Has your overall stress level changed since Covid-19 has become a pandemic? Snapshot in time

[Tap]

Has your overall stress level changed since Covid-19 has become a pandemic? Just a snapshot in current time March/April 2020, not forecasting long term. 

My story (you can skip if you just want to answer the question)

I was thinking today, that my stress level is down, but it isn't sustainable. It is like I am borrowing from my future self. LOL

I work 2 jobs. One full time M-F and one on Sundays for extra money. My husband also works, and we can survive (hand to mouth level) on just his paycheck if needed.  My Sunday job, has been to save money for a large flooring/painting project I was planning this year. I met my savings goal in March and was ready to start stage 1, the weekend our schools announced their 5 week closure. My youngest daughter is 13 and special needs. She can't go to daycare, so I am off work for the 5 weeks. I still work on Sundays at my other job, so I have a trickle of a pay check. At my main job, I am on FMLA so I can't file unemployment and I don't qualify for the 2/3 pay that was part of the Family First Act. In fact, I am actually going backwards in pay, because my health insurance and life insurance payments come out of that zero balance pay check and I will need to repay those payments when I start back to work.  But.....I have my project money to pull from, so I am fine. I am working a bit on my project to keep myself busy, but am waiting for the expensive parts until we figure out what is going to happen long term.

By trying to keep dd13 calm (Autistic and anxiety issues) , I find that I am way calmer and much more myself. I don't have a regimented day any longer, Everything just flows naturally through the day. LOL Years ago, I worked part time and homeschooled my older kids. It was the happiest years of my life. I am finding myself back in that same mental place right now.  It isn't financially sustainable, but it is a nice retreat from my normal life. LOL When the money starts to run low, I will feel the stress build up, but for now, I appreciate the calm. 

I read about the CV pandemic every day. I work in pharmacy, so I am an essential worker. But I  am realizing the stress in my life from CV isn't as high, as the stress I feel in every day life. A huge factor in that, is that dd13's stress is way down. With the world shutting down, she is soooo much calmer. That translates directly into my stress being lower.  It isn't that I downplay CV. I just have a crazy stressful normal life. LOL It is like a scale, I am up in one category for stress, but so far down in the other category, that I am doing better than my normal self. 

Once one of us gets CV and is sick, I expect I will swing wildly in the other direction. But for now, I am trying to not forecast my own future. Just live day to day and survive the worst part of my own brain.....my stress level. 

I am curious how life is going for everyone else. How is the overall stress level of the hive doing? 

[JustEm]

My stress is way down.  While my mood changes daily, one day I'm great and loving life and the next I just say "this again" and feel blah.  But even with that I am loving not having any real obligations other than the ones to my immediate family.  It has been a perfect time for us to bond as a family in a way we've never done long term.  The amount of quality time dh and I have been having even with 6 kids, one being a newborn, is amazing.  Watching my children excel in things they've been struggling with.  Dd5 learned to ride a bike without training wheels.  Ds7 is reading enthusiastically where before it was a meltdown daily to even ask him to read a single word.  Dd9 is writing a book, she's a phenomenal reader.  Ds11 has been cherishing every moment he can with his 6 week old sister.  And ds3 is potty training and it is going well (we ran out of diapers so I just said now it the time.)

[Farrar]

Higher, but in a very different way. The high uncertainty is very difficult for me to manage. I sit very well with my own uncertainty and very poorly with the world's.

[LJPPKGFGSC]

All the sudden, I am teaching online instead of at our in-person coop.  It is so hard, and not very fun.😒 

[regentrude]

Stress is way higher. We had two days (one weekend) notice that our college is switching to online instruction. It's been crazy converting everything to the new format. Then after the first week, they kicked the teachers off campus. That upped the stress level again. I worked through spring break. All the good parts of the job are no longer there (the students), and instead a mountain of logistics and figuring out new software programs. It's way harder that teaching live. And no fun.
Mentally, the isolation is very hard on me. I am an extroverted people person.

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by regentrude

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have had an extreme stressful year starting last year unrelated to COVID19. Some of that stress has gotten better because of the virus because lockdowns have had some unintended positive  consequences.
 

But I have spikes of COVID19 related stress specifically because I am at very high risk from this virus. And I have been more ill than my usual chronic illness since the beginning of February with respiratory stuff (but no fever). And yesterday and today I am in a bad flare. 

[kbutton]

Decrease in overall stress because we're not running all over, and I am getting sleep. Long-term though, I am married to a healthcare worker, sigh. 

[Ausmumof3]

I’m actually wondering if some people will opt for the quieter option long term.  I do really prefer not running around all the time.  My added stress is more relating to friends losing jobs and worrying about people I love getting sick.  And cleaning stuff.  I hate cleaning and disinfecting everything.  

[I talk to the trees]

Until this evening, I would have said my stress level was actually a bit lower. I am an extreme introvert, so staying home for long stretches doesn’t bother me a bit. But tonight, after 23 years, I finally had to tell my dh exactly what I think of his parents. 23 years of holding it all in, and trying so very hard to be polite and kind, and I finally lost it. There are reasons for the explosion, and that’s why I am stressed now. 😩

[JenneinCA]

Way way higher.  The number of people in the house during the day went from me and the 15 year old, who mostly stayed in his room, to my husband working from home, two displaced college students and me and the 15 year old who is now sharing a room with one of those displaced college students.  
I have gone to taking long walks and that helps with some of the alone time, but I really would like some time with just me alone in the house.  That isn’t going to happen for several months.  I know some people are really really needing the interpersonal interaction but I really really need to not be around anyone for a while.  And it just isn’t going to happen.
 

[Shoeless]

2 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

In the beginning of this, I had lofty goals on how I will navigate and had a lot of stress because I put a lot of pressure on myself. Most everything fell by the wayside. My one goal now is, my immediate family's survival. So I cook, clean, sanitize, stock, teach, play, read, paint, mother, wife and pray, pray, pray. My world has become a lot smaller and I am finding that less stressful. I've had to let go of relationships, block people, stop notifications from WhatsApp especially at night, say no and draw firm boundaries to keep my mental peace which is required I find for less stress 😔. My plan is to make amends and say sorry. But right now, I had to go into a cave mentality to survive this. 

 

I am feeling the same way. There are certain people I cannot talk to right now. I have debated deactivating my fb account for the next 3 months, as an act of self-preservation. 

[The Governess]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

Stress is way higher. We had two days (one weekend) notice that our college is switching to online instruction. It's been crazy converting everything to the new format. Then after the first week, they kicked the teachers off campus. That upped the stress level again. I worked through spring break. All the good parts of the job are no longer there (the students), and instead a mountain of logistics and figuring out new software programs. It's way harder that teaching live. And no fun.
Mentally, the isolation is very hard on me. I am an extroverted people person.

 

 

I’m teaching 4 classes (all different subjects) at a private school. We also had just one weekend to convert to online classes, so I can sympathize. I probably worked 60 hours a week for the first two weeks trying to figure everything out. I’m so tired. It’s so hard to connect with the students. And trying to do all of this surrounded by a general aura of stress and sadness.... a grandparent of a student died this week, and another grandparent is currently in the hospital. My school families are stressed trying to figure out the new system and I’m double stressed because my 13 year old 8th grader is high-drama about school right now and I have become her main teacher on top of everything else.

 

I’m an introvert but haven’t been able to enjoy being home yet at all. Next week is spring break so I will get a reprieve. 

[easypeasy]

First, my stress level increased exponentially. There were so many moving pieces between the five of us &!oir schedules and SOOOOOOO many disappointments and cancelations all at once. Oof. It was heartbreaking and we were just in shock. Those first weeks were mind-boggingly rough. 
 

Now? We've found a happy niche that is sustainable for at least a few more weeks before we lose our minds. We've moved ahead to planning the future, cautiously and always with a Plan B and Plan C.... but planning nonetheless. 
 

We are super blessed to be in a period of time where we are financially comfortable & dh is able to work from home quite a bit. If this had happened a few years ago... I can't even imagine the stress we would feel right now. So I have spent a lot of time being incredibly grateful for that enormous silver lining. 

[kiwik]

4 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m actually wondering if some people will opt for the quieter option long term.  I do really prefer not running around all the time.  My added stress is more relating to friends losing jobs and worrying about people I love getting sick.  And cleaning stuff.  I hate cleaning and disinfecting everything.  

Me too.  It is so nice not having to take ds10 to activities and stress about him flipping out part way through.  It is good not to have to get ds13 to school in his uniform with the right stuff every day.  It is wonderful only working 10 to 15 hours not 30.  But we can't live long term on those hours and ds10 does need to leave the house and interact with people a couple of times a week and ds13 does need to interact with other people too.  Maybe we could have a quarantine week every year just to remind us.

My stressors right now are being high risk and not having my government payment come through despite it being longer than the target time frame and other people I know getting it almost instantly.

Edited April 3, 2020 by kiwik

[Pawz4me]

Stress is a bit higher, (mostly) same area. My main source of stress for almost three years now has been DH's health and life. And since his oncologist suspended his cancer treatment due to the pandemic risk . . . yeah, that's a bit stress inducing. There are a couple of new stress sources, though-- the grocery situation is getting better, but I found it very stressful to not know if I could get what I needed/wanted when I went out. And keeping up with the news is stressful. Conversely, I feel stressed if I don't keep up with it.

[MEmama]

I definitely have a general low level stress all the time now that I didn’t before. I mean, it’s just not possible to be living through this and not experience some level of anxiety. 
 

Most days I can deal fine; I don’t mind staying home and it’s lovely that we are all together. I am keenly aware of how good we have it as a family. On occasion I break down, like yesterday, with a huge panic attack. The uncertainties can feel overwhelming (in the immediate they are centered mostly around DS and how this affects his high school experience, what it might mean for college and his future, and the effects on his mental health), but also on the big picture—the world economic collapse, the potential for authoritarian governments to take power in times of darkness (not excluding our own country), and so on. My hopes are that we come through stronger and more compassionate, but then I read the news and realize that not everyone is working in that direction. 

[Wheres Toto]

I put about the same but different, but it varies from day to day.    I went from being very busy teaching classes every day to basically nothing scheduled.   

I'm slightly worried about everyone's health because we are in NYC metro area of NJ, but we are all staying home, dh does the shopping in senior hours wearing gloves and (now) a mask.  He's a pharma chemist so used to wearing them with proper procedures for removal.   I have bad allergies so coughing, sneezing but no fever or fatigue.  

Dh is still working so we're fine there, but I had to close my business.  If things can open up again in September I'll be fine.  If not, we'll probably have to shut down.

I find the uncertainty to be the absolute worst with regards to stress.   If only we had some idea when things would go back to some semblance of normal, we could plan.   Not knowing, not being able to really plan anything is making it very hard.  

[sassenach]

Way higher. Our life was good-busy before and I miss it. I wake up every day now and wonder how I’m going to keep my special needs son from catching this. At least right now we’re all on minimal contact but at some point (fall?) we will have to circulate out in the world again. 

[stephanier.1765]

My stress was down until I found out my doctor's office isn't seeing patients. People are being diverted to urgent care except my issue isn't urgent. I have to see my doctor once every three months to renew my the prescription for my medication. Are doctors who don't even know me going to do that? The time for getting this done is drawing near very quickly and I don't know what to do.

 

[regentrude]

3 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

My stress was down until I found out my doctor's office isn't seeing patients. People are being diverted to urgent care except my issue isn't urgent. I have to see my doctor once every three months to renew my the prescription for my medication. Are doctors who don't even know me going to do that? The time for getting this done is drawing near very quickly and I don't know what to do.

 

Have you tried calling your doctor's office? I would imagine that these days anything that can be done over the phone and avoids in person contact would be done remotely, unless your condition requires careful monitoring of bloodwork or something

[edelweiss]

I have been treated for anxiety at several different points in my life (health concerns have always been my major stressor), so I should be a basket-case, but surprisingly I am not too stressed.  Don't get me wrong-- I am worried about someone in my family getting it, but (for now) we are safely cocooned at home.  I do have some worry about how we are ever going to go back to normal life with the virus still out there and no vaccine on the horizon yet, but I am choosing not to think too far ahead at this point.

I actually LOVE having everyone at home and not having to go anywhere.  We have had an easy transition because DH already worked from home, DD16 is homeschooled.  DD19 goes to a local college but was commuting, and she is a freshman, so we haven't gotten too far out of the rhythm we had as a family when she was homeschooled last year.  We also have a large house and lots of room to spread out, so that helps.  I HATE this virus, but I really love having this unexpected time together.  On a personal level, I am realizing that there is very little that I miss doing "outside."  I am actually fine spending 99% of my time at home.

 

[stephanier.1765]

2 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Have you tried calling your doctor's office? I would imagine that these days anything that can be done over the phone and avoids in person contact would be done remotely, unless your condition requires careful monitoring of bloodwork or something

I have and I've also sent a note to my doctor through the patient portal. I've not heard back from my doctor and the lady on the phone said absolutely no appointments and to go to urgent care if I really felt I needed the medication. I have fibromyalgia so, yeah, I really feel like I do. 😞

[MEmama]

3 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Have you tried calling your doctor's office? I would imagine that these days anything that can be done over the phone and avoids in person contact would be done remotely, unless your condition requires careful monitoring of bloodwork or something

Yes, call the office. If you can’t get through or they can’t make it happen, you might talk to the pharmacist. Ours was able to get a 3 month supply of insulin for DH after his doctor only ordered one. 

[OH_Homeschooler]

Mine's about the same but in different ways. It would be a lot higher but I accepted a new job offer. My last job ended last week. The new job was supposed to begin this past Monday but now it will begin on the 13th. So now I have two weeks of no professional obligations, for the first time in a long time. I have enough saved up in case I need extra money to make it through. 

But the virus adds new stress. Being cooped up and the uncertainty are the worst parts of it for me so far. 

 

[stephanier.1765]

1 minute ago, MEmama said:

Yes, call the office. If you can’t get through or they can’t make it happen, you might talk to the pharmacist. Ours was able to get a 3 month supply of insulin for DH after his doctor only ordered one. 

The pharmacy won't even give me an extra few pills if I run out before my doctor's appointment. They are a real stickler about this medication and I'm really scared I'm not going to be able to get any. I can't believe they've just stopped flat out from seeing patients. 

[Dynamite5]

5 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

The pharmacy won't even give me an extra few pills if I run out before my doctor's appointment. They are a real stickler about this medication and I'm really scared I'm not going to be able to get any. I can't believe they've just stopped flat out from seeing patients. 

I am horrified by the doctor's office response to you! WHY would they send someone with an autoimmune disease to the urgent care?!?! What terrible care!! 

I would be my own best advocate and call the pharmacy first. I have two family members who are pharmacists and I can tell you that they are bending over backwards to help their patients. If they honestly can't help you (they SHOULD be able to call your doctor on your behalf) then I would call the doctor's office and ask to speak to the nurse. If the front desk refuses to put you through to a nurse, I would ask, "Let me get this straight--I am an established patient of this office with an autoimmune disorder and you are refusing to even let me have a conversation with a nurse? AND you want me to go to an urgent care clinic, where I am likely to be exposed to Covid 19? I would like to make sure this is the medical advice I'm being given because my next phone call is going to be to the local newspaper and television station so that everyone in town can hear about he appalling lack of care and compassion coming from your office."

And then, I would call the newspaper and tv station.

[stephanier.1765]

The pharmacy and the doctor's office are all connected since I'm seen through the military system. When they say no, it's no all throughout the system. The last time my medication came up for renewal the appointments were so backed up that I wouldn't be able to see my doctor until several days after I would run out of medication. I went to the pharmacy to ask for a few days of pills to hold me over and they said no. I walked down to the doctor's office to see if my doctor would authorize a few days of medication and again I got a no. I was even crying and there was no give whatsoever. At least then I knew I only had to suffer for a couple of days but now I have no idea what's going to happen. I didn't even know they weren't accepting appointments until I called. No notice on the website. No mass text to all the patients like they've done for other big changes. No phone call. Even when I called, they had a message about what to do if you thought you were infected with the virus but nothing about no appointments. I had to wait until I pushed all the numbers and reached a real person. And the lady sounded peeved that I didn't already know this. < I want to scream >

[Jaybee]

Mine is somewhat higher but in different areas. This has made me realize even more how much I prefer being at home. I like being free to consider my family and their needs above that of anything/anybody else. I'm a homebody at the best of times. My job is a good job, and the employers are generally very considerate of employees. However, I am somewhat higher risk, and the things I do cannot be done at home. So this is certainly causing me stress. I theoretically have permission to work from home, but the things I have to do for work require my physical presence there. If my organization were willing to simplify things (and I am realizing this is a philosophical difference for me), my job isn't that important in the scheme of things. I am also somewhat stressed because the area where I am is not a hotspot, yet I see it all moving this way, and people are generally not taking it seriously, or at least do not understand how your overall number of contacts help spread this virus. The governor has made some moves, but not enough, and has determined that what I assist in is in his permitted list of "essential" work. I'm grateful for the job, and grateful for the paycheck. I just wish I didn't need the job. Adding to my stress is that several family members (not living here) are very high risk, and dd is on the frontlines in a hotspot.

Positive things that are happening: I am making more efforts to learn better ways to economize--things I didn't really think I could lower. Like learning how to cut at least dh's hair, hopefully another ds as well. Learning better ways to lower grocery bills, though I didn't think I really could much more. Ds in public school is slowly relaxing as the days pass. I knew he was stressed, but didn't realize how much. Being in better communication with some family members. Etc. 

ETA: I am also enjoying having less running around to do due to outside activities, especially ds' sports, etc.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Jaybee

[Condessa]

Much higher.  I was doing fine and enjoying not needing to run around and get places on time for extracurriculars and generally not too worried, until my five-year-old started coughing.  He had breathing issues from birth that gradually improved as he aged to the point that he has rarely needed medication for it in the past two years, but that cough keeps taking me back to all the nights I sat up over his basinet, listening to him struggling to breathe in his sleep while I prayed.

Yesterday the cough was worse again, and he was complaining of his chest and throat feeling tighter and kept rubbing his chest.  I felt all day like a giant hand was pressing down on my chest, like it was harder to breathe from the anxiety.  But he is improved this morning, and I still feel that stronger today, so maybe it isn't anxiety.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Michelle Conde

[Dynamite5]

7 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

The pharmacy and the doctor's office are all connected since I'm seen through the military system. When they say no, it's no all throughout the system. The last time my medication came up for renewal the appointments were so backed up that I wouldn't be able to see my doctor until several days after I would run out of medication. I went to the pharmacy to ask for a few days of pills to hold me over and they said no. I walked down to the doctor's office to see if my doctor would authorize a few days of medication and again I got a no. I was even crying and there was no give whatsoever. At least then I knew I only had to suffer for a couple of days but now I have no idea what's going to happen. I didn't even know they weren't accepting appointments until I called. No notice on the website. No mass text to all the patients like they've done for other big changes. No phone call. Even when I called, they had a message about what to do if you thought you were infected with the virus but nothing about no appointments. I had to wait until I pushed all the numbers and reached a real person. And the lady sounded peeved that I didn't already know this. < I want to scream >

OMG--I am so sorry!! I didn't know you were dealing with the military system. That is awful, because there really is probably no work around with them. I think I would call the closest (non-military) urgent care and tell them your situation and that you are very concerned about possible exposure and ask if is there any way a doctor can help you over the phone. They may be much more willing to do a workaround that the military.

I would be stressed, too. You have every right to be anxious and angry. It is crap like this when we fail to treat people like humans that makes everything twice as bad as it needs to be. Hugs to you. I hope you find a way to get your meds.

 

[MEmama]

21 minutes ago, Happymomof1 said:

My stress is WAY WAY higher.  At last report 66 docs have died.  Italy showed 20 percent of healthcare workers affected.  New York is showing similar rates and it is too early to have that amount of deaths, but I have seen some already in the healthcare industry.  It is like waiting for a slow moving train to get to my rural area.  How many of our doctor and nurses friends are going to die???  On the hospital call last night, they thought our area had flattened, yet I wake up today to see the cases have doubled.  I don't think so.  I don't have places to go and people to interact with.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays are good days with all of my ZOOM stuff, but other days like today go on forever.  I just do not have the brain power to do my graduate work.  Instead I'm on here and other boards posting about Covid.  Not healthy.  Have no willpower to do anything else.  I want my normal life, but it is dead...  In some ways, i want to fast forward to August.  How many are dead? Is our town even feasible anymore? Will my daughter be able to go to college...  SO many unknowns.  I plan and have nothing I can plan.  So many unknowns.  I do not work well with unknowns.  I control variables and outcomes.  I feel powerless.  I do not know how to live without power.  I just don't.  I hate this.  It is a nightmare I cannot wake from.  

((Hugs))

[Spryte]

Much higher.  

I’m taking care of a lot of people. Kids, of course.   Elders.  The two that are in separate facilities are locked down.  They are fine.  My high needs elderly mother is with me, for now.  She needs assistance with the daily activities of living.  So bathing, bathroom, bedside commode upkeep (gaaaack), med management, feeding, all of it are on me.  There really is something to all those articles that caring for elders is more difficult than infants and kids.  I did not believe it till living it.

Kids have anaphylactic allergies - up to 7 for one person - all different.  I worry about finding safe food when grocery stores don’t have our known safe items.  I worry about a reaction and no hospital care being available. I worry about the kids’ asthma, and one is immune compromised.

I’m mainly stressed about coming up with a plan for everyone’s care should I become sick, and or DH.  I’m immune compromised, and when I go down ... It is hard and for a long time.  I had an allergic reaction to a bite or sting on Fri and was fortunately able to treat at home but the asthma is only now abating, and the fatigue and aches and misery just stopped yesterday.  Almost a week!  My IRL friends thought I had CV.  It was bad.  So I know I need a plan.  I’m just baffled as to what it should be. I need separate plans for my mom and kids.  (Sigh)

Focusing on stress management today.  Exercising, now that I can again, and meal planning.  Maybe we need a separate thread on stress management ideas.
 

 

[Familia]

14 hours ago, Farrar said:

Higher, but in a very different way. The high uncertainty is very difficult for me to manage. I sit very well with my own uncertainty and very poorly with the world's.

This.

[Loowit]

It is getting higher.

DH needs a biopsy, but they are putting it off because of lack of resources.  He has a phone appointment next month to do the consent forms, and then wait however long until they can get him in for the actual test.  That is very stressful.

I also have two kids that fight constantly.  Typically one is gone all day at work or school, but is now stuck at home most of the time.  I am trying to keep them separated as much as possible but it is becoming a huge problem.

[KidsHappen]

2 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

My stress was down until I found out my doctor's office isn't seeing patients. People are being diverted to urgent care except my issue isn't urgent. I have to see my doctor once every three months to renew my the prescription for my medication. Are doctors who don't even know me going to do that? The time for getting this done is drawing near very quickly and I don't know what to do.

 

They may not be seeing patients but they might have someone answering the phone. If this is regular meds your doc can probably call them in to the pharmacy. This is what my doctor is doing. It wouldn’t hurt to call and ask.

[Tap]

2 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

The pharmacy and the doctor's office are all connected since I'm seen through the military system. When they say no, it's no all throughout the system. The last time my medication came up for renewal the appointments were so backed up that I wouldn't be able to see my doctor until several days after I would run out of medication. I went to the pharmacy to ask for a few days of pills to hold me over and they said no. I walked down to the doctor's office to see if my doctor would authorize a few days of medication and again I got a no. I was even crying and there was no give whatsoever. At least then I knew I only had to suffer for a couple of days but now I have no idea what's going to happen. I didn't even know they weren't accepting appointments until I called. No notice on the website. No mass text to all the patients like they've done for other big changes. No phone call. Even when I called, they had a message about what to do if you thought you were infected with the virus but nothing about no appointments. I had to wait until I pushed all the numbers and reached a real person. And the lady sounded peeved that I didn't already know this. < I want to scream >

Try going into the  pharmacy and ask what they suggest. If you get brush off, then go to the patient advocate if you have one on base. If it is a vital medicine, you need to go to the ER.  There should be a way to get the medicine you need, you may just have to jump through some hoops to get it. 

[May]

2 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

The pharmacy and the doctor's office are all connected since I'm seen through the military system. When they say no, it's no all throughout the system. The last time my medication came up for renewal the appointments were so backed up that I wouldn't be able to see my doctor until several days after I would run out of medication. I went to the pharmacy to ask for a few days of pills to hold me over and they said no. I walked down to the doctor's office to see if my doctor would authorize a few days of medication and again I got a no. I was even crying and there was no give whatsoever. At least then I knew I only had to suffer for a couple of days but now I have no idea what's going to happen. I didn't even know they weren't accepting appointments until I called. No notice on the website. No mass text to all the patients like they've done for other big changes. No phone call. Even when I called, they had a message about what to do if you thought you were infected with the virus but nothing about no appointments. I had to wait until I pushed all the numbers and reached a real person. And the lady sounded peeved that I didn't already know this. < I want to scream >

I’m sorry😢I’m dealing with military medicine too. My issue isn’t as serious as yours but I’m having an eczema flair. I’ve already have been seen at the base clinic but when I called to schedule an appointment, it was 3 weeks out. Asked what I should do, he said ER or urgent care😳I wouldn’t hesitate to go to the ER, if you can’t get your meds any other way. 

[KungFuPanda]

So far, my stress level is lower.  I don't mean bad stress; more like deadline and scheduling stress.  I'm not a stressy person and I'm comfortable with change.  I'm trying to live in the now and do what I can with all of this time at home.  I'm sure the real stress will come later because we don't yet know who will survive this and who won't.  I'm not one to stress about things before we even know what they are, so I DO feel for people who are wired that way. 

It's all relative too.  After coping with my son's muscular dystrophy I don't find many things can trigger that level of worry.