Really anxious things will never go back to normal

[Thewheelsonthebus23]

Just that.
What if this continues forever and never goes away, we never find a vaccine or treatment, then what?!

[AmeliaTaylor]

Then we will have to get on with our lives living with the knowledge that COVID19 is around us and a certain percentage of us will get it and a certain percentage of us will die from it each year.

Just like we live with the understanding that any of us can get cancer or catch the flu or become infected with HIV or any number of other things. Just like humans for millennia have lived. And we’ll find a way to cope. Because we’ll have no choice but to do so or curl up in a ball and expire.

[Bol87]

Then essentially, we have to accept a possible lower life expectancy & get on with life! Life isn’t without risk. This makes it a bit riskier but still not that risky to most people. It’ll become like any other illness.

Things will improve in a short period of time (by that I mean a couple years). There are millions of people testing out anti-virals & vaccines. Something will help.

[UnderTheBus]

The human race has been through much worse than this and come out the other side.

[Bol87]

My other half made a good point the other day- I’ve spent the last couple weeks out & about in the garden & walks with usually no suncream on. I’m an idiot for not doing so but I forget & get busy playing with my daughter.

There is far more risk that I’ll die of skin cancer than Covid. Yet I just don’t really think about it. It’s an after thought when I realise I’m quite hot!

Similarly those who smokers, drinking regularly - all cancer causes. But millions do without a second thought. Being overweight increases your risk - everyone’s still eating McD’s.

S’all about perspective 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Waxonwaxoff0]

We will carry on with our lives alongside the other diseases that we have no treatment for.

People won't accept this way of life forever, we will go back to normal at some point.

[Wishingstarr]

We still have access to great healthcare compared to all the people in history that were hit with pandemics. It will be our new normal, we will be much more respectful of the power of new viruses now.

This Coronavirus has not even been around for a year yet so drs and scientists all over the world are gathering huge amounts of new information. We might find new ways of avoiding infection, boosting our immune system or certain other groups that are high risk/low risk. The last 70 years in the West have been a historic aberration in terms of our comfortable lives so we have become complacent. We still have a very low risk of complications from COVID while millions around the world still don't have clean water, education and basic sanitation. We should count our blessings.

[IcedPurple]

I was very depressed about 2 weeks ago but am feeling much more (cautiously) optimistic now. Though given the reality of the coronacoaster, who knows how I'll feel tomorrow!

The countries which have relaxed lockdown have for the most part not experienced any significant surges. There is considerable optimism regarding vaccines and treatment, with the Oxford team quietly confident that they will have a vaccine ready to go in Sep. Obviously there is huge uncertainty still but I do feel we are over the worst.

[frozendaisy]

It's not just living with Covid-19 though is it. It will be a new normal where people will feel emboldened to tell you "keep away" low and behold a child sneezes in a shop, or you cough because water goes down the wrong way.

I think the social fallout from this will take many years for some not all but some.

It would be nice to think that we all progress together towards a new, fairer, less materialistic society, but in reality that means many having no disposal income which is the money we spend on what makes life worth living.

It's likely to be a bit rubbish for a while.

We are part of this we can't spend freely going forward, we won't eat out as much, would have gone to local summer festival theatre this July, booked panto, day tripped to London. Instead at the moment we are attempting to make house and garden as nice to be in as we can as this is where we are likely to spend a lot of time for the foreseeable. It's rubbish. Just take it one week at a time.

[wildone84]

I have had the same fear these last few months. So much so that I decided to move overseas in a couple of months, to a country where there's no covid 19 now, but I have no idea if I am doing the right thing.

However, my best guess is that it'll be over within a few years at most, and things will go back to normal.

[SpnBaby1967]

I think eventually the country will open up and social distancing will become a thing of the past. Convincing the terrified section of the populace that covid isnt lurking around every corner or on every tin of baked beans will be harder though. I dont know when they'll ever feel "safe" to go out.

[tootyfruitypickle]

Op I’m having a day feeling like this today . I e been quite positive throughout but today I’ve felt very glum. I just keep thinking about ww2 and how people got through that and must have felt without hope at times.
Although DD tells me that’s not a helpful way to think!

[RunningNinja79]

I've been feeling really down about it for a few weeks now. Every so often I will start to feel a little bit more positive then I'll just get down again. If I see some numbers have gone up (either in the UK or elsewhere that has had it before us) I want to cry. I dont want to live in this world for years to come. I dont want a new normal. I want to go back to how things were and I fear that they can't until the risk of the virus goes down a lot. There seems to be very little light at the end of the tunnel. You're not the only one OP.

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

I feel like this today- it’s the introduction of masks, and the news of slight rises in infections across the globe when things relax.
I’m more scared of the restrictions than the pandemic. I can’t see normal shopping, weekends involving a farm or pool visit.
The problem is no one has told us what the end goal is, living on the edge of pandemic fear is no way to live.

[fascinated]

They will get a vaccine soon. Don’t worry.

[Speeding201700]

I feel exactly the same

[Mintjulia]

Op, don’t feel so down. With every case, the doctors are learning more about Covid19. They know to deal with blood clots, they know what to expect, they better understand the need for oxygen, and the path the virus takes.
Treatments are improving by tiny steps and there will be a vaccine soon, I’m sure of it. xx

[BigChocFrenzy]

We've had masks in Germany for weeks and are keeping up social distancing
It's OK, no reason for wailing or woe;
it's different, but we're having fun again

I've been to shops and to hairdresser - mask on the whole time (haircut was itchy !)

Gym - distancing and limited class sizes

Restaurants - distanced tables, filling in form with contact details and masks on except when sitting at the table

Schools - all forms will have rotated in pt before the vacation and should be ft afterwards
PPE optional for staff and pupils
Kids are fine, because they are used to seeing masks (also school starts at age 6-7 here)

Childcare, nurseries etc - reopened and should run normally over the vacation

Work - I'm retired, but the economy is restarting and the great majority of people should be back to work by September, with social distancing where possible, masks when not.

[BigChocFrenzy]

We can keep going like this until there is effective treatment and / or vaccine
It will happen, with so much of the world's scientific & medical resources beeing thrown at it.

In the meantime, virologists agree here that large events with singing & shouting need to stay closed,
which includes some outdoor superspreader events like carnivals and sports stadia

That's acceptable for the interim.
We'll cope.

[ItsInTheShed]

this is our new normal....i'm surprised how easily we've slipped into social distancing

[AgentCooper]

I know how you feel OP. It’s grim. This is not the world I want to live in. Sooner or later we’re going to see the effects of this on mental health.

[Thewheelsonthebus23]

Thank you everyone for replying.

@RunningNinja79 this sounds exactly like me. I’ve just seen the R rate has increased in the North West and South West and feeling sad again. I also saw Iran might have had a second spike.

@agentcooper I feel exactly the same. I don’t want to live if this is how life is going to be. I miss my old life. I haven’t seen my parents in months because they live 4-5 hours drive away, so I can’t just go for a SD walk with them like we have done with my in laws. I’m scared I won’t see them until next year, in the meantime they’re missing out on my 20 month old DS, their only grandson and his development.
I’m also very worried about his future and I’m hoping we won’t be in the same situation when he starts school in 2 years time.

[Babamamananarama]

For me it's not a small thing that communal events with singing, crowds, close contact etc are not possible for the foreseeable. Carnival, festivals, gigs, concerts, shows, parties, clubs, glorious dance floors. These are experiences that bind us together and make life worth living. The times we let our hair down and cut loose. I work in the arts and most of my friends do too. My husband is a musician. It feels like a crucial part of our culture and identities has been shut down for the foreseeable. And of course our income.

It really scares me that these things may not come back online for a long time. Humans need to do that stuff.

[Bagelsandbrie]

I feel the same.

I am fed up with people saying this is the new normal. There is nothing normal about this.

I am in the shielding group and have decided to go out regardless - obviously I’ve been sensible, to remote places, keeping distance etc- but I’ll be damned if I’m going to live what could potentially be my last months / years here anyway (because of my health conditions under normal circumstances!) cooped up inside.

This is really shit and I think if we have no vaccine etc then people will just have to get out there and get on with it eventually. No one can live like this indefinitely.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

This isn't the new normal. Plenty of people aren't adhering to social distancing. This way of life won't be accepted.

[B1rdbra1n]

We will find better treatments and we will develop more sophisticated ways to track and trace any cases that do occur
Necessity is the mother of invention😊
Humans have survived worst plagues (let's just hope the other four Horsemen hold off for a bit😳)