Anyone else struggling with shopping now more than ever?

Yeah that’s true, it must be stressful for the staff.

I must admit it really bothered me that even the staff picking from the shelves were ignoring it, as I would imagine its partly for their safety to keep things moving and less crowded. Oh well. Just venting a little there as I would never dream of actually saying anything, working in very public places must be horrendously stressful at the moment. 

I have a friend that's neurotypical, high emotional intelligence, three children all now adults, extremely sensible and entirely unflusterable. She confided in me that she's finding shopping exceedingly stressful at the moment, getting back into her car nearly in tears from it all.

So don't feel bad about yourself if you're struggling right now, it really is just an awful experience for everybody.

I didn't leave the house for eight days due to the stress of shopping. When I did eventually try again, I went to three different shops, didn't even make it into any of them.

Eventually I found a local superstore that's changed its opening hours. 6-7am for party members (i.e. the NHS), then 7am once the shelves have been stripped for the rest of us. I guessed there'd be a queue at 7am so turned up at 7.10am, walked straight in, bought 11 days of food, came home, won't need to go again for, over a week (the rest will go in the freezer).

The other nice thing about going that early is that the staff are all still in their first couple of hours of work so haven't been worn down by it all yet, which means they're all happier and friendlier. This helps.

Thank you for asking, I'm alot better, still on daily inhalors. Breathless and a random cough and tired that's hanging about way too long! Take care plastic nice to hear from you

Ah that's nice of you to say  but no one deserves it more than another. I'm so much better I just tire easily and breathless. It's not a nice virus. I hope the lockdown doesnt last much longer as it's so hard to do basic things

Yeah, as don't have a car I can only buy what I can carry and I am not geared up mentally for bulk buying. I am used to thinking only 2-3 days ahead. So stocks have run low. I've got plenty of porridge oats, though.

By the way, I hope you are feeling better. I was sad to read about how ill you were. You deserve my place in the shopping queue! 

I know what you mean about the one way system down the shop aisles. I can see the logic of it, but it only works if people stick to it. Which they clearly don’t, I’ve had several people brush past me in a rush  

I like your style, lists definitely help 

I have to build myself up to go out at the best of times. I’m hating this! Shopping I do as little as often now.

I hate doing the shopping but feel I have to as I'm probably the most physically able at home apart from my brother and he has to work still due to working 'essential' retail. My parents wait in the car and park so that I can see them while queuing outside which does help. To be honest I don't mind a nice orderly queue if everyone behaves, its doing the shopping I hate as even with a list I end up taking ages to make sure I've got everything as I have to visit aisles multiple times due to other people ignoring distancing at times causing me to get flustered. Tescos one way system is a good idea in theory, but when half of the people and their own staff picking for orders ignore it whilst I don't feel able to it ends up with a lot of extra travel and stress. I'd still rather do this and curl up in bed shaking after every week than risk my parents though, for me its the lesser of 2 evils and at least my paranoia makes me extremely careful. I take a little pump spray bottle in my pocket filled with pure rubbing alcohol that I use to clean the trolley handle (I have the alcohol from before all this - isopropyl alcohol is great for stripping paint off models if you mess up!... or it was before it became worth more than its weight in gold )

I take a list too - tick it all off on the way around - and list reminders for the non-essentials stuff for the cupboard.

Hi mouse - thanks - it's all a bit of a bummer - but it's the standing still that's the killer - it's unbelievably tiring for me but if I could keep moving, I could walk for hours (but not up hills at all).       

How are you now?    Are you feeling completely better from the WuFlu?

Sorry to hear about your struggles with shopping mouse2, Plectrum, Plastic. What I did the other day when I went, I had a list with me, and I took a highlighter pen with me. So whenever I put something in the trolley, I marked it off the list. Because otherwise I would forget a lot of the stuff I went in to get, and probably come out with stuff I didn’t really need. Plus the good thing with walking around the shop with a list, it gives you something to kind of focus on. Because it’s certainly confusing at the moment, with keeping a certain distance from others. I also take a couple of antibacterial wipes with me to wipe the trolley handle.

Oh plastic I'm srry for your health issues. I understand the whole day just for shopping issue. I barely got some dinner together and am now back in bed. Its horrid

Oh I'm sorry plectrum. It's really hard just to get any form of shopping. Especially if you didnt bulk buy. The one time i did buy shopping I got so muddled I bought completly the wrong things as I couldnt function and spent all of our money! I'm not sure how much longer I can take it

I have to get to Sainsbury's for the 8am hour on a Wednesday - however, this means getting there at 7:30 to queue with the crumblies.    

Unfortunately, my other health problems mean I have to be up at 4:30am to be able to take all my meds and stabilise my body enough to be able to do that.        It means I feel really awful while I stand there - there's a real risk of suddenly needing the bathroom - and the pressure on my knees and ankles causes them to swell and a lot of pain and my leg begins to go numb.      

I do a quick bee-dance in the shop to get the things we need - bread & tinned stuff first and then on to the fresh stuff which is always well stocked.

There's always a queue at the checkouts so another 1/2 hour standing still - hurting my legs some more.

I get home around 9:30 and I feel absolutely wrecked.      Had to go back to bed this week.   

The queue is getting longer each week so I'll need to be there at 7:15 next week so I need to be up at 4:15am.    

I lose a whole day's functioning just for the shopping.

I have been struggling too. I had to use hand sanitiser and wear  a plastic  glove on one hand when i entered the supermarket. I got totally confused after 10 minutes of trying to concentrate on which hand to use if I carried a basket but need to pick up items. What had I touched, how to go past people etc.  I've also been forgetting my pin, blocked both my cards , have been hyperventilating and having to leave the store or forgetting what to buy. 

Last week I had a full meltdown so I guess I've improved a bit this week.  Yesterday I had carrots and bread for dinner. I've lost a bit of weight and have been waking up hungry.

The only good thing is that I am walking to the shops so I get extra time outdoors that doesn't count as my exercise.