Faewild's posts

I have. A cat, and am adopting a friend for her tomorrow (or the next day depending on appointment schedules). And I am the best ever at taking Unphotogenic Cat Pictures. It's my special useless talent. I'll put most of them under spoilers though. (One picture features OP's cat Dragon, hehehe.)

My baby Witten who has anxiety and hates the outdoors but likes to squeak/scream and is very good at comforting sad/depressed/fellow anxious noodles. She loves her little toys, she babies the colorful ones and tears apart the less colorful ones like the little treasure-hoarding gremlin she is. I love her so much.


This is the one I'm hoping to adopt. His name is Buddy. He's a Sweet Boy.


And here's my Prize Photo collection of Witten. 17 Cat Pictures Ahoy!! Literally. 17 images.

5 images. ↓

Another 5 images. ↓

Only 4 images because she's... ↓

Powering up her lasers. ↓

Also I want all of you to know. I love all your pets. So much.

I also have to stay home most of the time due to chronic illness. However, I still went for drives or visits to friends and family, and now we can't even safely do that. If we visit each other, it's rare and we have to be careful in case any of us are actually asymptomatic. We still keep our distance physically, use hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, and wear gloves if we have to leave the house for necessary reasons.

I'm lucky enough to live with my fiance and our cat. (A registered ESA, who provides active comfort when I'm upset or recovering from a seizure.) My only sister lives 30 minutes away, with her boyfriend, and we don't have parents or other relatives. We do have close friends however, and not even really having the option of seeing them has been difficult.

Honestly, as someone who was basically a hermit/shut-in to begin with, I feel I'm more equipped to adjust to the situation at hand. Even so, I'm still feeling pressure of being isolated from some loved ones. I do have some advice that some people might find helpful.

In my experience, maintaining a strict schedule in your daily activities actually helps a lot. Rotate the activities if you're the type who hates monotony. Set alarms on your phone, and stick to the schedule as much as possible. A little bit of dependable regularity can help with the subconscious pressure of being 'forced' to stay inside and isolated.

Opening windows/curtains when possible helps a lot. Fresh air can do wonders for your mentality. It might sound silly, but I promise the feel of warm sunshine and the sound of birds can really help with stress!

Make sure you assign several times every day to do some light exercise, followed by something you really enjoy doing. The exercise doesn't have to be a huge workout, even 5-10 minutes of stretches (within your physical capabilities of course). And then afterwards is a reward, so it doesn't feel as much like a chore. Maybe a treat from the fridge, or an episode of your favorite show.

Keeping contact with friends/family outside the house is very important. Voice and video calls work best when possible! It helps alleviate the feeling of being alone. Music also helps, as it effects the psyche in positive ways.

Try not to give in to too many naps. Naps are good and powerful things in moderation, but sleeping too much tends to actually exacerbate depression and stress rather than alleviate it. It also breaks schedules and ruins one's sense of time passing, which can both contribute to stress when quarantined.

And most importantly, monitor how much you check the news! As someone with severe anxiety and paranoia, I only check the news once a day when my fiance is with me to tell me it's time to stop. If you live alone, try to avoid the news except maybe once every few days. Otherwise, check the news together with the people you live with, and only once a day at most. It's good to stay on top of things, but too much bad news is detrimental to your mindset.

It's easy to see the negative in the world, it's much harder to seek out the positive in times like this, but it's worth it when you find it. Follow the twitters of positive people and role models, watch uplifting TV shows or your favorite Twitch streamers running charities. Hold on to the kindness around you, and you'll make it through.

That's how I've been managing, anyway.

Thank you, you're all very kind. I appreciate the warm welcome!

@sunny: Hello and thank you, that's very kind. I like all your rainbows.


@Totalanimefan: Hello, thank you. I love your avatar, pastel rainbow is my favorite.

@Faenoire: YOU. Do you get to welcome me when you're the one who laid the bait and set a trap?!

I was lured here by the promise of adorable avatars.

It has been ten minutes, two of them spent looking at the forums, and I'm already itching to draw everyone. You're all very cute.

Hullo, folks.