Were you scared at the start? Are you still scared now?

[Lou0808]

I'm trying my absolute hardest to try and adjust to this new "normal".

But so far I'm not doing very well.

I'd love to just go shopping but the thought of having to be constantly aware of keeping a 2M distance, being mindful of touching things or wearing a mask is just not my idea of fun. 😞

We drove past our local shopping centre yesterday and was really surprised at how full the car park was.

It's gone from people panic buying back in March, people saying how bad this was and how serious it is, to now parks, supermarkets and shopping centres being packed.

Are people not as scared of this anymore?
Do they feel like it's not as serious or as much of a threat?
Or are people just accepting that they have to live their lives with this threat around and are happy to do that?

I do have anxiety and OCD and I know they play a big part in How I feel.

But why am I still stuck to my feelings back in March whilst everyone else seems to be moving on and accepting this new way of life 😞

[zoezoeok89]

I was terrified at first and now I’m scared. Mind you, I had my first baby in a February and we have my 76 year old shielding father stranded with us so we’ve been shielding too. I alternate between sheer terror and thinking we’ll die if we catch it, to accepting that maybe we won’t and remembering for the majority it’s a mild flu. I am somewhat reassured by the recent treatment findings and hopeful that the numbers are dropping consistently. I am very aware that those are only symptomatic cases reported however my boyfriend constantly reminds me that if it wasn’t declining overall then the asymptomatic would still be infecting and therefore the symptomatic confirmed cases would still be on the rise. My best case scenario is that the cases drop so low that the risk is minimal. I can’t see a vaccine being available any time soon.

[zoezoeok89]

(I also have bad health anxiety so this should have sent me way over the edge)

[Smudge3]

I'm not scared anymore. I just don't trust the government and I'm following the advice of independent sage. I think the government just wants to protect the economy not the people. I understand that the economy is vitally important. I know people's health will suffer in a depression. I'm not just worried about coronavirus but also economic depression and Brexit. It would be easier to cope if the government hadn't constantly lied to us and hadn't messed up everything they do. I find them untrustworthy and incompetent. That's what scares me.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

I wasn't scared at the start and I'm not scared now. If lockdown hadn't happened I would have carried on as normal.

[secretllama]

I'm not scared of the virus. I'm scared of the fact that it looks like this social distancing and removal of all things enjoyable about life is here for a while. Id rather go out as normal and risk getting a mild illness but that's easy for me to see as a low risk woman in her 30s. But I'm Also scared of the NHS collapsing when the repercussions of cancelling 3+ months worth of non covid appts and screening catches up.

[Samsen]

No I haven’t been scared. I’ve taken precautions, stuck to government advice, limited contact with people, washed my hands etc and kept my family safe. That’s al we can do.

[fadingfast]

I was petrified at the start, literally shaking with fear. I recognise this is an over reaction on a personal level, but my fear relates as much for the impact this is having on society, the economy and particularly the disadvantaged as the risk to me personally.
I've been very up and down mentally in recent weeks, and obsessively following all the stats and charts and desperately searching out for any glimmer of hope. I know this is not a healthy attitude and I feel like I am slowly losing grip on my sanity.
I think in some ways I feel even more scared now than I did at the start.

[Isotope456]

From a personal perspective, I wasn't scared of the virus at the start and that remains the case. I'm in a (very) low risk age group, with no underlying health problems and have been taking reasonable precautions. I accept that I might catch it but the overwhelming likelihood is that I'll be fine. I was worried about my older relatives and friends who are in higher risk groups - however, I wouldn't say I was "scared".

My main concern is the economy. I'm lucky to have remained in a job throughout, although we've had to take a 20% pay cut. My department is currently very busy but no guarantee it will stay that way - just have to wait and see!

[Waxonwaxoff0]

I am scared about losing my job though!

[PhoneLock]

Were you scared at the start? Are you still scared now?

No and no.

[Floralnomad]

I wasn’t scared at the start and I’m not scared now however I am at high risk so I’m taking sensible precautions like not going to supermarkets / busy places .

[CornishYarg]

I was very scared the week before we locked down. I had a full on panic attack on the Sunday after seeing pictures of empty supermarket shelves and huge queues to get in. Then the next day came the announcement that vulnerable people should stay in and, as I have mild asthma, that included me which was a shock. What really worried me was other people not taking it seriously. Friends invited me out for a meal "while we still have chance" despite the advice at that time being to avoid restaurants, pubs etc. When the schools closed, several mums in DS's class suggested a group outing to a soft play! It felt like no-one was taking to seriously and that was going to put me in great danger. So it was something of a relief when pubs and restaurants were closed and then full on lockdown happened.

Now, I feel a lot calmer about it all. We know more about how it spreads and ways to manage it. My background is maths-based so I tend to look at things from a rational, state-based perspective. The problem at the start of lockdown for me was that there so many unknowns, including how many people had it due to lack of testing. I'm also now reassured that my asthma is less of a risk factor than I originally feared. I'm still being sensible but I have been supermarket shopping a few times now, which was unthinkable for me a couple of months ago.

[troppibambini]

I was much more cautious and worried at the start now I'm just kind of getting on with but just being aware of distancing...
3 out of 4 of my kids are at school and I'm going to the supermarket as and when we need stuff.
I've been into town shopping but only because I needed school uniform I probably wouldn't just browse. I usually pick up a Starbucks in my way back from school so things are starting to feel a little more normal.

[022828MAN]

Haven't been scared throughout. Was cautious at the beginning but now I'm just going about my life as normal as is possible at the moment.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

I’ve never been worried at all. Like anything else in life, if I get ill and die then that’s that. I don’t spend my life anxious about when and how it might happen.

Also, the reality is that it was never a dangerous illness for the majority and more people are cottoning on to that now. The government knew if people were aware of that at the beginning, nobody at little risk would have bothered with social distancing; they had to make sure even perfectly healthy people felt scared enough that they were at personal risk to buy into doing as they were told.

[1990shopefulftm]

Yes at the start and not made any changes to my behaviour since, I m pregnant and have asthma so am sticking to just going out for exercise and appointments for a while and staying home otherwise.

I d be gutted if I missed an appointment (two of mine in the first trimester were cancelled anyway so I dont want to miss anymore ) because I had gone out shopping and caught the virus and had to self isolate or worse made my baby unwell by taking any riskd.

[sunlightflower]

I wasn't scared at the start and I'm not scared now. I live with DH and our two young DC, one of whom is a baby.

I did worry about elderly relatives a lot at the start, but don't live with them so it was an indirect worry rather than being scared of somehow transmitting it to them.

[RhianFuckingMorris]

I wasn't scared at the start but I'm more concerned now than I was.
A mix of seeing first hand what a "mild" case of Covid actually does to someone and that it just seems yo crop up in clusters every now and again.
I'm more scared about the winter because we just cannot lockdown again but this autumn and winter I'm pretty sure will see a repeat of what we've just been through, except it won't end because there will be no lockdown, because as a society we just cannot afford to do that.
I'm scared of how long and how shit our new normal will be.

[bloodywhitecat]

No and no. I have always had good hand hygiene and continue to do so. I am concerned about the knock on effect on society and the economy though.

[stoptheride]

Back in very early March I was completely scared. Others thought I was nuts... no one was listening to me. I recall saying to one school mum, we have 12 new cases today.. this is going to get much much worse... her reply was 'I'm not worrying about this' you need to maybe speak to someone about your anxiety.

That same person has gone full circle and won't leave the house.!

I'm fine it's going back out.. I live in a seaside town where the rules don't seem to apply to visitors so fuck it lets crack in and see how we all fair in 6 months from now.

[Titsywoo]

No and no.

[Lemmylemming]

Not concerned about catching Coronavirus and never was, but I find all the restrictions and rules slightly anxiety inducing in themselves and I am extremely worried about my children and their lack of education or social opportunities.

[iVampire]

Dying

I was in the middle of training for the London Marathon, a normal, fit active person

But kept that way because of daily targeted cancer drugs, which beat back my blood cancer so far that it’s barely perceptible in my body and my lifespan is normal

And that put me on the shield list

Everyone assumed the shielded were only, decrepit, about to die

It was both horrible and revealing to see just how many people, often those I’d thought to be more compassionate m, were ready to write us all off for the sake of the greater good

I’m still worried about dying. My medical condition is unchanged and once my injury is healed I’ll be back in marathon training.

But I’m uncomfortable with only 1m distancing, and am far from persuaded that it has been adequately examined from the POV of the vulnerable and exceptionally vulnerable.

It’s a weird halfway house. Fine, fit, healthy and (quite possibly) no more likely to catch it than anyone else. But (quite probably) considerably likely to die quite a nasty death if I do get it (evidence limited, but cancerous immune system tends to give you a bad outlook for a host of other diseases)

[OccasionalNachos]

Was a bit nervous at the start because I had a newborn and lockdown coincided with mild post natal anxiety. But I’ve always washed my hands after going shopping, wipe down surfaces daily, and don’t touch my face/lick my fingers without cleaning my hands first so increased focus on hygiene hasn’t changed what I do at home.

I feel much better now I have limited time to read news websites constantly. We have been going to the supermarket, and DP to work, and are confident of precautions and how to keep ourselves safe and avoid people who are not behaving safely.

[Tootletum]

In January, I was pretty scared of the virus. In June, I'm scared of losing all our savings. I'm also very sad about the way daily life is, and will be indefinitely. Soft play, chats over coffee, making new friends, library visits, swimming, museums - I was going to give up work and do all those things with my kids, and now I'll basically just be cleaning my house and doing the school run whilst stressing about money.