Poll:Your feelings of happiness during this health crisis?

[Ronstar]

Same level of happiness. Our end of winter road trip was cut short and my hiking/biking trails were closed for a while, but I mostly enjoyed being home putzing in my workshop. Now hiking/biking trails are open and I'm doing almost everything I enjoy. And being an introvert, it's good to not have to go to a crowded restaurant/party, etc.

 

[FIREd]

I am just about as happy as before. Being introverted and retired, the 8-week long confinement didn't affect me as much as it did others. I am getting used to the "new normal" just fine as well. The forced isolation and lack of distraction did trigger some introspection. It wasn't always pleasant, as I got to rehash and work through some painful memories, but overall I am coming out of this having a better grasp on who I am and what I want out of life and relationships. The long-term damage that this crisis may have done to my personal finances is not yet clear, so I am not worrying about it.

 

[gwraigty]

I voted somewhat less happy. Some of the reasons are because of the magnitude of how this is affecting everyone on the macro level, similar to what Red Badger said. Our personal circumstances are still good. DD has her full time hours back much sooner than we anticipated. DS has the most pandemic proof job in the house. DH hasn't hit a bump in the road with his job. Yet. But his employer finalized some cost cutting measures that will be implemented soon. We anticipate finding out more this week. He doesn't think they'd let him go because he's working on some critical projects with deadlines. Maybe more like a pay cut, 401k match going away, having to take unpaid leave. Those are things they did in 2009. Over 100 people in his building lost their jobs then. We'd be OK anyway, but it's the uncertainty of it all that gets to me the most.

What will I find, or not find, with every grocery shopping trip? Who would have thought something so simple and routine like that would become anything but? Everywhere now, I have to stop and read all the notices posted on the front doors to know what I'm expected to do once inside. Can I walk anywhere I want, or do I have to follow the yellow brick road? I'm not concerned about the ups and downs of our investments, but will the cash flow they throw off remain relatively stable?

Uncertainty. Bah, humbug!

 

[donheff]

My mood remains positive which is unchanged but I voted slightly less because I wish I could have gone on the Grand Canyon rafting trip we were scheduled to go one in a week and I would like more contact with my pregnant daughter than socially distant visits in the back yard.

 

[DrRoy]

Slightly less happy. We had travel cancelled that I miss, and it would be nicer not to have a volatile market, but generally we are OK. With the improving weather we will be able to be out on the deck more.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Honestly, for the most part life has not changed for us one iota. We live in a pretty affluent area with mostly professional and very well educated folks, everyone we meet is upbeat and happy too. There are always folk walking the neighborhood for their daily exercise and that has not diminished or increased, we meet the same folks we used to. No infections, or tragic stories in our direct neighborhood. The grocery stores are all open and very well stock, we have not needed to make any changes to diet or paper product use. The Beach is 1 mile away and very rarely crowded at the best of times, it is like heaven now. Most people observe sensible general Covid precautions, no protesters, no unrest, no drama.

 

[Nemo2]

We are "Less happiers".....sat out in the complex's gazebo, (while observing proscribed "Too Closeness" conventions), with the two eldest granddaughters, et al, yesterday for a while which was great. (DW misses the 'hugs' but we enjoy whatever we can safely get.)

DW, since the community pool remains closed, really misses her thrice weekly swims - she received an e-mail from the complex the other day asking if she'd like to participate in 'virtual activities' during the shutdown......told her to ask what temperature the 'virtual water' was set at.

The big 'Piss Off', of course, is the extreme unlikelihood that we'll be going anywhere until......and at our (my) ages we're quickly running out of time.

Other stuff? [-]Minor[/-] Non-existent inconveniences.

Eating out? On our list of priorities Brahmagupta would be proud of us. (We're not consumed by it. )

 

[Gumby]

Our community garden opened five weeks late, and we were chafing at the bit to get going on the spring planting. But it is open now, so we are happy about that. Other than being unable to go out to lunch/dinner a couple times a week, as we have been accustomed to doing, our lives are almost the same as they have been. The portfolio is down, but cash flow is fine, so we aren't worried about that. All in all, we are pretty steady in the happiness department.

 

[Midpack]

We’re relatively happy, but the longer this goes on, the less happy we may be - so my vote is time dependent. We unexpectedly lost all six of our favorite pastimes, one came back about a month ago, another this weekend. The others may resume in a few months, may take much longer. Boo. And I’m not sure we’ll go back to crowds when they’re again permitted anyway, but we won’t stay away permanently.

We’re exercising more, spending more time outside and working more on our home & yard than otherwise - all good. Actually enjoyed it for the first month or so, but we’ve run out of significant home projects, all done now.

 

[street]

I have had no change in mood because nothing really changed for me. Living in rural America, I nevah see anyone any way and don't know what crowds mean. I can drive to ranch 21 miles and nevah see one outfit.

Other then being on the news 24/7 nothing has changed in doing business in my world.

 

[38Chevy454]

I voted same, whereas this time of year normally would be higher. The cold crap weather we had in April and first two weeks of May really put a damper on the spring and it's usual getting outside more. Combine that with coronavirus restrictions and limiting activities outside the house, and my usual spring perk-up didn't happen this year.

 

[Lsbcal]

I voted somewhat less happy. The negatives are (1) extremes we have to go to to avoid virus contact, (2) cannot go on nice vacations, (3) cannot go out to dine, and (4) worries about economic/political issues going forward. That last one is because I worry that the long term could bring about some very very bad outcomes all over the world. Kind of echos of the 1930's.

The good things are (1) more time spent reading on Kindle as library is closed, (2) garden is in even better shape as I lavish attention on it, (3) I'm taking a course on biology which might help me understand some of the microbiology of what is going on now, (4) park just behind our house opened up and I can do my runs out there on week days.

DW is somewhat happier. She was going to the gym to do dance type exercise and that won't work for a good long time. Strangely she really enjoyed it but gets nervous interacting with her lady friends. Now she does Zoom meetings with her friends and uses the TV for Zumba workouts. Plus she gets out in the park more for walks. Her preferred mode seems to be holing up in her art room and painting.

 

[COcheesehead]

I have run into two distinct groups of people in the last two months: ones that think the world is coming to an end, unhappy. The others think we’ll get through this, happy.
Personally I have been feeling happier because I see more green shoots than I see the end of civilization. I think some of that depends on where you live. If I was in a big city, I may feel different. Our restaurants are open and we have lots of outdoor recreation nearby.

 

[Boose]

It's been a complete seesaw, but overall I've cone up on the "slightly happier" side:
* Cancelled yearly trip to visit elderly parents - but everyone is healthy and staying occupied.
* January retirement at age 49 is uncertain - but we're both working from home for full pay, so I get to enjoy DH and the cat's company.
* Virus undid all my summer work planning and caused me to cancel vendors - but I've been reassigned to a senior nutrition hotline, so I can WFH and be safe while helping others.
* DH and I were starting to hate our neighborhood (cars, homeless) but reduced traffic from shutdown and housing of homeless in convention center has made neighborhood more enjoyable.
* Gym at condo has been temp. closed, but DH and I now do yoga together.
* Stocks are in the crapper, but I had accelerated my 457 contributions in Jan., so I am buying low and fast.

I'm an introvert, I can tolerate WFH longer than I can tolerate work-in-person.

 

[Moemg]

I am about the same in happiness . It really has not bothered me to stay home . I read a lot, do exercise videos and cook so much cooking.At first the endless cooking bothered me but now I am used to it . We have been taking walks at a nearby park .That has been great . The only thing that will bother me is if I can't travel to visit my grandchildren in the late summer .

 

[Rianne]

Happy for who? We're OK, enjoying the time together like peas and carrots. For our local economy...our favorite places to eat, drink and hang out...very sad. I walked into a popular pizza restaurant for carry out yesterday. Sent a shiver up my spine. The owner must have thanked me 5 times for my business. The streets are bare. Our university has a bone chilling emptiness. 44,000 students gone! I often think of Stephen King, fiction turned into fact.

 

[pacergal]

Voted somewhat less happy.
DH and I both relative introverts, so stay at home per se, is not too hard.
However, not being able to go on our planned vacations to visit family and friends is a bummer.
Not seeing Grandkids as often is hard, but I am thankful they are doing well.
Worry about risk as things open up and kids go back to school (DS is a teacher, plus 2/3 GK in school increases risk of exposures)
So far, we are healthy. 3 of us were ill in Feb/March. I have lingering diminished taste. Had video visit with PCP and she thinks we maybe had it, but weren't tested. And they don't feel the antibody test is accurate enough for me to get tested now, so she won't order one.

So, we go on as usual for now. And, as others have mentioned, sadness for loss of life and what is going on in the world.

 

[Speculator]

I'm much happier today than I've been in the last two months. My gym has reopened and although the showers and locker rooms are still closed, it was such a pleasure working out with the resistance machines and free weights, again. As an aside, I was very surprised at the amount of "strength" I lost since my last workout on March 17.

 

[ABQ2015]

Slightly less happy. My day to day life is not impacted much since I am an introvert and do not miss shopping or eating out. No one that I know has gotten sick and none of my younger relatives are out of work. And I am fortunate to be retired and financially secure. But a nephew's out of state wedding, music festivals, concerts, and most of my travel have been cancelled. Am planning alternative trips to escape my city's summer heat but travel quarantines could impact these.

Virus cases and deaths have not been as bad as I expected for my local area or those of friends and relatives or for my sex and age group. But I do not see the virus dying down soon in my state or some surrounding states and sadly, we have lots of new cases and deaths in nearby counties. I feel anxious that the virus will continue and continue spreading and am nervous each time I go out to shop for food (once every 2-3 weeks) and for the following few days.

 

[friar1610]

As mid-70s reirees not an awful lot has changed for us, so voted about the same. There have been a few negatives such as limited access to kids/grandkids, no eating out, a hiatus on travel, no plays or ball games, etc. but these are minor in the big scheme if things. We are fortunate to have a steady pension/SS income so the hit to our portfolio - and not a major one at that - has not been an issue. We've made a few adjustments to some of our routines and they may stay permanent if/when things get back to normal.

Compared to what so many people are dealing with we have nothing to complain about nor have our lives been turned upside down. We are thankful and still happy for that.

 

[Spock]

Lets put it this way:
* tomorrow will be the 21st day of use for the single roll of toilet paper hanging in my bathroom (dunno if its the Cottonelle brand or improvements in technique... but thats a new personal record).
* My grocery bill has tripled in the last 2 months... yet I've lost 34ish pounds from skipping meals to make the food stretch farther. Readers of other threads on this board have heard me whinge about $26/box of Bisquick pancake mix and now I'm reading projections of $10-15/lb hamburger. As a lean FIRE who was just balanced before the SHTF I am in no way capable of absorbing that.
* Its now summer here with 100+F daily temps, so no more mail-order food deliveries until late Sept.

* As an engineer, I'm starting to get REAL suspicious of the virus statistics being used to keep the economy shutdown and I'm starting to think this was all a huge over-reaction. All the armchair citizen epidemiologists screaming "its too soon to reopen! we need a vaccine first!" while not realizing what 18months to 5 years (or maybe never) of shutdown really means.



On top of all of that, in mid-March I had an emergency petition to have my Dad declared incompetent. Formal diagnosis is now "dementia with Alzheimers". Judge appointed guardian and conservator... BUT... the court allows dementia patients with Alzheimers to chose their own guardian/conservator, so since I filed the suit and "ruined his life", Dad is mad at me so he tossed 20 years of estate planning out the window and chose a 3rd party conservator to bleed him dry at $125/hr (he has 4 rentals, so the hours are going to be big).


So yeah. I'm in the not a happy camper group.

 

[rayinpenn]

The big V doesn’t fill my thoughts every minute but my normal happiness is tempered by concern. I’ve made no secret that I believe the economic worse is yet to come but we are doing all we can.

Retirees are at risk because of our age but many of us have no mortgage, no debt and no employment to worry about. There are so many others in bad shape it’s scary.

 

[GSMAN]

Somewhat less happy for the following reasons:

Concerts Cancelled: Earth Wind and Fire, Chicago, Doobie Brothers
Travel Cancelled/Postponed: Disney Cruise with the Kids and Grandchildren
Over Crowded Beaches/fishing due to people not working

 

[audreyh1]

Very unhappy - but not for my circumstance.

Millions are sick and hundreds of thousands of souls are being removed from this planet prematurely.

The global economy is in tatters and billions will feel that effect.

Working class families are now unemployed, while the kids are home all day, and state leaders clamp down on business in (often) arbitrary and nonsensical dictates (liquor store open - house of worship closed, etc).

Trillions of dollars in new debt that we can ill-afford. And entire sectors of our economy that may take years to recover. In the case of small restaurants, I suspect perhaps 25% may never recover.

So, our little domicile is just fine. DW and I in good health and no C19 issues, direct or tangential. But we pray and grieve for the world.

Gosh, it seems that you would always be very unhappy because there are always things terribly wrong in the world that are completely out of your hands. Differing degrees, of course, and currently a big blow to the US economy, but there are always people suffering, out of work, dying, etc. Are you much happier when the US economy is doing well? - Which doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of people suffering and dying.

 

[Spock]

Gosh, it seems that you would always be very unhappy because there are always things terribly wrong in the world that are completely out of your hands. Differing degrees, of course, and currently a big blow to the US economy, but there are always people suffering, out of work, dying, etc. Are you much happier when the US economy is doing well? - Which doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of people suffering and dying.

You honestly don't see the difference between <5% unemployment and 30% (for now) unemployment? Or Great Depression II?