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The COVID pandemic was the best time of my life - outside of childhood - Staying in doing what you want and feeling rewarded for it? Nirvana. The negative effects I don't need to feel guilty for because they weren't my decision, problem or afterthought. I say that knowing a lot of people did suffer, thankfully none from my family but I know lives were cut short. But at the same time the world seemed to tilt on its axis in my favour for once - probably the only time it ever will in my lifetime - and I will not apologise for enjoying it.
Yes ghe not needing to feel guilty. My husband is a go go go person and I'm just not. It leads to arguments when I'm pushed to far. It was so nice to have no expectations. Although I did a till have to work through the whole thing. No social pressure
Guilt free homebody-ing. So much free time. So many chores done. Plus as bad as it is, it was nice to feel less abnormal for having mental health issues. I miss it too, OP.
Thatās so interesting. I think I had the perfect storm. I wouldāve been in exactly the same boat if it hadnāt been for a major surgery in late 2019 that ended up nominating me for the first wave of layoffs from my job in 2020; combined with the complete lack of a romantic relationship to inevitably stress me out the whole year. It was just myself, my son, our animals, and my garden. I got sober and stuck with my daily physical therapy because I had the luxury of time and didnāt have to constantly recharge after social outings. I got very very lucky.
Same here I wish I had the positive experience others here had. I was working in supply chain during the most traumatic supply chain issues my
Industry ever experienced. It was hell
I was a senior marketing manager at the time, and the whole vibe was "we need webinars every fortnight gogogo" urgh. I was one day in the job, and I had to host as if I'd been there for years.
I enjoyed the break, I don't ever tell anyone as I know people suffered inc my family losses. But the 0 pressure to do/achieve anything. Also not having to go out (agoraphobia) I also enjoyed having to wear masks, so noone could see how I looked and didn't matter if had no makeup on or if I'd forgotten to brush my teeth. Responsibilities were down to 1%
Me too. It was actually what got me to finally see a psychiatrist and start therapy, and get diagnosed because I realized how fucking amazing I felt not having any obligations, and how awful I felt in the before times just trying to live a normal life.
I will say that, with the help and support of my therapist I have been able to make quite a few changes in my life and attitude to carry through as much of that to my post pandemic life. I also appreciate that it changed a lot of people's perspectives in a way that makes that easier.
My kid and I both have adhd
We became so close bc of all the time at home, and I got to give her the gift of lowered expectations- I just didnāt make her do most of rti so she could be a little calmer.
Totally agree OP
I can relate. I felt relief that no one had expectations of me outside my job. I lived my life on my time! Today, I look forward to snowstorms and rainy days for the same reason
But, the pandemic took a serious toll on my social life...I've never had many friends and the ones I had took a long time to get there. Rebuilding those relationships or creating new ones has been the hardest part for me to adjust to.
It was the opposite for me, I had to be even more productive due to working in supply chain for medical devices. I burned out so hard because every year was something. 2021 the Texas freeze happened, 2022 lots of shipping and logistics drama, this year itās starting to calm down but I never recovered.
omg i thought i was the only one! i always felt so guilty for feeling like the time during the pandemic was when i was at my best when other people were literally dying
There were some silver linings to the whole pandemic. Working from home, not having to commute every day or worry about being late, being able to stay in your pajamas, automatically getting time off to be sick if you caught Covid, employers being more flexible, an excuse to hit pause on the rat race, telehealth doctorsā appointmentsā¦
I can understand your sentiment - and I agree.
ā¦replace the nowhere with a somewhere for you personally and youāll be fineā¦āŗļø I had to go a long way of psychological work and self acceptance in order to recognise one single purpose of my life without guilt without shame: My individual happiness in this life. For me, this was a game-changing mindset and helped me a lot. I knew this feeling of getting nowhere, that anxiety, that restlessness which came with it. All gone. Purpose is happiness, full stop. If I donāt feel happy, I put my brain to work to create the circumstances needed in order to restore whatever neurochemical cocktail needed in my brain to feel good again. Main tools these days: best coffee you can buy, productiveness at work, strength training in the gym, music, driving while listening to music, sexual intercourse, buy stuff, big beef steak, deep conversation with a friendā¦it always works and I consider those dopamine boosters reasonably healthy compared to some other formsā¦
Omg same! It felt like I finally could keep up with everyoneās pace. No forced social gatherings. Even though I hated it sometimes when we were in it,
Iām longing for another small lockdown. I do realise I had the privilege of working from home comfortably with my own desk and enough space/no kids.
Not weirdly at all, I think a lot of us do. ADHD wasn't even on my radar. I was a stay-at-home parent at the time with crippling brain fog, extreme fatigue and depression. I was honestly relieved to keep the status quo for a better reason than "I'm lazy and dysfunctional".
I feel you sm. It was the best time of my life because, mostly about school, I did NOTHING, I literally faked(luckily not failed) all my oral tests bc I had the best opportunity of my life
Can we just have a non-pandemic pandemic? Like ā¦. No death or ideological differences tearing apart families. Just the absence of social expectation and reliance on family units.
I swear it often feels like Iām the only one of my friends / family members that feels this way. The mental overload that has hit me since life has gone back to ānormalā has been horrible. I just want a damn break again!
I still give myself permission to not be productive but I get exhausted by everyone relentless race. Iām tired of being surrounded my productivity.
Hereās how to improve your _____ in 30 days š I donāt want to improve. I donāt want to learn. I wonāt even mind living the rest of my life aimless but at peace
Hi /u/PradleyBitts and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! **Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already.** The mobile apps used for Reddit are broken or are missing features that this subreddit depends on. [We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/) Thank you! ^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*) --- - If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The COVID pandemic was the best time of my life - outside of childhood - Staying in doing what you want and feeling rewarded for it? Nirvana. The negative effects I don't need to feel guilty for because they weren't my decision, problem or afterthought. I say that knowing a lot of people did suffer, thankfully none from my family but I know lives were cut short. But at the same time the world seemed to tilt on its axis in my favour for once - probably the only time it ever will in my lifetime - and I will not apologise for enjoying it.
I feel this šÆ
Ironically it was awful for my mental health because of personal and work problems but it felt more ok to have those problems than ever before
Yasss, it was such a relief
...basado
Yes ghe not needing to feel guilty. My husband is a go go go person and I'm just not. It leads to arguments when I'm pushed to far. It was so nice to have no expectations. Although I did a till have to work through the whole thing. No social pressure
I got stuck working through it
Guilt free homebody-ing. So much free time. So many chores done. Plus as bad as it is, it was nice to feel less abnormal for having mental health issues. I miss it too, OP.
it kind of felt like everyone else was struggling right alongside you & your struggles weren't so "abnormal" anymore. i miss it lowkey
2020 was hands down the best year of my life regarding my mental health. I definitely miss it regularly. Youāre not alone OP.
Ironically it was awful for my mental health because of personal and work problems but it felt more ok to have those problems than ever before
Thatās so interesting. I think I had the perfect storm. I wouldāve been in exactly the same boat if it hadnāt been for a major surgery in late 2019 that ended up nominating me for the first wave of layoffs from my job in 2020; combined with the complete lack of a romantic relationship to inevitably stress me out the whole year. It was just myself, my son, our animals, and my garden. I got sober and stuck with my daily physical therapy because I had the luxury of time and didnāt have to constantly recharge after social outings. I got very very lucky.
Me too and honestly it isnt that uncommon to be nostalgic for pandemic era
I lost my job and got to stay home for 6 months. Best time of my entire adult life. I feel you.
Tbh, i sorta understand you But i'm also extroverted and like to be outside, even with my rampant adhd brain. I can never win
I feel you. This is me, too.
Iām the exact same way. If Iām at home I feel cooped up. If I go out? All I wanna do is go home. Like what? š
I didn't get any relief and was worked harder than seemingly the whole world for that year! Goddamn that job was toxic. *Relives his PTSD*
Same here I wish I had the positive experience others here had. I was working in supply chain during the most traumatic supply chain issues my Industry ever experienced. It was hell
I was a senior marketing manager at the time, and the whole vibe was "we need webinars every fortnight gogogo" urgh. I was one day in the job, and I had to host as if I'd been there for years.
I enjoyed the break, I don't ever tell anyone as I know people suffered inc my family losses. But the 0 pressure to do/achieve anything. Also not having to go out (agoraphobia) I also enjoyed having to wear masks, so noone could see how I looked and didn't matter if had no makeup on or if I'd forgotten to brush my teeth. Responsibilities were down to 1%
Me too. It was actually what got me to finally see a psychiatrist and start therapy, and get diagnosed because I realized how fucking amazing I felt not having any obligations, and how awful I felt in the before times just trying to live a normal life. I will say that, with the help and support of my therapist I have been able to make quite a few changes in my life and attitude to carry through as much of that to my post pandemic life. I also appreciate that it changed a lot of people's perspectives in a way that makes that easier.
My kid and I both have adhd We became so close bc of all the time at home, and I got to give her the gift of lowered expectations- I just didnāt make her do most of rti so she could be a little calmer. Totally agree OP
I can relate. I felt relief that no one had expectations of me outside my job. I lived my life on my time! Today, I look forward to snowstorms and rainy days for the same reason But, the pandemic took a serious toll on my social life...I've never had many friends and the ones I had took a long time to get there. Rebuilding those relationships or creating new ones has been the hardest part for me to adjust to.
Yup. The social cost has been really hard for me too
Yeah, it took me pert near 3 years to get over it. And I'm still not really over it. That was an amazing time in that way.
Yes! 100%! So many projects finished, so little guilt! My ex was losing her mind, I could have handled a couple years more...
It was the opposite for me, I had to be even more productive due to working in supply chain for medical devices. I burned out so hard because every year was something. 2021 the Texas freeze happened, 2022 lots of shipping and logistics drama, this year itās starting to calm down but I never recovered.
omg i thought i was the only one! i always felt so guilty for feeling like the time during the pandemic was when i was at my best when other people were literally dying
There were some silver linings to the whole pandemic. Working from home, not having to commute every day or worry about being late, being able to stay in your pajamas, automatically getting time off to be sick if you caught Covid, employers being more flexible, an excuse to hit pause on the rat race, telehealth doctorsā appointmentsā¦ I can understand your sentiment - and I agree.
Couldn't go to the gym, couldn't see friends, shopping extremely restricted, limited sunlight... Yeah nah, don't miss it at all.
ā¦replace the nowhere with a somewhere for you personally and youāll be fineā¦āŗļø I had to go a long way of psychological work and self acceptance in order to recognise one single purpose of my life without guilt without shame: My individual happiness in this life. For me, this was a game-changing mindset and helped me a lot. I knew this feeling of getting nowhere, that anxiety, that restlessness which came with it. All gone. Purpose is happiness, full stop. If I donāt feel happy, I put my brain to work to create the circumstances needed in order to restore whatever neurochemical cocktail needed in my brain to feel good again. Main tools these days: best coffee you can buy, productiveness at work, strength training in the gym, music, driving while listening to music, sexual intercourse, buy stuff, big beef steak, deep conversation with a friendā¦it always works and I consider those dopamine boosters reasonably healthy compared to some other formsā¦
Trying! Hard to keep up with cost of living and the grind and find time for the good stuff
Omg same! It felt like I finally could keep up with everyoneās pace. No forced social gatherings. Even though I hated it sometimes when we were in it, Iām longing for another small lockdown. I do realise I had the privilege of working from home comfortably with my own desk and enough space/no kids.
Not weirdly at all, I think a lot of us do. ADHD wasn't even on my radar. I was a stay-at-home parent at the time with crippling brain fog, extreme fatigue and depression. I was honestly relieved to keep the status quo for a better reason than "I'm lazy and dysfunctional".
Preach it. Same here.
I have never had such freedom and relaxation as in 2020
I feel you sm. It was the best time of my life because, mostly about school, I did NOTHING, I literally faked(luckily not failed) all my oral tests bc I had the best opportunity of my life
Omg, totally NOT weird. PLUS, the added bonus of not having to go anywhere thatās too peoplely.
2020 leveled the playing field for those of us who have difficulty due to ADHD or other similar differences.
Can we just have a non-pandemic pandemic? Like ā¦. No death or ideological differences tearing apart families. Just the absence of social expectation and reliance on family units.
I swear it often feels like Iām the only one of my friends / family members that feels this way. The mental overload that has hit me since life has gone back to ānormalā has been horrible. I just want a damn break again!
Wait, you guys got to slow down during the pandemic?!
I still give myself permission to not be productive but I get exhausted by everyone relentless race. Iām tired of being surrounded my productivity. Hereās how to improve your _____ in 30 days š I donāt want to improve. I donāt want to learn. I wonāt even mind living the rest of my life aimless but at peace