Living Alone and Sheltering In Place

Hi there! How are you coping? Share tips please!

Well I'm an essential worker so I still go to work. Outside of that, I'm home. I read my kindle, I play video games, I mix my own drinks and enjoy those alone, I watch TV/movies, etc.

My husband and I work from home nowadays and even though this COVID-19 pandemic is awful, to tell you the truth we enjoy hunkering down and staying home. I've been cooking a lot, baking cookies, sewing quilts, working on my hobbies, crafts, decluttering, organizing my house, we take walks together during our lunch hour and no longer have to wake up to the blaring sound of the alarm at the ungodly hour of 4AM. We don't have to endure harrowing, very time-consuming commutes nor get stuck in traffic. It's a great life without any stress. We're well rested and save a ton of money on gas for our cars every month. We record cable TV programs such as documentaries and watch some of those. It's been great and I can easily grow accustomed to this lifestyle. I love it but I feel bad about this pandemic. I hope these days will last forever but not the pandemic.

I'm having the time of my life. I'm the opposite of everyone else.

I also have easy, convenient excuses for NOT getting together for obligatory socializing with local relatives and in-laws. I savor this thought very much! It makes me feel giddy!

We are fine being at home, I actually dont understand those who find it a major hardship. We are self employed and work at home, so for us not much is all that different. I hate shopping to begin with so not going to stores is fine with me. It's been 15 days since I went grocery shopping and probably next week I will need to psyche myself up to do it.

We live in a rural area where we can walk around the block and not see anyone, most of the time. I am not going stir crazy, I dont feel deprived in any way.

I'm enjoying the silence and to be honest I see this situation as an opportunity for personal growth. I'm focusing on gratitude, appreciating life, eating healthier, learning new stuff, reading more books, connecting virtually with loved ones and getting rid of clutter (tangible and intangible). That sort of stuff.

We are fine being at home, I actually dont understand those who find it a major hardship.

I understand some of them as not everyone is living in a peaceful environment. I'm thinking of abuse, sexual harassment, aggression, alcoholism, etc. For the ones dealing with something like that it mustn't be easy. But yeah, for those that are just merely bored - I don't get it either.

I'm nearly 37 weeks pregnant, my fiance is working from home. It's great having him here, we go for walks on his break as we live very rural and close to a canal.

Mostly it's been fine, just very anxious about giving birth in the middle of a pandemic..

I hope you're coping well :)

I live alone and have no close friends or family to keep in regular contact with either. I have been trying out new recipes, learning a language and using OpenLearn from the Open University to educate myself on topics I'm interested in. Exercise-wise, I have a bike connected to a turbo trainer and ride all over the place (virtually) using apps called Zwift and Fulgaz.

Awesome! Tons of positive thoughts out here!

I live alone (been that way since October 2019), and adjusting ok! I do miss social interactions every now and then but being cautious prevails. Not obsessing about getting out there just because. So far, I have cleaned my walls, windows, cabinets, porch, everything else in the house that I can turn upside down. Working from home keeps me busy during business hours. Take 2 mile walks at 5 in the morning, less foot traffic in the streets, video work outs after, cook, clean then do it over again. :-) I have developed an appreciation of the times when I am physically with family, who are scattered all over the world.

I live alone and just recently got transferred to a new role at work. So in between on site and virtual training I am not doing a darn thing lol. I don't usually get to sit around doing nothing, so I'm doing a lot of that.

My sister is loving it because she is an introvert. She is coping by taking long walks outside -solitary - and she's been doing singing practice on the phone with one of her clients(she is a hands on therapist and client is a singer, my sister sings now more as a hobby -gorgeous voice). My mother is 85 and lives alone. She is doing senior citizen activities over the phone and taking solitary walks. I am desperate for space in my situation (husband and child, apartment) but I do get that others might not like "too much" space. I lived alone for 15 years in my 20s and 30s. I loved it but no it was not sheltering in place -i get it!

I wish you the best and the best of health too.

Coping OK, know some who have the virus or were exposed, so had to emphatically tell a relative they cannot come over until they have been isolated for 2 weeks.

Yes, even if the BF's ill grandma was "only home from hospital an hour" you were exposed. Should have left before she got there.

Seeing a 20-year-old have their first huge adult experience to deal with is difficult.

I have been following Dr Falci's advice: "we should all be acting as if we ARE sick: eat well, keep hydrated, exercise, & get a lot of rest."

I always worked from home, so no change there. But I'm trying to use this time for self improvement, more time to exercise, more time to call people, more time to focus on the things I enjoy- meditating, reading, cooking.

I'm introverted, but this is a bit too much of a good thing! [emoji4] So when it seems a bit much, I focus on being grateful. Journaling really helps with that... write it out and eventually thoughts and words turn to the more positive aspects.

I go for drives... sing in the car like I do [emoji4], check out the store parking lots, see what people are doing (from a distance) That helps with the shopping, too... if a place has an almost empty lot, that's a good time to stop in.

I order take out. Trying to help my local places stay open. I get a few things that make a decent sized order. Helps me supplement meals I make at home, too. Like this week, I ordered dinner for the night plus a quart of soup and some appetizers that re-heat well... that became part of lunches the rest of the week. So I'm not eating the same things all the time.

I check on my elderly neighbors. So far they are all doing well. And it feels good to help others. I've been wiping down door knobs and banisters in our building to help the maintenance workers that are doing such a good job of cleaning. They've been doing the walls and the carpets. They aren't doing any maintenance requests in apartments that aren't an emergency.

So basically, just hanging in here. Making things to do.

I've been sewing masks. Since I'm a quilter, I have tons of fabric and sewing supplies so I'm all set. I will save masks for my family and postal mail some masks to relatives. I also have a delicate garment bag for myself and them so they can put them in the delicate laundry bag and launder them easily. It is a fun hobby. Sewing masks is a piece of cake.

I'm a homebody at heart anyway so this COVID-19 pandemic hasn't affected me. I'm still the same in general. The only difference is I enjoy being with my husband since we both have been working from home for almost a month now. Life is slower paced which I love, love, love. Life isn't as stressful since we don't have long, harrowing commutes anymore, we're well rested, eat delicious home cooked meals and there are no more time crunches. We're no longer on strict, frenetically paced schedules. Suddenly, there is more time! While many people are whining about this lock down, I'm kicking my heels, couldn't be happier and I feel giddy. I'm not happy about this pandemic per se but I'm savoring my current lifestyle to the hilt. We're also saving a ton of money every month; especially gas for our cars.

My husband and I don't eat out, do take out nor go to the movie theater. The last time we ate out was in Dec 2019 and we haven't stepped foot into a movie theater in 11 years! It's simply not our lifestyle. I enjoy cooking at home. In that sense, we're frugal. In other ways, ever since my 14 year old dog passed away and since we don't pay for entertainment (dine out / take out / movie theater / amusement parks / outings / never pay for tickets), I've recently purchased shoes, clothing apparel, jewelry and a handbag. I prefer to buy what I want and forgo gift exchanges for birthdays and Christmas. It's my way. I work hard so those are my treats.

My in-laws eat out every night and frequent the movie theater every week pre-COVID-19 pandemic. They're suddenly saving a ton of money every month as well. It's amazing how wasteful spending money can be.

My brother grocery shops for my mother so my sister and I are off the hook there. Life is good.

I have reached out far and wide to everyone even acquaintances with a simple 'how are you doing?', type note. It's great hearing from people about their area, experiences, thoughts, etc. Considering the whole world is dealing with this, it is often greeted with 'great hearing from you' and a bit of catch-up. Helps the isolated feeling, for myself, for them.