Covid-19, Job + Mid Year Update

A lot has happened since the start of the pandemic, when everything shut down in March. Figured since my life looks a lot different now, an update was in order!

Personally, I was lucky enough to be able to continually work remote: work on Zoom calls, trainings, and meetings with my team. We got back to work in the beginning of May, in store, cleaning, organizing and just general upkeep from the months we'd been away. We were there for about a month and in the beginning of June we opened back up again to the general public. With much, MUCH hesitation, we started a schedule with later hours, a staff of four managers, and a busy, awaiting crowd of antsy customers. To be honest, I was quite nervous to start and the feeling has yet to leave my side. Up until recently, masks weren't required, many people still don't social distance, and the demands in traffic and hours that we saw were heightened to a level that I clearly wasn't ready for. It's definitely taken me all of June and now into July and I'm still really anxious about being there. I hope that this subsides soon.

Along with work and all the craziness that comes with that, I recently moved in the middle of May. As in, turning 25 and moving all within about a week of each other. I found the apartment randomly online and had been slowly looking because it's been one of my goals for a long time to be out on my own! The place is a small studio, with a kitchen, a small patio, and a parking spot in the Valley of Los Angeles. It's taken the last month getting the place situated to a cozy environment. I quickly realized that getting home after a long day, made for a very slow, quiet somewhat lonely time. So I ended up finding an animal adoption agency through my landlord, and fostered to adopt a small male kitten, who I ended up naming Cinnamon. He's a rambunctious little 2-lb boy who is sweet and shy and I'm excited to have him with me on this new journey.

With everything that's going on, I feel I need to share the struggles that I've been facing. These things that I just described sound wonderful and idyllic in some cases, but to be honest, my anxiety has been extensively worse, my sleep almost non-existent, and fear of the unknown has really taken a much larger toll than I expected. It seems that every aspect of my life has been flipped on its head: I see about 200+ people a day at my job... in a pandemic.. and while we take safety precautions like cleaning and social distancing, our hours are much later than before, and we still come in contact with the masses! (talk about feeling anxious 8 hours a day) Then we have a new situation in moving. I am so excited that I accomplished another goal, but I never realized how hard it was to live on your own. My family is 50+ miles away, and after a long day, it can feel very lonely all by yourself. I'm finding that this transition is needing much more self-love than probably ever before, some outside medical help, and lots of family time if I can help it.

It seems as though I'm not alone in my struggles. Now, my struggles are unique to me, and in some ways I put myself in these situations, but the mind is a tricky, changing thing! I'm trying to navigate all these uncharted territories and it seems like everyone around me is feeling the same way. Most everyone I know is going through some sort of challenging time. It's a really tough, uncertain time. And the best we can do is try to stick together, rely on the people and resources we can, and take it one day, no.... one minute, one hour at a time if we need to.

How are you coping with everything going on? And what are the strategies you've got in place to make life better? Let me know!

Xo, Claire

#personal #anxiety #mentalhealth #covid19 #lifeupdate