Is anyone else dreading going back to ‘normal’ after lockdown ends?

[Unknown2020]

I’m a introvert who suffers from anxiety when leaving the house. I love just being in my own bubble at home with my family and to be honest I could quite happily never leave the house again!

My DS has autism and also prefers to be at home or in the garden. He doesn’t cope well at school or mixing and is very socially awkward. Since lockdown he’s been so happy, it’s like his ideal life just being in his comfortable space surrounded by his family with no care in the world. I’m already nervous about the transition back to school and all the tears and meltdowns that will follow from it. If we even mention the word ‘school’ he goes into meltdown and starts panicking.

Me and OH have both been able to do some work from home, but we’ve also had so much time to get all the jobs done around the house that we could never be bothered to do by the time it was the weekend and all we wanted to do was just relax before another week of rushing around with work/school/keeping on top of jobs in the house/keeping kids happy.

As a family we all seem so much happier and I’m just dreading going back to ‘normal’

Does anyone else feel like this?

Nope I can't wait for lockdown to be lifted. My mental health has taken a battering and I'm back on tablets that I haven't been taking for well over a year. I feel all that I have achieved in that time has been swept away and now I'm back right where I started from.

We are going to be in lockdown for another 17 months. You really don’t need to worry about it ending just yet.

We are going to be in lockdown for another 17 months

Really??? Or is that just pure speculation on your part? Where do you suppose the money is going to come from if businesses are forced to remain closed for that amount of time? Unless you have tangible proof of course.

I said it was unhealthy but I meant FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY.

God no. I’ll be thrilled to have a babysitter again when it’s over. I can’t cope with parenting on my own, it’s relentless.

No, it feels as though we are in some sort of suspended animation. My DCs both want to get back to school, I don't want to work from home any longer than I have to and I want to be able to socialise again. We're OK, but it is definitely not the life any of us want.

@Unknown2020 - you sound exactly like me! My 13-yr-old DS is desperately missing messing around with his mates though, so from that perspective I want it to be over. He's very very extroverted and gregarious, so I'm exhausted by trying to keep his spirits up.

Absolutely @Rattymare. I've never enjoyed having my life parcelled out for me by other people. Being locked down has - paradoxically - brought me more freedom than I've ever experienced.

My personal and financial circumstances mean that this is an almost completely stress-free time for me. My job might disappear, eventually, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I know other people are suffering - but there is always human suffering in the world. That doesn't mean none of us can feel joy.

I'm dreading the return of the traffic jams on the way to work.

I also get claustrophobic in crowded shops, so the lack of people around at the moment suits me down to the ground.

Hopefully the people in supermarket queues who used to insist on practically shoving their trolley up your arse will have now learned to have some patience and to hang back a bit.

I am really looking forward to being able to meet up with people and do social things, join activity groups etc. I would also really like to meet someone (who knows if that will ever happen) and that’s not going to happen during lockdown.

I am really not looking forward to the return of the frenetic pace of life / pollution / noise / traffic / commuting hell (I live in London). As well as people somehow being more disconnected than now.

I am dreading it too.

I have been in a fairly privileged position on furlough on 80% but with DH on state pension we can cope. I'm not spending money on commuting. My job should be safe.

I always thought I was extrovert but I have enjoyed it being the 2 of us and the dog/cats. I have enjoyed the slow down, being able to go to bed when I'm tired, get up when I want. Walk the dog at a leisurely pace not thinking I need to leave for work.

I do miss the comradery of work but not the politics and bitchiness.
I do look forward to going out and about, walk in the forest/beach, caravanning and that is something to look forward to.
My mood has been better. I'm more relaxed. I go back to work most likely end of next week.

I’ve never been happier! I’m loving living in my own little bubble. I’m furloughed and at the moment it’s just what I need. No stress, no commute, no deadlines, not having to socialise. I’m an introvert and a homebird anyway and having this time just to be at home and read, rest, potter, catch up on box sets and do whatever I want is literally my dream life. To be fair we have no kids so home life is pretty calm and peaceful. I’ve worked full time for 30 odd years with no maternity leave or breaks in between jobs so right now I’m in my own little heaven.

Although still working I’ve really enjoyed a quieter commute to work and am therefore much less stressed than usual - am drinking less ! Also just fewer people around in general has been relaxing . That said look forward to a blowdry , eyebrow tint etc , catching up with friends in person .

I could stay like this forever.

I just want to be able to see my Grandson, he’s nearly 9 months old and I used to take care of him 3+ times a week, haven’t seen him for 4 weeks, other than once through the car window 😭 Facetime is nice but not the same as cuddles.
DD has now been asked to do the odd day at School (Teacher) and because we are currently isolated with suspected covid, I can’t have him next week.

Nothing else matters, I used to think travel and holidays were very important, not any more.
I do miss pottering around garden centres and country houses though.

It feels like a break to me. No pressure to go out and do stuff or social events. Zoom and WhatsApp are working fine for me keeping in contact with friends.

I am hoping I can stay WFH indefinitely as I can't see me ever being willing to get on the tube again.

Yeah, I'm fine! Its just THE REST OF THE F-CKING PLANET!

I work in the NHS and am working both in the hospital and from home full time. O have no fear of catching it and haven't worried about it from the start really.

My home is calmer and happier. My children are going in three days a week but without the usual peer pressure and rigid structure, they are much happier. My commute is easier as I am driving rather than train, which I would normally do. So yes, we could live like this fairly happily for a long time if needs be. If course I miss people and especially miss going to the beach, but we have a good life with a big garden so are absolutely fine.

I thought of starting A thread like this but thought I would be slated as an insensitive bitch for enjoying the collateral benefits of pandemic and lockdown.

For me the benefits are:

• perversely, getting to know my neighbours / people in my neighbourhood Which perversely I didn’t when we weren’t in lockdown
• setting a kinder / gentle side of people
• having a daily purpose (soup outing an extremely vulnerable couple who are shielding
• doing daily exercise - something I didn’t do before - and clearly others are starting to exercise as well in pandemic
• buying fresh food and cooking
• keeping in touch v a lot more with colleagues and friends.

BIG down side is WFH and crippling workload - difficult to have off switch when WFK (and oh my back and shoulders ache)

Oh - another downside - my place is now a tip now I’m there 24/7 and no cleaner

God no, I want it to be over. I lost my business and am not cut out to be a SAHM (or not in these circumstances, would probably be alright if we could socialise). My DD misses her friends, I miss mine, and DH is a key worker so still out all the time.

I sleep better .... I’m not sleeping with one ear open waiting for DD to fall out of an uber on a Friday night ...

No dammit, no! A hundred times no. I want to live, not merely exist. I miss my work and my sport. The lockdown is unsustainable. I can't stop thinking about the massive damage that it is doing to the whole country, and the restrictions on our freedom which might still remain after lockdown has been "lifted", and I bet there will be loads. If it goes on for too long, some people will indeed be too scared to return to life as it should be, causing even more problems in the longer term. There will probably be at least as many deaths indirectly caused by the lockdown as caused by the virus. The lockdown has to end.

Loving working full time from home. I currently work one day a week from home but am going to try and up it to two days when we go back. My husband has actually been told he will only be doing 2 days in the office when he goes back and 3 days at home so he’s thrilled. It’s cut around 1.5-2 hours from my working day as I have no commute, love it.

I'm scared of a second wave, so we wont be seeing many people when it's over. Probably just a few close relatives. My mother in law lives very close and hasn't been able to see the baby, I know that's been hard on her.