July 3, 2020 • 11 mins
Today we hear from a caller who was once on life support about how the experience shifted her entire world view; Kendra, a listener who finds comfort in the little moments she shares with her nine-year-old daughter; and a woman with bipolar II disorder who has come up with her own strategy for managing her days in quarantine. To share your story—and to connect with others about how they’re living now—visit our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thewaywelivenowpod
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
I'm Danny Shapiro, and this is the way we live now.
Each Friday, we're going to turn the show over to
our listeners. We want to hear your stories. This is
how we connect with each other by sharing the way
we live now. If you have a story, please do
call us. You'll hear our number at the end of
this episode. Our first message today is from a caller
(00:28):
who a few years ago was on life support and
spent two weeks in an induced coma. She emerged from
that experience with a brand new outlook on the world
around her. I would like to share view of the
current events from a perspective of someone who's actually been
(00:55):
on life support and most organs were in failure and uh,
the fact was I couldn't breathe on my own, could
induce coma. All of those things you run on your
advanced directive, What if? What if? What if? I need
a feeding tube? Yes? I did also need because of
(01:17):
kidney disease, to be put on dialysis. Checked. My reason
to call it the fact that some of us, thank God,
I've been scared. We I do not have the virus
and I don't um Thank god. No of an immediate
family member struggling with this terrible pandemic, and I feel
(01:42):
for everyone who is more greatly because I've gone through
my experience. I want to send hope that my recovery.
So it took two years so see into a place
of the deer quarantine, isolation. Um the feeling too was
(02:04):
necessary to regain strength. Could not eat or drinks during
that period of time. But what he did give me
with clarity of my new life to be lived in
a more meaningful way. And yes it did occur when
I came back to the world, it was random new
in so many ways. Every breath to everybody, a food
(02:29):
I eat is now miraculous. I appreciate things to the
math because I know how fragile life is and how
important love and the support of those who loved you mean.
And I know I fears about the future, but I
(02:53):
pray that the world is supported in strength due to
the fact we are more connected, we are more united.
We have undergone such a life changing event with us
to personally in every way, and I believe that will
draw us together closer. Thank you so much for this podcast.
(03:17):
It's brings me so much tind to reflect about our conditions,
and I find it a perfect vehicle to use two
as writing prompts would help me encapsulate my thoughts. And
I know that your form is a beautiful way to
(03:39):
express ourselves to make sure that there is hope. Thank
you bye. This next message is from Kendra in Madison, Wisconsin,
who finds solace in the quiet moments spent with her
nine year old daughter in their backyard. Hi, Danny, this
is Canada from Medicine, Wisconsin. UM, my husband and I
(04:01):
are pretty much homebodies anyway. Although we do miss seeing
our friends at some of our anonymous meetings. I'm enjoying
all this extra time with my daughter UM. During the spring,
UM like to play a lot more together. Show picked
dandelions and violets and arrange them on a little tiny
(04:24):
birk plate, and we sat outside on our buckets and
eats forged pedal loaf together. When we're not doing that,
I am selling mess um hard to keep up, really
nice to slow down a little bit. It's a little anxious,
I suppose, you know, going to the grocery store, miss
(04:47):
my family, miss my friends. What I look forward to
hearing your show on this new show too. A little
Most of that's Okay, I already told my daughter, you
might have to look formature punschooling the next two years
because I want to stay safe. She can't reniging for it,
(05:10):
she gets sit. Today's final voicemail is from a caller
in New Jersey who has come up with her own
system for staying sane during quarantine. She even has an
acronym for it. I live in New Jersey and I
work I'm I used to work in New York. I'm
working from home, UM, and we will be until at
(05:30):
least I've heard. I have a lot going for me
that you know I'm thankful for. I have a technology
job that I can easily do from home. UM. I
have a comfortable suburban home with enough of the yard
that I can take my SIPs of nature therapy in
(05:51):
between meetings or other things throughout the day as needed.
I am mostly an introvert, so spending time alone is
not a heavy list for me. I was surprised to
find out how much of a not introvert I can
be in reality when you're always alone. But for the
(06:13):
most part, spending along stretches of time alone is not
a problem. UM. Early on in quarantine, I started to
find out what I don't have going for me. M M.
Nobody worked outes, but I have bipolar to disorder, which
is not the super dramatic, um manic depressive thing you
(06:35):
might see in movies. It's much more subtle to see
on the outside. Although all right, people can tell, but
I'm managing it quite well. Thank you for many years
with medications and talk therapy and a constant self you know,
(06:55):
self monitoring and self awareness, because your medications could stop
working at some point, they have to be rejiggered, and
you have to know yourself well enough to know that
this is not working for me. So anyway, early in
the quarantine, I was surprised at how wildly I found
myself spiraling. Um. I was having trouble concentrating, having trouble sweeping,
(07:19):
having trouble eating anything, having trouble organizing my days. It's
pretty standard clinical depression stuff that anybody would be familiar with,
and it comed along with the background drumbeat of anxiety
that basically I guess we're all feeling. So anyway, I
had to get my beds rejiggered just a little bit
(07:40):
enough for me to get my head above water so
I could see what I needed to do to get
myself you know right it again. Once I got my
medications just changed just a tiny bit. I was able
to think for myself again and I do what I
always do, which is just be clever and resourceful with
what got And since nothing that anybody else was suggesting,
(08:03):
I came up with my own method, which I will
name cheese, which actually comes from an acronym. I just
started to think of the things that I needed to
do to stay centered and stay sane, and they were
something of a creative outlet, something having to do with
my environment, you know, doing something in the house or
(08:25):
in the yard that makes the place looks better or
feel more uncluttered. Have to do some form of exercise,
have to do some form of eating. And then I
just switched them around until I could come up in
an acronym. And then it became the H E S
which is creativity, habitat, exercise, eating in social contact. And
after I told a couple of people they got so
(08:45):
upset that I was spelling cheese wrong, I actually added
an R for routine, and that's really important for people
with any kind of a mood disorder. Having a routine
is much better than having wide open days. The key
to making this work is that it's not a quota.
It's not an amount of time. You don't have to
spend an hour exercising or you know, any specific amount
(09:11):
of time, and you get to say what counts and
what doesn't count, and things can count for both. Things
like if I work in the yard, you know, work
up a really good sweat, that is exercise and habitat. Yeah,
it counts. Today I wrote this, I did my creativity
for the day. UM. If I sing songs with somebody
on acapella or garage band, that's creativity and social contact.
(09:35):
It's like you get to say what counts, and you
get to say I'm doing the things that make me
say it's really cool. As I told my daughter about it,
and she made up her own that hers is mayhem,
which is music, UM, activism. Why I do the things
I do habitat, eating and movement. And you know, the
(09:59):
cool thing is you. She took it in in a
way it's meant to do, which is you make up
the acronym that works for you, and then you can
use the acronym to arrange your life in a way
that makes you UM. However it makes you say thanks
(10:26):
for listening to the Way We Live Now. Tell us
the way you're living now. We want to hear call
us on. You might want to get a pen for
this nine O nine one three that's nine O nine
seven eight nine nine five and record your story and
we might just use it on the pod. Also, you
(10:47):
can join our Facebook group at facebook dot com slash
groups slash the Way we Live Now pot We are
creating a community here and we would love for you
to join us. You can find me on Instagram at
Danny Ryder. The Way We Live Now is a production
of iHeart Radio. It's produced by a Low Brulante. Bethan
Macaluso is executive producer. Special thanks to Tristan McNeil and
(11:10):
Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Danny Shapiro, and this is the way we live now.
Each Friday, we're going to turn the show over to
our listeners. We want to hear your stories. This is
how we connect with each other by sharing the way
we live now. If you have a story, please do
call us. You'll hear our number at the end of
this episode. Our first message today is from a caller
(00:28):
who a few years ago was on life support and
spent two weeks in an induced coma. She emerged from
that experience with a brand new outlook on the world
around her. I would like to share view of the
current events from a perspective of someone who's actually been
(00:55):
on life support and most organs were in failure and uh,
the fact was I couldn't breathe on my own, could
induce coma. All of those things you run on your
advanced directive, What if? What if? What if? I need
a feeding tube? Yes? I did also need because of
(01:17):
kidney disease, to be put on dialysis. Checked. My reason
to call it the fact that some of us, thank God,
I've been scared. We I do not have the virus
and I don't um Thank god. No of an immediate
family member struggling with this terrible pandemic, and I feel
(01:42):
for everyone who is more greatly because I've gone through
my experience. I want to send hope that my recovery.
So it took two years so see into a place
of the deer quarantine, isolation. Um the feeling too was
(02:04):
necessary to regain strength. Could not eat or drinks during
that period of time. But what he did give me
with clarity of my new life to be lived in
a more meaningful way. And yes it did occur when
I came back to the world, it was random new
in so many ways. Every breath to everybody, a food
(02:29):
I eat is now miraculous. I appreciate things to the
math because I know how fragile life is and how
important love and the support of those who loved you mean.
And I know I fears about the future, but I
(02:53):
pray that the world is supported in strength due to
the fact we are more connected, we are more united.
We have undergone such a life changing event with us
to personally in every way, and I believe that will
draw us together closer. Thank you so much for this podcast.
(03:17):
It's brings me so much tind to reflect about our conditions,
and I find it a perfect vehicle to use two
as writing prompts would help me encapsulate my thoughts. And
I know that your form is a beautiful way to
(03:39):
express ourselves to make sure that there is hope. Thank
you bye. This next message is from Kendra in Madison, Wisconsin,
who finds solace in the quiet moments spent with her
nine year old daughter in their backyard. Hi, Danny, this
is Canada from Medicine, Wisconsin. UM, my husband and I
(04:01):
are pretty much homebodies anyway. Although we do miss seeing
our friends at some of our anonymous meetings. I'm enjoying
all this extra time with my daughter UM. During the spring,
UM like to play a lot more together. Show picked
dandelions and violets and arrange them on a little tiny
(04:24):
birk plate, and we sat outside on our buckets and
eats forged pedal loaf together. When we're not doing that,
I am selling mess um hard to keep up, really
nice to slow down a little bit. It's a little anxious,
I suppose, you know, going to the grocery store, miss
(04:47):
my family, miss my friends. What I look forward to
hearing your show on this new show too. A little
Most of that's Okay, I already told my daughter, you
might have to look formature punschooling the next two years
because I want to stay safe. She can't reniging for it,
(05:10):
she gets sit. Today's final voicemail is from a caller
in New Jersey who has come up with her own
system for staying sane during quarantine. She even has an
acronym for it. I live in New Jersey and I
work I'm I used to work in New York. I'm
working from home, UM, and we will be until at
(05:30):
least I've heard. I have a lot going for me
that you know I'm thankful for. I have a technology
job that I can easily do from home. UM. I
have a comfortable suburban home with enough of the yard
that I can take my SIPs of nature therapy in
(05:51):
between meetings or other things throughout the day as needed.
I am mostly an introvert, so spending time alone is
not a heavy list for me. I was surprised to
find out how much of a not introvert I can
be in reality when you're always alone. But for the
(06:13):
most part, spending along stretches of time alone is not
a problem. UM. Early on in quarantine, I started to
find out what I don't have going for me. M M.
Nobody worked outes, but I have bipolar to disorder, which
is not the super dramatic, um manic depressive thing you
(06:35):
might see in movies. It's much more subtle to see
on the outside. Although all right, people can tell, but
I'm managing it quite well. Thank you for many years
with medications and talk therapy and a constant self you know,
(06:55):
self monitoring and self awareness, because your medications could stop
working at some point, they have to be rejiggered, and
you have to know yourself well enough to know that
this is not working for me. So anyway, early in
the quarantine, I was surprised at how wildly I found
myself spiraling. Um. I was having trouble concentrating, having trouble sweeping,
(07:19):
having trouble eating anything, having trouble organizing my days. It's
pretty standard clinical depression stuff that anybody would be familiar with,
and it comed along with the background drumbeat of anxiety
that basically I guess we're all feeling. So anyway, I
had to get my beds rejiggered just a little bit
(07:40):
enough for me to get my head above water so
I could see what I needed to do to get
myself you know right it again. Once I got my
medications just changed just a tiny bit. I was able
to think for myself again and I do what I
always do, which is just be clever and resourceful with
what got And since nothing that anybody else was suggesting,
(08:03):
I came up with my own method, which I will
name cheese, which actually comes from an acronym. I just
started to think of the things that I needed to
do to stay centered and stay sane, and they were
something of a creative outlet, something having to do with
my environment, you know, doing something in the house or
(08:25):
in the yard that makes the place looks better or
feel more uncluttered. Have to do some form of exercise,
have to do some form of eating. And then I
just switched them around until I could come up in
an acronym. And then it became the H E S
which is creativity, habitat, exercise, eating in social contact. And
after I told a couple of people they got so
(08:45):
upset that I was spelling cheese wrong, I actually added
an R for routine, and that's really important for people
with any kind of a mood disorder. Having a routine
is much better than having wide open days. The key
to making this work is that it's not a quota.
It's not an amount of time. You don't have to
spend an hour exercising or you know, any specific amount
(09:11):
of time, and you get to say what counts and
what doesn't count, and things can count for both. Things
like if I work in the yard, you know, work
up a really good sweat, that is exercise and habitat. Yeah,
it counts. Today I wrote this, I did my creativity
for the day. UM. If I sing songs with somebody
on acapella or garage band, that's creativity and social contact.
(09:35):
It's like you get to say what counts, and you
get to say I'm doing the things that make me
say it's really cool. As I told my daughter about it,
and she made up her own that hers is mayhem,
which is music, UM, activism. Why I do the things
I do habitat, eating and movement. And you know, the
(09:59):
cool thing is you. She took it in in a
way it's meant to do, which is you make up
the acronym that works for you, and then you can
use the acronym to arrange your life in a way
that makes you UM. However it makes you say thanks
(10:26):
for listening to the Way We Live Now. Tell us
the way you're living now. We want to hear call
us on. You might want to get a pen for
this nine O nine one three that's nine O nine
seven eight nine nine five and record your story and
we might just use it on the pod. Also, you
(10:47):
can join our Facebook group at facebook dot com slash
groups slash the Way we Live Now pot We are
creating a community here and we would love for you
to join us. You can find me on Instagram at
Danny Ryder. The Way We Live Now is a production
of iHeart Radio. It's produced by a Low Brulante. Bethan
Macaluso is executive producer. Special thanks to Tristan McNeil and
(11:10):
Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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