Tips and strategies for coping with social isolation

[cattledogkisses]

I figured I'd start a thread where we can share ideas for how to try to maintain some sense of normal daily life, how to cope when it's inadvisable to leave the house and be out in public, and distractions and self care strategies to help with uncertainty.

Some things I've seen from around the web:

- Schedule things on your calendar that you can look forward to.  I'm planning a wine-drinking video chat date with my BFFs and trying to come up with some other stuff. 

- Get outside if you can do so without being in close contact with other people.

- I saw a suggestion to plan a post-COVID19 party for sometime in the future, both as a distraction and as a reminder that this will eventually pass.  That actually sounded kind of fun. 

- Obviously the standard self care stuff like staying active and getting adequate sleep.

[mrsukyankee]

www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours?fbclid=IwAR2i-fm7VlbQ2kyH1uqFLnCb0KIqQrV-ZrJCoU6R7fZyy4YcpzbsfNNuyCs

Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video)

[ESF]

My husband is unemployed right now. I'm working from home and my job is pretty busy. We are in a one bedroom apartment. He's going crazy. I told him to look up those free university courses, but he's probably just going to sit around and do crossword puzzles and complain he is bored. We may kill each other.

[omgzombies]

A friend of mine is organizing a neighborhood art walk. Draw or paint something and put it in your window. Neighbors can walk around and see all the different works of art.

I'm also doing a skype cocktail hour with a few friends on Friday.

[heliocentric]

I set up few planned social check ins with coworkers. These are times when I’ll start a Teams meeting and anyone can join. Topics are wide open, but not work related. For Friday I think I’m going to plan some kind of virtual bingo game. I found an online number generator, but need to find a way to email cards.

We also had a group lunch planned for Wednesday so I think we’ll do that virtually.

[pixy0stix]

I also need suggestions on how not to kill my H. I'm perfectly fine in this new introvert universe. Once we're finally homebound, he's going to go insane.

[imojoebunny]

Our neighborhood is doing a shamrock hunt tomorrow, so we will do that. We put some up at our house. Basically, just walk around and look for shamrocks in windows or on doors.

I have been making a point to text different friends and relatives. I make myself do it every couple of hours because it is super easy for me to just slip into my own world, and I need the social part.

Might walk with a friend, 10 feet apart, later in the week.

We are, also, working on some sort of big April fools joke for the front of our house.

[VillainV]

I’m an introvert, so all of this social distancing is my jam. The irony is that I still have to work and am super busy right now, but I hope it will calm down soon.

My goal is to increase phone calls/texts to friends who live far away.

[bowies]

I’m going to sit on my front porch and drink instead of the back porch. I’ll probably text my neighbors to go out on their porches too and we can all yell at each other.

Tomorrow I’m setting up a schedule for the day.

We may FaceTime friends and play a board/party game together.

[krystee]

I am working from home FT, which helps a lot. Enabling video chat is key, and I HATE enabling video normally. But seeing all my coworkers today was so awesome. And then I video-called three more randomly just because I wanted human interaction.

We are also doing the shamrock hunt and putting one in our window.

I have music or a podcast on most of the time to hear other voices.

I have a list of several home projects I can do with supplies I can have delivered.

I founded a caring committee at church with 10 other people (virtually), and we are each calling 20 church families to see if they need anything.

I ordered five new books on Amazon.

I am absolutely delighting in ordering takeout and tipping at least 100%. This is very bad for my budget and very good for my soul.

[BicycleBride]

Sitting on my back deck for about 30 minutes today made a surprisingly good difference in my mood. I’m in a walking boot so physical activity wasn’t a super viable option but I think the fresh air did me good.

[erbear]

My husband and friends and neighbors have all agreed to a 5:00 porch happy hour. Our porches are far from each other (~20 feet) but it's nice to see people's faces and we facetime with non-neighbor friends. It gives us something to look forward to.

We're also doing a pretty strict schedule, including for the adults. I made a list of things I want to do (painting, books, puzzles, guitar, learn French) and I'm doing something every day.

[krystee]

Mar 16, 2020 19:52:58 GMT -5 erbear said:

My husband and friends and neighbors have all agreed to a 5:00 porch happy hour. Our porches are far from each other (~20 feet) but it's nice to see people's faces and we facetime with non-neighbor friends. It gives us something to look forward to.

We're also doing a pretty strict schedule, including for the adults. I made a list of things I want to do (painting, books, puzzles, guitar, learn French) and I'm doing something every day.

I love the idea of porch happy hour!! If this continues into the warmer weather here, I am totally suggesting that to my neighbors. We can’t see each other’s porches, but we can each sit in chairs at the bottom of our driveways (which are about 15-20 feet apart).

[bimbi284]

I just had a HH with some of the og S&B gals and it was great! Def recommend setting Skype dates with friends.

[lust2hart]

Mar 16, 2020 19:15:59 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Can you add an @ to your post?

I like the idea of Skype dates with friends. One of my friends is a psychologist at the VA and I know she is stressed about the demands that will be placed on her to address mental health needs.

[alleinesein]

Am I the only weirdo who wants to spend 2-3 weeks just lounging in bed reading books? I don't need human interaction.

We have an acre and the neighbors have all sorts of critters (horses, goats, turkeys, cows, chickens, etc) so I can always traipse into their yard and hang with the animals.

[bears]

My team is sending out daily positivity emails. Just sharing something funny or a picture of our pets. It's a way to keep us connected.

[redheadbaker]

My department's director suggested virtual coffee and/or lunch chats over Zoom.

Also, for fans of musicals: www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home (no, Hamilton is not one of them)

[centralsquare]

Get outside as early as possible. I took the pup on a walk before my family woke up. It was a much nicer day.

We’ve scheduled both coffee chats and water cooler chats at work. It’s nice.

@@@
We did google hangouts with school friends, and a parent read a few books. It was cute. They are 5.
@@@

[mbcdefg]

Mar 16, 2020 21:37:54 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

My department's director suggested virtual coffee and/or lunch chats over Zoom.

Also, for fans of musicals: www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home (no, Hamilton is not one of them)

Speaking of ...

The COVID-19 pandemic might be causing distress throughout the world, but Lin-Manuel Miranda is helping to soothe Broadway fans as we get through it. The Tony winner has just released a previously unheard cut track from his Tony-winning smash Hamilton.

Titled "I Have This Friend," the song features vocals from Miranda and Tony-nommed Hamilton co-star Christopher Jackson in their roles of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, backed by a keyboard and drum machine.

www.broadway.com/buzz/198782/lin-manuel-miranda-serves-up-unreleased-hamilton-song-to-give-fans-hope/

[wildrice]

I'm considering starting a daily morning walk with my H, just to get some air. We did not even unlock our apartment door today, which might get old eventually.

Today i was around my H plenty, had long text chats with 2 friends, and talked to my sister for about 40 minutes. I also have a daily check in meeting with all the other managers in my department. I like the people I work with, but i am honestly not that close with anyone so I am not sure i will miss the daily stuff much. So, i feel like i have enough socialization for my semi introverted self.

[fuckyourcouch]

I’ve been using duolingo daily for a couple of years to keep my Spanish from disappearing, and now to learn japanese. I can easily zone out on there for an hour and it is good for my brain, so I don’t feel any guilt about wasting time on my phone. You can also access it on the web so I will occasionally use that as a little break between tasks at work.

[redheadbaker]

Mar 16, 2020 22:15:52 GMT -5 fuckyourcouch said:

I’ve been using duolingo daily for a couple of years to keep my Spanish from disappearing, and now to learn japanese. I can easily zone out on there for an hour and it is good for my brain, so I don’t feel any guilt about wasting time on my phone. You can also access it on the web so I will occasionally use that as a little break between tasks at work.

Same, but French, and I just added the Spanish course. 

[cattledogkisses]

Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free:

www.freecodecamp.org/news/ivy-league-free-online-courses-a0d7ae675869/?fbclid=IwAR12FRKe4OuHqvuRc9LYq6QpNGvFbA9xpH8s1xj6qdgM0bm_mZxaHq_lvzY

[aurora]

Mar 17, 2020 9:04:39 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free:

www.freecodecamp.org/news/ivy-league-free-online-courses-a0d7ae675869/?fbclid=IwAR12FRKe4OuHqvuRc9LYq6QpNGvFbA9xpH8s1xj6qdgM0bm_mZxaHq_lvzY

Bonus: if you're an educator, taking an online class is a good way to learn what you do and do not find effective about online education!

[aurora]

I'm an introvert so the idea of having more time at home to read books and work on projects is really appealing.

That said, it's a good time to think about reaching out to friends I haven't talked to in a while!

[bimbi284]

Ben Gibbard is playing live everyday for a few weeks at 4pm pst.

found.ee/BenGibbard-LiveFromHome

[pugz]

I set up a Marco Polo chat with my family and another with my college BFFs. It's been a fun way to get "face time" each day with loved ones.

[redheadbaker]

Dropkick Murphy's concert livestreaming tonight for St. Patrick's Day!

boston.cbslocal.com/2020/03/14/dropkick-murphys-livestream-concert-st-patricks-day/

[lilypad1126]

I'm trying to get some physical activity in every day. Which necessitates getting out of our small 2 bedroom apt, even if all I do is walk around the circle where I live.

I'm trying to text friends who I don't talk to regularly, just to check in. I'm trying to remind myself to call my grandparents regularly. They are in assisted living and it's locked down to visitors which is hard for them - like, every day one of my uncles would be there to see them, so I know grandma is going crazy with this.

Before all this started, I would have considered myself more introvert than extravert. That's clearly not the case. I need to talk to people. I need to see people besides my H every day. This is going to be rough. I'll get through it, and I know this is worth it to do my part. But if we aren't careful, my H and I are going to be at each others throats pretty soon.