The Support Thread

General Discussion General Discussion
1

None of us has lived through an event quite like this, and with us being stretched emotionally, physically, mentally and financially as Covid-19 continues to circle the globe, it’s become easy to get lost in our own worlds and troubles, bottling stuff up through our desire not to burden others…

Bottling things up and putting on a brave face may seem like a good plan at the time, but it can prove to be an unhealthy coping mechanism.

I see this topic as being a place where those who are feeling the struggle can have a place to vent… To relieve the burden even a little bit… And maybe where other members might be able to chime in, provide advice or links to resources that could be of help.

For those who are feeling they’re in the darkest situation, here is a list of suicide crisis lines: Wikipedia: List of suicide crisis lines

For those who are in difficult financial circumstances, here is a list of organisations that might be able to assist: International Monetary Fund: Emergency financing by region

Please, if you are struggling… Reach out to us. We may not be able to provide all the answers, but we’ll try.

2

I miss doing Ghostbusters stuff with my Ghostbusters friends.

3

Understandable, as that was a part of regular social interaction and bonding with costume and related fun shenanigans thrown in. Hopefully sooner rather than later, things will start getting better so that you’re able to troop in costume again.

Are you in regular phone/skype/zoom contact with them?

4

I am! I actually run a Ghostbusters RPG 2 times a month for them. So there is virtual hanging, but not really the same thing. This Covid thing can stop anytime now.

5

That’s good to hear, it’s not much, but not much is better than nothing. :slight_smile:

One of my friends that I haven’t seen in person since probably February (due to work commitments before the UK went into lockdown) I’ve been scheduling gaming sessions online so at least we can catch up, though even when we do sometimes we struggle for conversation as most of our outside hobbies have been suspended.

6

Woke up to a phone call from my best friend that he’s positive. He beat cancer a few years ago, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared as hell.

Sometimes I feel ready to throw a chair. It’s like a vast majority of this country are acting like there’s nothing we can do. Because there is no simple answer, people have given up being safe and it’s maddening. I’m worrying for the life of my best friend and people are complaining about wearing a damn mask.

7

I’m sorry to hear, and with the constant bombardment of news it’s more than natural to feel scared under the current circumstances. Hopefully he’ll weather the virus and come out of it the other side with his health as intact as possible. Does he live close to you, and is there anything he presently needs? If there is, being able provide some assistance in facilitating him getting what he needs could provide you with a bit of a distraction from his diagnosis, as well as the sense of having contributed towards his recovery.

[quote=Dr.D post_id=4940563 time=1602096559 user_id=1348]Sometimes I feel ready to throw a chair.
[/quote]

As you saw in the Afterlife thread, there’s countless people out there who feel the same. Again, this is a valid reaction to the current circumstances of some of society’s response to the virus.

[quote=Dr.D post_id=4940563 time=1602096559 user_id=1348]It’s like a vast majority of this country are acting like there’s nothing we can do. Because there is no simple answer, people have given up being safe and it’s maddening. I’m worrying for the life of my best friend and people are complaining about wearing a damn mask.

[/quote]

It is infuriating that so little is being asked of so many, and yet so many of those being asked to make a tiny sacrifice are refusing.

It leaves those who are trying in a frustrated position where they will consider “why bother?”, before ultimately deciding to continue with social distancing, wearing the mask.

This is one of the things that I come short on advice because I don’t know how to fight this ignorance and selfishness.

It’s possible it may be impossible to fight it… And that the only thing we can do, is keep calm and carry on.

By sticking to the guidance, you’re helping to prevent other people getting infected. :slight_smile:

8

Everyday is different, and I know it’s made harder by the fact that I moved from Chicago to LA last January. Nearly all of my friends and my entire family live in our outside Chicago so it definitely adds to the feelings of isolation that have hit us all I’m sure. Most days, I just try to do the best I can and remind myself that the only thing I can directly control in these situations is my reaction.

9

Im feeling this hard right now. Its tough to try to stay stay safe when so many arent. :frowning:

10

[quote=Dr.D post_id=4940572 time=1602112033 user_id=1348]the only thing I can directly control in these situations is my reaction.

[/quote]

Same here.

In my adult years I’ve learned I don’t like sudden, unexpected change… It leaves me briefly irrational… And I don’t like feeling that I’m no-longer in control in my life. The early days of the pandemic, and lockdown were not great.

11

Hey everyone. This covid isolation stuff has been tough. I’m feeling a bit lonely. Looking for a friend I can give and get support from.

12

You’ve come to the right place, Prime.

What sort of things are you into? Are there any online activity groups in your area dedicated to your interests?

13

There’s really nothing in my area for my interests. Ghostbusters and Scooby doo are some. I’d have to drive far for anything. I tried starting a group but the others got disinterested (https://www.facebook.com/NJ-Paranormal-Alliance-107905664302959/)

14

Ah, I see.

I don’t know if this would be of interest, but this looks like it might be the GBFans of the Scooby Doo fan community: Link

15

Yeah I’ve seen it. Thanks

16

I want to express something I am upset about. So, 2 years ago the politicians in charge of my state passed a minimum wage increase and it’s been raising a dollar every year til it gets up to $15 an hour by 2025. Now it’s at $10 and neither I or any of my coworkers have gotten raises to go with it. Just before it passed I finally had earned a great raise that was $5 above minimum wage. And now that it’s at $10 I am now making $3.50 cents above. The company I work for doesn’t want us to have raises to go with the raise of minimum wage and the way it’s looking when it goes up to $14 in 2024 I am going to be making minimum wage and I will be making minimum wage the rest of my life. I hate this. A lot of smaller businesses have already shut down because of that raise of minimum wage happening.

I know we’re not supposed to talk political things on here but this is something that bothers me that so many people refuse to accept. Very few people are getting raises to go with the raise of minimum wage. And it’s hard to run a business if you have to pay all your new workers $15 an hour. Cause then you have to spend more money giving raises to your long time workers fair raises. I guess I am done. Feel free to say this isn’t a bad thing and that now more people will make more money but I couldn’t disagree with you more.

I admit COVID hasn’t helped either and I fear a lot of businesses will be shut down due to the governor saying that nothing but grocery stores can be open for business and restaurants can only do curbside service.

17

It’s frustrating because you’re thinking about the situation in the wrong context; You might be making $13.50 an hour–$5 more than the previous minimum wage-- but over the next few years, you’ll receive a $1.50 pay raise and be earning $15.00 an hour. At no point in the climb to a more livable wage do you ever lose income, the only change is that others, who were previously FAR below the minimum wage, are now at parity. And any businesses that can’t make this work, were only in business because they were dependent on paying sub-livable wages. They can marginally raise prices to cover the expense, or they probably didn’t have a profitable business model to begin with.

A study was conducted on wealth [1], and the most confusing conclusion was that people would voluntarily choose to have LESS wealth, if it still meant having more than their neighbors–it was about social status and that being rich only made people happy if their social status was improved. People would turn down a million dollars a year if their neighbors were given two million a year. It might have felt good knowing you were earning so much more than the previous minimum wage, because it elevated your status as earning “above minimum wage,” and now you’ll feel less valued because, even though you’ll be earning MORE per hour, you’ll be earning “minimum wage.” Don’t fall into the trap, everyone benefits when the standards of living increase… as the old saying goes, “We all do better when we all do better.”

[1] Money only makes you happy if it makes you richer than your neighbors | ScienceDaily

18

I got to be real with you all, this pandemic has pushed me to the breaking point on a nearly daily bases.

Normally i suffer from Anxiety Disorder, OCD and PTSD. Growing up heavyset, i was often mocked and teased in public and to this day, i normally don’t like to brave crowds by myself and will almost never go into a mall or movie without friends. Ive been in treatment for decades, but its still a severe underlying issue i’ve worked hard at solving my whole life.

This pandemic has taken a slowly healing mental wound and ripped it wide open to the point I’m trying desperately not to bleed out.

I live with my elderly parents and take care of them as best i can in a very dysfunctional household ravaged by various physical and mental illnesses (many undiagnosed except mine). So before the pandemic life was difficult, but i always found relief in hanging out with my friends (who are sadly not big ghostbusters fans), doing Youtube videos, and allowing myself to escape in movies and video games.

Ghostbusters is my first clear memory in life. I can distinctly recall as a child (i was born June of 83) watching it from my playpen on an old 13 inch Magnavox TV on HBO and my father recording it on a VHS Tape.

It was that moment i fell in love with the movie and became obsessed with it. As i got older, i would run home from my school bus from pre school just to watch the closing credits to The Real Ghostbusters (i never made it home in time to watch the full episodes) and would wake up saturday mornings early to watch the show and play with my figures.

I adored ghostbusters and it became a life long love. A love i tried to pass on to my friends kids (i dont have children of my own) and share the thing that bought so much joy to my life.

So 2020 was supposed to be the year that finally after over 30 years i would be able to sit down in a theater with my friends and their kids (who i view as my nieces and nephews) and finally see a true continuation of the franchise (I hated the reboot not because they were women, but because it totally discarded the first two films entirely) and not only see the characters i loved return, but have my nieces and nephews meet new characters not to much older then themselves catch ghosts too and something they could identifie and connect with themselves.

Then this pandemic hit, and it triggered my Anxiety, depression, and severe OCD.

I wear a resperator just to go out to get the mail or take out the garbage. I got strict rules i follow not to get infected, not for my sake, but for my parents, who have underlying health issues and i know i could not live with myself knowing i got them sick or even killed because i was too relaxed in taking precausions to prevent getting sick.

At this point i dont even care if i myself get sick and die from this virus. I fully except the fact i am expendable. Im mentally disabled, i have no family of my own, if i die, so be it, but i refuse to let anyone else get sick or die because of me!

So in order to take every single precaution possible, i have not hung out with friends since the summer (and even when i did i wore my resperator) after i had multiple severe panic attacks.

I just cant afford to risk it, and ive been in total isolation since mid Auguest. The only contact i have with them is the ocasional text or facetime chat.

Its been a brutal nightmare with panic attacks almost daily. Ive been severly depressed, even suicidial at points (with no plans to act on them and i am in treatment so their is no concern) and i keep telling myself, every day is a day closer to getting a vaccine and hanging out with my friends and going to go see Ghostbusters Afterlife.

Its been brutal waiting because im the type of person that for all my bitching and moaning if there is something i can possably do to change the outcome, i do it.

This their is nothing i can do except to wait for a vaccine and keep doing what ive been doing since the start of this thing and finding a way to keep moving forward.

Its been beyond hard and every further delay of the film is a heart breaking thing to me and their isnt a day that goes by i wonder if i’ll ever get a vaccine, or if ill ever see my friends in person again, or see this film.

But i refuse to give in, and i keep fighting to move forward!

Sry to vent but i figure i just tell my side of this nightmare.

19

[quote=yourbigpalal83 post_id=4942708 time=1606545766 user_id=4797]At this point i dont even care if i myself get sick and die from this virus. I fully except the fact i am expendable.
[/quote]

I’d care. I’m sure your friends and your parents would care.

You’re not expendable, yourbigpalal83. You may see yourself as less important than those close to you, but your friends and family would be devastated by your loss.

You’re not expendable, yourbigpalal83.

I’ve been in a somewhat similar boat as you, I’ve not seen any of my friends in person since March. While I could theoretically meet up with them, one of them has underlying health conditions, and I’d rather not put his health at risk.

While it’s a lesser substitute to meeting in person, we have been playing Gears of War 5 online, and we usually meet up in the game once a week, which allows us to keep each other grounded, and life each other’s spirits.

If there’s any additional ways to build up contact with them, such as online gaming, or even facetimed table-top roleplay like one of my brothers has been doing, you should definitely go for it. Isolation is the next biggest threat in this pandemic after the virus itself, and human beings aren’t meant to be solitary.

I’d also encourage you to reach out to professionals like the Samaritans, or other suicide-prevention organizations to discuss the thoughts you’ve been having. You can also discuss them here if it helps.

Every day is a day closer to getting a vaccine, and there’s three very promising vaccines in development. :slight_smile:

Don’t apologise for venting. Venting helps to work through things and to de-stress. You’re among friends here.

20

Sometimes life can feel like it’s beating you down from every which way & that there’s no way to get up, dust yourself off & do the best you can. The only thing you can do is take joy in the little things. It sounds as cliche as it gets but it can be true. What’s something you love? Let’s take, Real Ghostbusters as an example. Try this. Everyday, or every other day or once a week, however much you think you neeed it, put aside as much time as you can, put a reminder in your phone or calendar, and schedule something that you love to do. So everyday at 5:30, you watch an episode of your favourite TV show, or Real Ghostbusters, or read a few chapters from your favourite book. Everyday. At the same time. It gives you something to look forward to. Something just for you that you love. Mix it up too. One day read a book, the next watch a favourite movie. But keep it regular and on schedule if you can.

I know it’s not the same as the real thing, but I’m giving you a big internet hug. Did you feel it? You sound like a good person. Keep being that good person, no matter how life tries to get you down. It can be so hard. Sooo hard. But finding happiness or joy in whatever small things we can? That’s how we win. And just think. Soon you’ll have a brand new Ghostbusters adventure to love for the rest of your life. Sometimes just thinking about that puts a smile on my face & keeps me going. It sounds silly. A movie? But screw it. Whatever works.

Sometimes we just need to vent and be heard too. So if you ever want to talk, about ghostbusters, about life, about anything, just PM me. Please.

Anyways, keep doing your best & taking each day as it comes. Taking care or your parents & shouldering that burden? Not all heroes wear capes. But don’t forget to take care of you! It’s the least you could do for yourself.