What’s with all this touchy feely stuff all of a sudden? Exhibits A-C:
http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Forum.AnyoneFeelingOverwhelmedByItAll
http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Forum.CopingWithYourEmotionsDuringAPandemic
http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Forum.TearsAndFearsDiscussionForTheDistraught
Am I the only one who is completely calm and chilling—cool as a cucumber?
anonymous,
Please choose a handle and then read about adjustment reactions.
Dag, and I thought we were going to trade pickling recipies! :)
anonymous – at 19:12
Just remember that cucumbers many times end up in a pickle;-)
The FluWiki is trying to sort out the emotional issues from the physical material issues. I’m actually not a touchy/feely type of person either, but I know that there needs to be a place for this to be addressed. It will all sort itself out and the FluWiki will be better for it, as will the community members.
Kenpofemme – at 19:31 Dag, and I thought we were going to trade pickling recipies! :)
And I had visions of Vlassics everywhere typing wiki replies—anonymously, of course!
Sorry for the misleading advertising. It’s just that it seemed like a large number of those types of threads all of a sudden, so I was wondering if there were others like me currently going through a “Meh” kind of phase.
Sorry Melanie, that was me.
For those unfamiliar with the term meh….
meh
Am I the only one who is completely calm and chilling
Or cold and calculating?
I didn’t know cucumbers could calculate! I should have taken one with me to algebra classes in high school!
Most of us have days when we’re fine, which is most of the time. Both anon_22 and I have had major meltdowns in the last couple of months which last a day and then we’re back to whatever passes for normal these days. Adjustment reactions are part of normal psychology and usually temporary.
Apparently “anonymous” is perfect. Or, has been on some really good meds for some time now…
BB,
I’d like 30 days on those meds.
…and obviously I’m not perfect, or I would have read every post before saying anything. Meh…
Melanie — Ditto :-)
Thick stems and green fruit…
Resilient.
Methinks it ain’t over yet.
Timber,
Asparagus?
Bronco Bill…
meh
In answer to the original question What’s with all this touchy feely stuff all of a sudden, we had a visitor who was having some…issues, with dealing with life in general. This community caught on and tried to give some moral support and layman’s advice. This visitor would calm down, then open another thread with more of his/her fears about BF and his/her very young family…I was amazed at the outpouring of support this person received, but said visitor was so sensitive that he/she took one comment a bit too personally and decided that he/she didn’t belong here. He/she was looking for more support than we as a collective could offer. The visitor did agree with one poster, and made a doc’s appt for tomorrow. We all pray that he/she keeps that appt.
Of course, we all could have done a 180, and gone the “hammer and nails” route, and just absolutely slammed the visitor for even bringing up the subject. But that’s not what Wikians are about. Usually.
OTOH, a lot of people are now thinking about the mental preparations that are needed pre-, during, and post-pandemic.
I was hoping for info on quicker ways to can pickles…darn
Hope no one starts a zucchini thread…
Well said, Bronco Bill @ 20:53.
Unless you are a shaman, or a borderline psychopath, or darn near brain-dead you are not going to be cool as a cucumber when faced with life-threatening situations. A recent study trumpeted good old-fashioned repression of emotions, bad thoughts, and feelings as a good way to get through a crisis. Don’t wallow in your emotions, don’t talk them to death, divert yourself, and stay busy and focussed. I liked the study because I have found in life that it worked for me after some early bad experiences. You can, through time, hard-wire your brain for this kind of makeover. It is not easy or instantaneous. But if you keep applying yourself, eventually your mind will adapt.
It is a form of behavioral modification. Smile and laugh even when you don’t feel like it and often the emotions will follow the behavior. You can also learn to shut yourself down, to give yourself a break from oppressive feelings. Imagery, word magic (your own creations), and your favorite music can also aid in the battle for composure.
Intense bouts of weight-lifting (lots of reps and not necessarily heavy weights) can help the mind to shift gears, get out of that depressive rut. It is even better than running. Every shelter-in-place should have a cheap set of free weights.
You don’t have to be a victim of your emotions even with the Wolf at the Door.
handle – at 19:43
If you have ever read any of the stories from some of the People who have won the Medal of Honor, almost every one of them were scared half to death during the action. What carried them through was their training, and concern for others. Flu Wikie is providing the training “Mentally” to handle the Pandemic if it comes. Their obvious concern for others is what is going to make heros out of many of them. People like Melanie, Anon-22, Tom DVM, Bronco Bill, Eccles, Monotone, Pogge, and Hillbilly Bill are already heros for the time they put in here and the caring that they show to all of us. I am humbled that they answer my posts and honored to know them if only on the web.
Anon_451, You’re right — both about our Medal of Honor heros & about the mods here!
HA..I thought the title of this said Threat of Nukes! I need coffee…oh wait I don’t drink coffee. Should probably start.
Hmmm…I also see it’s not even about Cucumbers!!!
Well, as a mostly lurker I just want to say “Kudos” everyone for the wonderful way you have handled yourselves, for taking those by the hand when they need it, providing kind and comforting words, and helping them to get on the right path. It is so refreshing to see!!!!!
Whole lot better than getting reamed out like some places! :o)
need more and everyone else,
Thanks. We try to do what we can. As a former Unitarian Universalist lay minister, the phenomenon of herding cats is not unfamiliar to me.
My oldest daughter got married on July 22nd - so life goes on for us in the midst of worrying and prepping for a pandemic. At her bachelorette party we ladies (three generations worth) never laughed so hard in our lives. Picture my 2-yr-old nephew streaking through the room buck naked in light-up sandals as his mother shouts from the next room, “Stripper is here!!!” (Yes, it was a “clean” bachelorette party needless to say). My point is that we MUST go on with our lives, enjoy the good times and try to prepare for the bad, (and I hope “Kellie” and others like her are able to do this). And we will have meltdowns as we face a potential nightmare ahead of us but must express those emotions as a means of trying to cope. And talk, talk, talk it out with family and friends!
This thread is titled wrong, it should be called “Threat of Kooks.” My customer service workers who take the trash and recycling complaints tell me that with the heat here in Maryland this week, the “threat of Kooks” is very high.
Hope everyone else stays cool as a cuke and has a kook-free week. ;)
Anon_451 – at 23:47
Let’s hope Monotreme doesn’t catch wind of what you called him/her!
It thought it was for Kooks - just misspelled!!! I’m disappointed….. Need more food @ 10:20 - LOL!!! - you don’t need coffee, or more food for that matter. Get yourself a good pair of glasses!! :-)
Grace RN – at 21:08 Oooooh! I could really use some zuchini recipies! I put in way too many this year. Funny thing, my cucumbers died off. Probibily bacterial…but who knows? Ok the WHO probibly doesn’t know. (standing with head down in shame) “My name is Kenpofemme and I am a touchy-feely caring type of person”
Anonymous - 11:55 Whoo hooo! I was laughing when I went back and read that!
chuckles.. people in a semi panic can be so touchy sometimes. Handle I’m kinda with you er: pending developments in Karo, of course
Kenpofemme— all my cucumber plants myseteriously died as well, has there been a massive die-off in cukes as well as birds? Can H5N1 spread to vegetables? Not trying to scare people or anything, just wondering….
(-:
what comes to mind is that you are really asking “where is this panic we see coming from” (of course see Bill’s explanation) But I agree…. why are we seeing newbies or oldbies in a current state of panic? (excepting Karo which few know about)
flu’s been really really quiet… (note people yawn about that little tsunami in Indonesia) Glaxxo does/did have good news and confirmation that flu re assortment and re combination are almost fairy tales.
so I too wonder why hysterics at this point? what set them off? (please note, I’ve been there done that and realize the adjustment process)
Moeb— seriously here — what anic are you seeing? The one thread titled Coping with Emotions during a Pandemic is an attempt by some of us to talk about how to deal with emotions that will come up during a pandemic — not just in us, we calm as a cucumber, prepared fluwikie types, but in the unfortunate others. There’s a link to a very good article (I think) I posted there — wrotten by someone with a lot of experience in dealing with emotions/psychology/panic after terrorist attacts and other emergency situations. It is a thoughtprovoking article.
Anyhow, I don’t think that thread is an indication of a lot of people panicking right now. The other thread if for poeple who are feeling upset to have a place to go to talk without feeling they are out of place among all the relaxed people of the list.
you’ve got me there ACM, I don’t always read the threads, (based on the titles) I finally only looked at this one because cucumbers grow well here. meanwhile I’ve been a bit bored to (well bored) with the subject of bird flu. so sometimes I wonder if I’m missing something.
I just don’t see any panic? I don’t feel people here are panicking at all…..and this thread had me chuckling. Maybe it’s just me. I don’t feel panic stricken. But I’m not as cool as a cucumber either :-)
Nope, you aren’t missing anything. We’re all just watching and waiting. Very few hysterics.
It seemed to me like the three threads cited in the first post of this thread were kind of a trend “Overwhelmed”, “Coping/Emotions”, and “Distraught” and I wanted to start a livelier thread with a funny title. I appreciate the people being silly on here.
I respectfully over my culling services to anyone who is experiencing a garden die-off. I especially would like to perform a preemptive cull if anyone’s strawberry patch has been exposed to the flu.
offer not “over”