South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
How’s your state of mind during COVID-19?
The South Florida Sun Sentinel has been answering readers’ questions, and you’ve asked us lots of them, more than 1,000, and they keep on coming.
Now we are turning it around on our readers, and asking questions of our own as we brace for the next phase of the vaccine roll-out. This week we asked about mental health. As Floridians get vaccinated and start to feel a little less frightened, we wanted to know how our readers are looking back at the past year and how they kept in touch with friends, weathered loneliness and stayed busy.
We’ll return to our panel each week to pose more questions and show the grit of South Floridians who have mastered new coping skills and are thrilled to share their strategies.
Harriet Kutner, Boynton Beach: “It has been very hard over the past year. I do have friends, and we stay in touch with each other with phone calls. I have one friend that has come over every day, and sometimes I make lunch or dinner just to try to make it feel like it always did before this virus, which has changed everyone. I do not think that things will get back the way they were for quite some time, but people should be positive, and in the near future, we can look back at this and remember all the good people that passed away from this virus.”
Abby Schenkman, Pompano Beach: “I don’t stress over what I cannot control. I was lucky enough to be able to feed my 97-year-old dad dinner every night and have one of my children come live at home.
Another stayed with us for three months as she lives abroad and her husband was here for work, traveling around the country following the election. My other child and family come to stay every weekend as they did not do anything else but visit us. I think it is important to keep a routine, exercise and eat well. I call friends and do the occasional
Zoom call. Even texting silly comments is worthwhile.
And don’t forget to smile when you pass someone on the street.”
Judith Klau, Delray Beach: “During the pandemic, I started to immerse myself in learning Yiddish (online through the Yiddish Book Center) for no other reason than personal delight. There are fascinating classes, new friends in classmates, and lots of homework to take up the COVIDlong days. I am still aware of the constraints, but boy, am I busy!”
Karen Zaslow, Boca Raton: “The past year has been very rough, and I’ve had a lot of anxiety and some depression. I retired in 2016 and was finally able to travel. I grew up going to Broadway shows, so I have a subscription to the Broward Center. In the last year, I have had to cancel several cruises, including one I was going to take my granddaughter on, and a big trip to Alaska. I miss the theater terribly. I have lost two close friends to COVID-19. Luckily, I am able to see my granddaughter on a regular basis, and that has kept me sane. I also speak to friends and family often, and have had a few socially distanced visits.
I try to get in a good walk every day, do some errands, and occasionally even have dinner out, eating outside. I would recommend that people get plenty of outside exercise and keep in touch with friends and family as safely as possible until we are all able to get vaccinated.”
Diane and Bill Wilson, Bonita Springs: “We are fortunate that we are able to get out and walk every day; good for the body and soul. We also did projects around the house. When the pandemic first started and for several months after that we didn’t see or socialize with anyone at all. We soon realized that the isolation was unhealthy and that we had to proactively seek ways to see family and friends safely.
Instead of seeing groups of friends, we see only a couple at a time and visit mostly outside. We also frequent restaurants that have outside dining. We wear masks, social distance, and use common sense.”
Michael Hayes, Delray Beach: “My wife and I joke about how the pandemic changes our lives on a social level. She is very sociable and has many activities that she misses greatly. For me, life has hardly changed. I am a homebody, enjoying gardening and doing projects in the house and garage, my ‘man cave.’ The only thing that I have missed is going occasionally to a bar, to have dinner and a few beers.”
Alan Wolfson, Delray Beach: “Luckily for me I have my wife of 42 years to keep me sane. We are careful to give each other personal space during the course of the day. We Facetime with our daughter and three grandchildren every night.
I umpire men’s softball on Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings and of course utilize a face mask and sanitizer. I fill in as a player on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in a senior league in Boca Raton, and observe the same safety protocol.
I have a brother who lives in Pompano Beach who we meet at Sugar Sand Park and socially distance as we catch up.
Peri Boyarsky, Davie: “I do not go out, only for groceries. I’ve gone to lunch a couple of times, but only on the beach and outdoors. I swim or walk on my treadmill every day just to do something. I’ve gained 10 pounds since this whole thing started; very bummed about that. I’m watching too much TV, but there’s nothing else to do. I’m single and have no kids so life gets lonely. I have good friends, but they are staying in also. This definitely pushed me to retire as I was an optician and was around the public all of the time.”
Marsha Fox, Pompano Beach: “I have been depressed at times and very worried before I got the vaccination. I have been keeping in touch with friends and family on Zoom; thank God for technology. I also have been playing canasta on my computer with friends and strangers. I make sure I get lots of exercise. I ride my bike around my neighborhood. I do exercise videos on YouTube and I teach water aerobics in the condo pool.
I have volunteered to be a reading tutor online, however it has not started yet. My recommendations if you have not been vaccinated yet is to say strong and wear a mask. I now wear two masks when I’m going out into a grocery store to be extra safe. This will end in time, we just need to hang in together.”
Robin Miller, Lake Worth: “Being confined to the house a great deal of the time was distressing. What made it bearable was Skype and Zoom so I could talk with my kids and grandchildren. I did some challenging things, like taking a flight to see my physicians in May, but booked first-class seats and wore an N95 mask with blue surgical mask over it before this double mask stuff even started.
I read over 80 books, joined Twitter, used text messages, made lots of phone calls and did all the house chores neglected for ages. I have great young neighbors eager to help their senior friend with shopping and they got me an appointment for the vaccine through their high speed Internet.”
Larry Weisman, Delray Beach: “My biggest issues have been with the loss of routine. The gym at our complex is closed and likely will remain so. Many of the activities at our 55+community were suspended long ago and the clubhouse is closed, with facilities very limited. I cannot build my day around activities that no longer exist.
Most of my contact with my neighbors comes when we’re out walking or I’m riding my bike.
I have serious concerns that when this all concludes — or winds down — a lot of us are going to find our social skills have declined. We may have a very slow re-entry into society after being isolated and away from our usual groups. And it may be a while before many of us feel comfortable rejoining those activities.”
Barry Miller, Coconut Creek: “I have been fortunate enough to be able to work from home during COVID, which keeps mebusy. Though my wife and I are very careful to follow the guidelines, she has been watching our young grandchild three days a week in our home. On weekends, we go for drives with no particular destination in mind. We have been discovering South Florida. It has been very enlightening.”
David Lebioda, New Smyrna Beach: “Being 67, not greatly mobile with medical issues, I was probably more concerned about virus exposure initially. Then as the science rolled out, I liberalized my activities a little. Having the beach to bike on, the river to fish in and good weather was enormously helpful. I was able to get over the quarantine feeling and back into activities that kept me active. Limited family contact was the only activity that was difficult. We all learned to Zoom, we contacted old friends to commiserate about life, our spouses and all politicians, and got by. When it was obvious the vaccines were a reality, I probably became more conservative in my exposure risk, not wanting to blow it after behaving for a year.”
Hans Eichmann, Fort Lauderdale: “I have been one of the lucky ones going through this rough year. I live in a house that has an upstairs and downstairs apartment; my good friend lives upstairs. We both take precautions very seriously, but knowing each other’s habits leaves us in a wonderfully comfortable place. Most mornings we share coffee, discuss current events, watch the morning news. We might have a glass of wine in the evening and dinner once or twice a week.
I keep myself busy by catching up on paperwork. I also do some garden work and read a book here and there. Work is another story; my business basically was shut down 10 months ago. I still very much need an income; my Social Security payments are not enough to cover expenses. So I tightened my belt, used up my savings and maxed out my credit cards like so many other people. I can see some daylight after a long drought, and my work is slowly coming back.”
Cindy Lapp, Fort Lauderdale: “About this time last year my daughter and I started a Nurse Registry and I have kept busy setting up the business. Aside from that, I also work on beach glass and seashell art. But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been lonely. It seems in the last month I want normalcy!! I am sick of cooking for myself, I miss meeting my friends for lunch, a drink, dinner, I have forgotten how to put on makeup, my old cleaning clothes are wearing out. I WANT A HUG!!!”