To loathe the phrase 'The new normal'

[opalescent]

I don't want to accept for a moment that any of these measures are permanent, and that's what this phrase implies (to me!).

This event will come to an end. Even if that just means accepting a low level of coronavirus existing in the community, and even if there are localised outbreaks in the future.

So why are we talking about a 'new normal'?

[midgebabe]

Because it will be a lot quicker to get back to normal if for the time being we adapt to a new normal.

[Lalallama]

Me too, it makes me so cross and stressed every time I read it. This isn't 'normal' and working from home FT while simultaneously home schooling shouldn't ever become normal.

I've had a bad day can you tell.

[BlueVinca]

Yes it's an irritating phrase.

[NeverFit]

I agree with you. It's either normal or it's not normal. 'New normal' is such a silly phrase.

[Wewearpinkonwednesdays]

Yes, it's bloody irritating and I wish people would stop saying it!

[StealthPolarBear]

I can see both sides. In lots of ways we will adapt and will be no worse off than before as a whole. However the phrase does suggest there's no urgency to release restrictions, and I do not agree with that.

[Gammeldragz]

Nothing about this is normal. YANBU. It drives me mad too.

[PopcornAndWine]

Agree, hate it. Although my personal most loathed pandemic cliche is 'now, more than ever'

[flamingochill]

It's the parenting equivalent of "It's just a phase"

The "everybody must be positive " brigade need it to keep on going.

[TerrapinStation]

@Gammeldragz

Nothing about this is normal. YANBU. It drives me mad too.

But surely that's why the phrase new normal is used?

We have to adapt to the fact that what we previously thought was normal no longer is or at least for the time being

[malmi]

Norms change, so what is normal one year is not normal the next. The virus will be with us sporadically for years probably. Mostly working from home will continue for many for the rest of their lives now. So yes this is the new normal.

[ThePenIsBlue]

I’m with you OP. Whenever I hear it it sends me into a pit of despair.

[helpfulperson]

if we go back to the old normal why will the virus not just go back to how it was during the peaks. Things need to be different somehow until we get a vaccine otherwise we will end up back where we started, even if that is just an effective test and trace meaning that any of us may suddenly need to quarantine for 14 days.

Things change and we adapt. Air Travel changed after 9/11 and again when liquids were banned. We got used to it and many have forgotten it ever used to be different.

[RedLemon]

Agreed.

There’s “totally shite”, “only fractionally less shite”, “moderately less shite” (now), “approaching-shite-free”, and normal. The 5 phases.

[cardibach]

Well, it is normal for now, and it is new so... 🤷‍♀️
We adapt to changes in routine and system all the time. We live one way, then something big changes - we have children, or we divorce, and our entire life changes. We may not want it to, but it does. It becomes normal. That doesn’t mean it won’t change again.
This is the new normal. In 6 months there may well be a new ‘new normal’. It’s how life is.

[EnthusiasmIsDisturbed]

I’m fine with it

We have absolutely no idea how long COVID shall impact how we live our lives so we have to get on with with it adapting life

[TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum]

Unfortunately we cant just decide to have a "low level of coronavirus in the community". This thing is currently incredibly infectious and will do what it wants without significant controls.

We need to hear more in the media from people who have had it. IT IS HORRIBLE!

We got it despite following lockdown guidelines to the letter including both being lucky to have been able to work from home.
7 weeks of struggling to breath, chest pains and constant fatigue, at times taking 15 different pills a day has been our experience. Unable to work (therefore on the paltry SSP) for 2 weeks of that despite WFH.
We are in our mid 30s and otherwise healthy.
I wouldn't wish this thing on anyone.

[2littleguineas]

I'm fine with it too, it's the truth this is our way of living for the foreseeable future.

[Devlesko]

I hate any slogan to be honest it usually smacks of spin or propaganda. Scary how easy it is for people to pick them up.
Lockdown wtf did that com from? What's wrong with staying in?

[WhyDoesItAlways]

I hate that phrase too. A senior boss at my work once said 'change is the new normal' right at the beginning of yet another restructure. So I guess I now have to resign myself to the fact that there is no normal if the powers that be are going to keep changing it!

[Squirrelblanket]

It's not as bad as 'these strange times'. That phrase needs to die!!

[SomewhereEast]

Totally agree. If I actually thought this was going to go on indefinitely I'd just lie down & never get up again. We're trying to make the best of it, but its as if all the fun & joy & spontaneity has been drained out of life. It hit me yesterday that I even miss annoying 'old normal' things like noisy soft plays & busy airports. But then I quite liked the old normal. I think people who are natural introverts or homebodies, or who found their normal lives stressful & unfulfilling, will cope more easily.

[SomewhereEast]

Also I live for the day when I never have to hear the phrase "socially distant" ever again. Social distancing can do one.

[Littlecaf]

I hate “during THIS pandemic” or the phrase “Lockdown 2020” like it’s a festival.

[Dinosauratemydaffodils]

I hate it. Makes me think of Aunt Lydia from the Handmaid's Tale. I want my old "normal" back and consider this very much temporary measures. I don't think I could keep going if I thought this would continue long term. There is nothing good about our current existence. Dh (and I) hate him working from home full time. When I return to work, I don't want to work from home, I want the separation between work/home. This is entirely abnormal.