A self-described mild-mannered man, Corey Jackson could never imagine launching a full-scale assault on a recycling bin — that is, before coronavirus.
The Boxford resident and Peabody Citizens Inn executive director rushed to get his trash to the curb on a recent cold morning only to find his 5-year-old had followed him outside half-dressed without socks or shoes.
“I picked up a recycling container, threw it against the wall and actually broke it. My son was completely unfazed,” Jackson said.
Almost two months spent balancing work and parenting at home with his wife, Sarah, and their two young children, has made Jackson “a little more ragey.”
He isn’t alone. While front line and essential workers fight coronavirus and keep the country functioning, millions of Americans are social distancing to halt the virus’ spread and experiencing stress related to confinement, home schooling and unemployment.
Self-admitted homebody Corinne Riley found her Saugus residence turned into an office when husband, Christopher, and daughter, Olivia, started working from home.
That change didn’t stop Riley, a Saugus Board of Selectmen member, from keeping up with housekeeping even on the day her husband tapped her on the shoulder during a conference call and told her to turn off the vacuum.
“I guess I’ve got to be quieter,” she said.
When she isn’t providing therapy online or juggling remote learning classes for 200 students, Maria del Mar Vazquez is running a household with two daughters.
“I find myself taking our temperatures every day,” she said.
A clinical psychologist and North Shore Community College associate professor, Del Mar Vazquez is talking to her patients about panic and anxiety.
“If you feel you’re not sleeping, your heart is beating too much — that’s panic. When you can’t control it, you should call and reach out,” she said.
Dr. Jennifer Nakhai added more clinicians to her Lynn practice, Aeon Counseling and Consulting, to deal with an uptick in therapy requests driven by coronavirus.
“It’s essential we all take care of ourselves, to meditate and to ask, ‘Am I doing OK?’” Nakhai said.
Aside from the punishment he exacted on his recycling bin, Jackson has kept life humming along at home by taking to Facebook with his musical wife and singing. With selections ranging from showtunes to Sinatra, their online serenades prompt song requests.
Fred Hogan found himself providing some impromptu therapy after a man walked into a Lynn store without wearing a mask and was told by the proprietor he needed to wear one.
“The customer totally lost it,” Hogan, a Lynn City Councilor, said.
After the man calmed down, Hogan helped defuse the situation by pointing out to the store owner that nearly all other customers complied with the mask rule.
“People are feeling uptight about the situation,” Hogan acknowledged.
Peabody teacher Diane Bugler said a mask has been incorporated into her wardrobe to the extent she doesn’t even notice when she drives with one on.
“I know people make fun of that but I have it on as soon as I go out,” she said.
Although Nakhai encourages people to call Aeon at (617) 982-3996 or go to [email protected] if they are feeling hopeless or worthless, Bugler said she is well-suited to social isolation. She misses outdoor locations she likes to frequent, but she has been working daily online with her students and pursuing indoor interests.
“I’m kind of built for this. I don’t go out a lot and I don’t mind being home. I really miss the kids,” she said.
Gini Mazman does like to go out and The Haven Project’s executive director said the sights she sees in downtown Lynn rarely disappoint. Her sightings include a local bodybuilder, undaunted by gym closings, who improvised a makeshift weight-lifting station on Washington Street.
“He hooked a belt through a cinder block and was dead-lifting it. I thought that was interesting,” she said.