the rest of society. "

This is not true. There are many examples of quaratine - The Plague and Spanish Flu are perfect examples. Please share facts here.
As caregivers, we need good medical information and advice to help us make very good decisions for the love ones we care for and for ourselves.
(3)
Report
See 2 more replies
The reason for the quarantine is to keep the health care system from collapse.

It's really that simple. We seemed to have turned the corner in much of NY, although here in the city, the number of cases is still problematic.

Fun fact: the NYC neighborhood with the highest concentration by zip code is....Corona, Queens.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

People are not meant to live in bubbles. People who are locked down with their kids, family, spouses---they are busy and stressed. People who are locked down with just their spouse are seeing every single flaw imaginable. People who live alone are so sad and depressed ( not all, of course, but I know my MIL kept my DH hostage on Mother's Day--he went up for a 1 hr visit and was stuck for 3 hours) My own mom lives with my brother but she is horribly depressed and YB does not allow her to go ANYWHERE. She goes to the grocery store on Friday and sits in the car.

Some good will come out of this virus. Our health care providers will learn new protocols and emergency behaviors. People will know to stockpile a certain quantity of food--I have 3 months worth--wouldn't have to go to a store for 3 months.

It's NOT the lack of shopping or having things to do, for me, it's all about the social. I have to ask DH for one hug a day--and he grudgingly accedes. I miss my grands' hugs and I have to admit, I've hugged those little boogers anyway. I KNOW my panic has come not from fear of the virus and dying (I mean, I just got over cancer and that was one crappy year--I am afraid of losing touch with the people who mean the most to me.)

This too, shall pass. I am feeling a tad more hopeful this week.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

See All Answers
This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter