DU is unnecessary doom.and gloom

[evertonfc]

So, things are bad but sitting around stewing over cable news, Trump pressers and feeling sorry for yourself will kill you before a virus will. Turn the damn news off. Take a damn walk. It's out of your control. Some of you would make miserable company. You have to be optimistic. More than likely you are not going to be infected if you follow protocol. If you are- odds are you will be ok. You are not going to die. From the sound of most of these posts- you may die of a stroke. This will last forever to a point. It's not going away Self isolation will last for a short period and then people will get back at it. The societal structures and economy will demand it. This constant stat checking, Trump watching and hand wringing serves no purpose. Take care off your physical and mental health. Tune out.

[Loki Liesmith]

1. Eh people get off on it.

It’s like porn for some folks.

[obamanut2012]

38. this

[Hearthrob]

75. But

I'm cold and hungry.

Ever hear of Pollyanna?

[live love laugh]

94. IOW ... "Get over it!" 🙄

[Loki Liesmith]

97. They can get over it or not

It doesn’t matter.

[USALiberal]

2. DU is making this better for me. nt

[Turin_C3PO]

3. Not all of us will likely survive this.

I have cystic fibrosis with half lung function. I most assuredly will NOT survive this. The governor of California thinks 80% of people will get this. No reason to think this isn’t true nation wide also. I don’t blame people for being scared, our economy is going to be fucked for a long time after the pandemic passes and the death toll has the potential to be astronomical.

It helps me to talk about it.

[Rorey]

28. It is for people like you, and for my daughter, that I am isolating

Also, I feel that knowledge is power. The more we know, the better we can weather this.

[RelativelyJones]

90. +1000

[uponit7771]

33. +1, the young healthy and well-off are the most carefree right now

[RelativelyJones]

89. Stay safe.

[WheelWalker]

4. The glass is neither half full nor half empty.

The glass is neither half empty, nor half full. The glass is just a glass and it's content can perpetually change with your perception. The glass is just a glass that is too big for the content.

[zackymilly]

24. I like that. Thanks. n/t

[WheelWalker]

41. Blessings.

[LakeArenal]

5. I've said the same and my best friend is not speaking to me now.

🤷🏼?♀️ Apparently feeling like this can be more damaging than the virus. I actually think some hope we get the virus just to “show us”.

[Turin_C3PO]

10. I doubt any DUers feel that way.

That’s psychopathic thinking and I don’t think we have many psychopaths on this site.

[demmiblue]

14. Of course they don't.

I can see why her best friend is not talking to her.

[LakeArenal]

15. Well you didn't hear the discussion.

And you aren’t being shunned by a friend of 58 years.

[Turin_C3PO]

20. Well, I don't know your friend

but if you think she hopes people get the virus, it’s probably for the best that you aren’t friends anymore. Like I said, that thinking is twisted.

[LakeArenal]

23. Thank you for your mini analysis.

I’m actually heartbroken about the discussion. People say all kinds of things in anger. You can’t be friends go 50 years without pissing each other off.

I’m not uncaring about the virus. I’m ambivalent about the panic and hoarding.
I also think my friend is right in her world.
But not in the one I live.

But this person took my opinion as a personal attack. I was talking in the most general terms just as the author of the post.

We are following all recommendations and are staying home. We have the normal amount of TP. We have a small house and no freezer. We will have to go out for food in another week.

[Turin_C3PO]

25. I know how hard it is to potentially

lose a long term friend. I’m sorry that she’s reacting that way to you, hopefully when this thing has passed, you two can work it out and be friends again.

This is a very stressful and uncertain time and people are acting out in various ways.

I hope everything works out between you two, fifty years is a long friendship!

[True Blue American]

47. Give it time

Then make the first move.

I have a life long friend since I was 4, she was 6 when my Dad left the Farm, we moved in next door. What we have been trough, deaths, births, other life changes keep us together.

No one can erase or even know or understand them. We have not always been together over the years, but we’re there for each other. We disagree, but thank goodness we are die hard DEmocrats.

I had an argument with a close family member when they repeated what Trump said about a depleted system he inherited. I called it a lie, proved my point in an email with Google.

Today we are emailing. The person votes Democrat but pays little attention to politics. Just heard that snippet.

[LakeArenal]

55. Thanks. You said the exact truth.

Yes time.

My friend has much more to lose if this thing gets as bad as some claim. That has a lot to do with it.
I truly was not speaking in specific terms although it was taken that way.

In the heart, I hope there is still the friendship. In the head, the loop of the discussion persists I think.

[True Blue American]

68. What you just said

Is that your friend it truly worried. You took the brunt of her anger. Like in deaths there is an awful lot of misdirected anger.

I detest Trump, but Peter Alexander took the brunt of his misdirected anger. Trump was angry when he walked through the door. He is facing the fact he is a miserable failure. He will never admit it, but inside he knows. A miserable 2 year old lashing out.

[LakeArenal]

72. 💔❤️🤞🏼

[True Blue American]

74. Voice of Experience

But trust me it was not smooth sailing. I still have my faults. Trying hard to move outside my selfish self. No pats on the back for me.

[JCMach1]

6. All said on DU of course

[In_The_Wind]

7. Over 1/2 of the Covid-19 cases in the US are in New York state.

I'm 71. My 69 year old husband is working as a home health care aide 6 days a week.

I don't have the time to feel sorry for myself. Too busy cleaning and taking care of our pets.

[a la izquierda]

8. Well said nt.

[centrarchus]

9. You would make miserable company! Don't chastise me or other DUers. nt

[blueinredohio]

13. True. If you don't like reading about it on DU then don't click on posts with virus news.

[LovingA2andMI]

64. All of THIS...

All Day. Thank You.

[Brainfodder]

11. D.U. is a coping mechanism for some of us, and you aint even taking your own advice!

[True Blue American]

49. :)

Our families do not share our obsessions.

[LuckyCharms]

12. Oh. Ok.

[mdelaguna]

76. LOL!

[live love laugh]

93. 🤣🤣

[MrsCoffee]

16. Don't tell me how to live my life.

Talk about miserable company.

[True Blue American]

50. This one?

[True Blue American]

54. This one?

’

[Cirque du So-What]

18. Why don't you tune out

instead of scolding others?

[SMC22307]

19. The suggestion that people "tune out" during a pandemic is dangerous.

I'm getting news from all over the world, including what's posted on DU. You're not the arbiter of people do or do not need during this difficult time, so get off your high horse.

[Sugar Smack]

21. I'm boarding up my vulnerable windows because it makes me smile.

Social unrest begins shortly. That is a fact.

I'm also going to be VERY particular about the "parties" I go to.

And I have a death-grip on my sense of humor.

[JHB]

22. Thanks for the lecture, but DU has always had moments like this

It was founded after the Supreme Court decided to put Bush in the Oval Office.

In those 20-odd years there have been ups and downs: terrorist attacks, wars, the worst recession since the Great Depression, and dirty politics from Republicans. The only reason the last can't be called "the dirtiest of the dirty" is because it got ever gotten dirtier as time went on.

The worst of the downs produced periods of coping. You're not the first to chide people for "sitting around stewing" and "hand wringing", and you won't be the last.

People are doing the very thing's you're encouraging. Just understand, this is part of it.

[blogslut]

26. We have other forums here, ya know.

They're all on the left
<---------

[malaise]

86. You win the thread

[Ptah]

27. Welcome to DU!

[LuckyCharms]

35. LOL!

[ornotna]

46. That's a winner

[sarisataka]

48. Looking at a poster's journal

Can be enlightening.

[empedocles]

29. ' . . . will last for a short period and then people will get back at it'

If that's the case then those 'optimists' will be fine.

If not, those 'optimists' could be unprepared and in trouble.

Those who worry some, prepare better - will be better off in almost all scenarios.

[uponit7771]

30. Must be nice to be comfortable in this shit sandwich Trump made

[Kaleva]

31. The "Auto-trash by Keyword" function might do you some good.

[MenloParque]

32. Had to go to ER yesterday

Yesterday I had to go the ER due to my asthma flaring up. The nearest ER is in San Jose, California (ground zero for coronavirus outbreak in CA). Surprisingly, I was out in 30 minutes with a breathing treatment, and a new prescription of advair and prednisone to get me through this allergy induced attack. To be honest, I was expecting more panic. The visit was surprisingly upbeat! I asked the ER doc about PPE- he laughed and put his hand on my shoulder and told to dial it down and watch less doom and gloom news. That doctor actually made me feel a better and gave me hope that we will get though this! An ER doc in one of the hardest hit areas telling me to CALM THE FUCK DOWN!! WE GOT THIS!!

[thucythucy]

43. "He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder...."

That's actually quite disturbing behavior, coming from an ER doctor in a virus hot spot.

I'm NOT in a hot spot, had an appointment with my GP a week ago. He came in and said, "Excuse me for not shaking your hand, but I'm sure you understand." He wore gloves during the examination, and immediately washed his hands in my presence,

I appreciated the precautions, since I have an immune system deficiency and am at extra risk.

Hopefully your doc is right. If not, we're in for some very bad times indeed, and pretending otherwise won't help.

[MenloParque]

57. Actually

In a very calm way put his gloved hand on my shoulder of my Er gown and told me ‘do you see us panicking? Do you see people in hallways dying?’ He did me a very big solid mentally! Reassuring me that they are very well equipped to deal with this virus. Your doc can learn quite a bit how to calm patients. Where the fuck you live where ER docs going around shaking hands?!?

[madville]

34. Misery loves company

I enjoy the banter myself.

[Laelth]

60. +1 n/t

-Laelth

[Celerity]

36. you lack basic understanding of what is coming nt

[GemDigger]

37. Sticking your head in the sand won't keep you alive. Knowledge will.

[beachbumbob]

39. ??? Restrictions and isolation is still coming, not even close yet as

this pandemic is in infant stage and can last 18 months with a second round this fall/winter hitting. This is NOT a short duration event.

[hunter]

40. I haven't watched traditional television for more than a decade.

Our television plays DVDs and Netflix. That's all it does.

We quit television news years before we quit television..

I NEVER see or hear Trump on the television. I also have "Trump" on my DU trash-by-keyword list.

On the other hand, half my extended family is out of work. Young people are especially hard hit. Those of us who can still work will subsidize those who can't. A lot of people are not so fortunate, they don't have any kind of social safety net. As a community we have to look out for them.

My wife is a health care provider who has to touch people to do her job. These people may or may not be infected with the virus. She can't work at home like our children and I can. Her work is absolutely essential to the public health, as well as the health of her patients.

I'm over sixty and have been hospitalized for asthma and pneumonia several times in my life. My situation is scary, but I'm not letting it paralyze me.

The fact is MOST people are going to be infected, but it will be best for everyone if it's a slow burn rather than a wildfire that overwhelms our health care system.

If people "tune out" and become careless we increase the odds of catastrophe.

So yeah, this is sort of a big deal.

For some people it helps to talk about it.

[Bradshaw3]

42. This post is as bad a doom and gloom; here's a better take

This is a thoughtful, non victim blaming perspective on the situation we are in. It is part of our evolution to not deal well with uncertainty. In fact, it helps us to survive. Being doom and gloom all the time isn't healthy of course, but there are better solutions than to admonish people for feeling this way, when it is perectly understandable, or to provide ignorant "advice" such as self-isolating wil end soon. You don't know that, and no one else does either and that is the point. Here is more helpful advice:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/22/think-about-the-best-case-scenario-how-to-manage-coronavirus-anxiety

[mnmoderatedem]

44. I've forced myself to take your advice.

Ordinarily I stay on top of things, stay well informed, vent here on DU when I'm angry at things. Lately, for obvious reasons, I've forced myself to turn off my TV, log off my laptop, and go out and take a walk. The weather in Minnesota is finally looking to cooperate

[hamsterjill]

45. Perhaps it's you?

Maybe you need to tune out for a bit? People deal with things differently. We are all individual.

For me, I go through a process. I have to come to grips with just how bad something can be, figure out a plan, and then look for strength to put the plan in action.

We each have our own process and time line.

This stuff is a game changer and I’m willing to give people a little space to deal with it how they must.

Not everyone is ready to be “positive”. That simply doesn’t work for some of us.

[zackymilly]

52. It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine.n/t

[KY_EnviroGuy]

53. Let's all join the PTL Club: Patience, Tolerance and Love.

This disaster is going to require lots of patience, extraordinary tolerance and tons of love of fellow man.

KY..........

[zackymilly]

59. Join my PTL Club: Paper towels, Toilet paper and Lysol. n/t

[JHB]

66. Yeah, that's a better use for the term than what many of us remember it as...

"The PTL Club" was the name of religious grifter Jim Bakker's cable tv show, also known as "The Jim and Tammy Show". There, PTL supposedly stood for "Praise The Lord", but it was more like "Pass The Loot."

That went defunct in 1989 (geez, 31 years ago, now), but Bakker has apparently revived his "PTL" as a channel on the Roku streaming service.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

81. I hoped someone would catch the pun. Thanks, JHB.

I was on a job in South Carolina in around 1979 and will never forget switching channels and seeing Bakker on his late night preaching show (before his big financial train wreck) literally on his knees begging for people to mail him $500 checks for which he promised dedicated prayers.

My how times changed for him and now he's back grifting again. That's why Trump's rise was not so surprising.

I figure if Trump had been impeached, he too would be right back grifting on TV within a month and probably sucessful....


KY..........

[sarisataka]

56. Oh how the morning light

Can change one's attitude

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213148419

[demmiblue]

65. Well, then!

Looks like a certain someone is trolling DU.

[stillcool]

83. I guess so..

jeez..I want some of those cheerios.

[Judi Lynn]

88. Funny. You can smell that pomposity a mile away. Someone has too much time on his hands.

Oh, yeah, gotta fear that civil unrest. We'll all be murderized, us "lefties".

Our days of plotting fake news stories are numbered.

[beaglelover]

58. I took an hour walk yesterday. Felt great afterwards.

Last night went to a birthday dinner party at a friend's house. There were 7 of us there. We practiced social distancing as best we could. It was so great to be in their company again and did wonders from my mental health. Being cooped up at home is not good for the psyche.

[zackymilly]

61. I went for a walk to look in unlocked cars for hand sanitizer. n/t

[AlexSFCA]

62. I always feel better when I tale a little break from DU

but it’s especially hard during pandemic when our news cycle is on hourly basis.

[tenderfoot]

63. LOL

[NickB79]

67. Even the best coronavirus scenario is terrible

https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-cases-deaths-scenarios-a452dd00-81eb-4683-9050-83a93e40b538.html

Why it matters: Some readers tell us they think virus coverage has been overly dramatic. So we wanted to share with you the consensus of what the most clear-eyed, serious, optimistic people are saying, as a way to focus our minds.

Tens of thousands of Americans die, we have double-digit unemployment for months, countless businesses die, retirements are wiped out, and the nation is saddled with once unimaginable debt.

That, folks, is the best case scenario we're facing.
That's if we're lucky — and doesn't even mention the lost graduations, honeymoons, weddings, and other important missed milestones.

[cwydro]

69. Excellent post.

Rec!

[LudwigPastorius]

70. I believe that is called whistling past the graveyard.

There's nothing wrong with monitoring the situation.

In fact, if I had not been paying attention early on, I would not have some of the basic supplies I need to keep myself and my elderly mother alive.

I got them early, before they disappeared from the shelves at the store, precisely because I didn't "tune out".

[on edit:]
You seem to be liberally spreading some of that doom around yourself.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213148419

What's up with that, Chief?

[dalton99a]

71. America was a very different place a week ago

This is much worse than 9/11 in terms of economic and societal impact. However, my guess is that - if most everyone do what they're supposed to do - things will be back to normal/pseudonormal by Labor Day, and by Christmas for hospitals (or whenever all the COVID-19 patients die or go home)

There will be a tremendous psychological uplift in the morning of Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

[msongs]

73. hysteria generates views. statistically things are 80% ok, but not if yer in the 20% nt

[forthemiddle]

77. I am a glass 1/2 full type person

But I am finding myself more depressed every time I visit here.

I am not pointing fingers at anyone, but there was a thread about a possible treatment (not a cure, or a preventative measure), and instead of hoping it was true, many here seemed to almost hope it wouldn’t be effective because Trump was touting it.

Personally if I get Covid19, I will be begging my doctor to prescribe it to me, because even if it doesn’t work as advertised, it is hope! Obviously this will happen after my doctor weighs the pros and cons of my individual overall health, but hell yes, this gives me hope, which is something everyone needs right now.

[randr]

78. Light at the end of the tunnel

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[tenderfoot]

79. It's certainly isn't doom and gloom NOW!

buh-bye

[Kingofalldems]

82. Boom!

[JimGinPA]

84. .

[sarisataka]

87. Back to the bridge,

Time to change socks

[Ptah]

80. Thanks for playing. What do we have as a consolation prize Bob?

[Demsrule86]

85. My husband is getting laid off next Friday...my son is laid off now...he works for big 3

All our family except one daughter is now laid off...what the hell are you talking about? I see nothing positive period...it is not about sitting home. It about being screwed period and you might die too...and it may go on for months...who knows if your company even survives. Experts are talking about 20 % unemployment...depression era unemployment...the jobs report so bad they are hiding it.

[Judi Lynn]

91. God forbid Democrats should keep harping on Trump's grotesque, unforgivable fuck-up.

Just because he terminated all the people who would have been prepared to handle this catastrophe long ago doesn't give them a right to keep going on and on and on, making a big deal over it.

Show some respect for the greatest president of all time, the greatest leader in the history of the universe.

[live love laugh]

92. IKR 🤷‍♀️

[OhioChick]

95. Sorry but I can't "tune out"

Both of my kids are emergency room doctors and are treating infected patients with inadequate equipment as I type this.

Their hospitals tell them, they will likely all become infected at some point and they both are asthmatic, one with a compromised immune system so yes, I worry and will continue to, they're my kids.

One of my kids lives with me, so if he gets this virus, I will likely, as well.

From what they tell me coming out of the hospitals, CDC, health agencies, etc. is quite grim.

Excuse me for not being so optimistic as you are, I hear what's going on behind the scenes and see the fear in my kid's eyes.

Yes, I would certainly make miserable company because I'm terrified.

[Raine]

96. Agree, sometimes I just have to take a break nt