What the Coronavirus Has Done to Me, Personally

Coronavirus Outbreak
20 Mar

Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

As the coronavirus sweeps across the world, its real-life impact goes beyond simply getting sick. In reality, it’s bringing the entire planet to its knees. And although everyone will have a unique experience, here is my take on what COVID-19 means to me.

And no, I’m not sick. I’m one of those people who has an immune system that can kill an elephant. I usually get the stuff that is exceptionally deadly, like West Nile, tetanus or blood poisoning.

However, you don’t need to show symptoms of COVID-19 to have your life turned inside out and upside down.

The Impact of the Coronavirus

My problems started back before the coronavirus was at our doorstep. It began when our landlord told my roommate and I to get out by the end of March so he could sell the house. And since then, I’ve had prolonged stress building.

Even after telling him that we have a bid on a new house but can’t move into it until the end of April, he still wants us out.

And he’s not the only one. A friend of my roommate might lose her business because she can’t pay rent and was told to either cough up the dough or get out.

So much for humanity caring during an outbreak.

Facing Homelessness

Because a corporation owns the house we are trying to buy, the impact of COVID-19 is hitting them in the wallet. With Wall Street bleeding out, the company is scared and is now demanding more money down.

Which we really don’t have.

Oh sure, you’ll hear about interest rates plummeting thanks to the Fed. But the amount you’ll need down is skyrocketing. No one talks about that aspect.

So, not only is there a chance we’ll lose the house before even moving into it, but it’s damn near impossible to get into a rental at this point.

My only hope is that come April 1st, I’ll either be in a hotel or an AirBnB, provided anyone is still open. Otherwise, I guess I’ll sleep in the van until coronavirus fears calm down a bit.

Incredible Amounts of Stress

Because my son is essentially laid off, I might have nowhere to go at the end of the month and the world is shutting down, the amount of stress I’m going through is insane.

For the past several weeks, I’ve felt as though I am screaming at the top of my lungs on the inside while keeping a calm-ish disposition on the outside.

And being hyper-stressed is not a good way to fight off a novel infection. On the contrary, stress weakens the immune system…among a slew of other things.

Stress from Not Making Videos

I don’t make YouTube videos for myself. WriterSanctuary has quite the audience developing, and I’m stressed about not delivering new content. I feel like I am letting people down, and it depresses me.

And because I am hyper-stressed, I can’t focus on making a good video for those who watch. I either come up with ideas that are just not high quality, or I sit and stare at the camera for hours.

In the end, this begins to fuel my impostor syndrome and makes me feel even worse. It’s a vicious cycle.

Gaining Weight, Again

Because I am a stress eater, you guessed it, I’ve been putting weight back on. Though, not as much as I thought. I’ve only gained about five pounds so far, which isn’t bad considering how poorly I’ve eaten this past month.

But with the rec center closing down, my routine has been thrown out of whack. I was starting to enjoy weight training and moving up the ladder in points on Exercise.com.

And after the blizzard last night, I don’t get to enjoy my daily walks, either. On the upside, I’ll get a little bit of exercise by shoveling the walkways.

Can I Rise Above the Coronavirus?

The hardest part for me is trying to find the positive lining in this situation. Though, I’m not sure why I’m having such an issue. In the past, I have proven myself as a resilient man.

My pets have a place to stay, my son is going to stay with my daughters and I can work from anywhere that has an Internet connection. So, why am I having such a hard time with everything lately?

I guess I haven’t had the most stellar six months. In half a year I’ve lost a son, a best friend, a girlfriend and my house. It almost sounds like a Country-Western song.

What can I do to get my head back in the game?

Focus on Work

Luckily, I already work from home. The company I work for, most of our stuff is all online and digital. Being in the web hosting industry, we’ll probably be one of the last to actually start letting people go.

I have plenty of work, whether it’s from my private clients or those I find on content mills. So, it’s not like I can’t afford to survive the coronavirus.

It all comes down to if I can not focus on being homeless and just do my job for now. With this being my Year of Effort, perhaps I need to do so…put in the effort.

Pick Up the Dumbbells

While I doubt I’ll be able to rack up the 50,000 pounds I was lifting at the rec center, there’s nothing wrong with using the 20-pound dumbbells I have at the house. And I know of all kinds of workouts for them.

Unfortunately, I packed up my resistance cables already. But I really need to find a way to work out again. Exercise is a stress reliever, and I haven’t really done much of that since the coronavirus shut everything down over here.

Perhaps I’ll go back to what I was doing when I weighed 300 pounds…complete body-weight exercises. I would lay out my yoga mat and spend time doing various workouts such as planks, push-ups and the like.

Get Back Into Xbox Kinect Play

I haven’t really played the Xbox since the whole house thing started back in February. And I really do enjoy the games I have. Maybe working up a sweat will help get those endorphins coursing and help me relax.

If I set up another spreadsheet, I can record data and write up another article for ColoradoPlays. That will help me do some cardio as well as being productive for the gaming blog.

I just need to talk myself into getting up off my ass and doing it.

Find Ways to Keep Myself Motivated!

The biggest challenge I am facing right now is a severe lack of motivation. I’m starting to shut down on myself. This coronavirus threat may not make me sick, but it’s definitely affecting my judgment.

All of my old tricks aren’t working well, which means I need to find something else that does. Coming back to not knowing if I’ll have a home keeps sucking the life out of me.

Things are only going to get worse if I can’t find a way to motivate myself.

Humanity will Weather this Coronavirus

Humankind has beaten down a myriad of pandemics in the past, and this one is no different. And you don’t need to get sick with it for the virus to really screw up your life.

Be safe out there and play smart. You don’t need to show symptoms of the flu for it to make you sick.

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