Dementors can dement but we'll keep it positive here

[hobnobsaremyfavourite]

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Dementor free zone

Thanks BarkandCheese.

I know a lot of people think it’s funny or come out with the classic ‘no one likes needles’ not realising that it’s a bit more than that!

Point taken Hebe

OK- I guess it's possible to chat about various issues / topics rather than mentioning specific threads.

I predict an absolute dementor fest when go back or deregister and home educate becomes an issue.

I already know one family who are planning to keep their primary-age children at home until the virus has been totally eliminated even if it takes years. And by "at home" I mean "not allowed to leave house/garden". Parents are quite anxious people anyway but yikes. Is there going to be a national crisis of people too afraid to leave their homes once lockdown is lifted?

Those parents are quite anxious people anyway I mean, not all parents.

Is it not a bit concerning about such children and the impact on their mental health and physical health if they aren't allowed out on walks etc. Or on friendships etc, as for example home schooling children in general do things like access groups and museums etc.

Do most of these families have an at risk adult though I guess, can see that might be difficult.

Is there going to be a national crisis of people too afraid to leave their homes once lockdown is lifted?

Quite likely - yes. I had to go out early into lockdown as DD2 was having some really worrying symptoms that could have been neurological and had to go in-person to see the GP and I was fucking terrified leaving the house. DD2 was very anxious as well just at how things had changed. We've made a concerted attempt to go a short distance out of the house as many days as possible since then (by car and then walking) just to make sure such a situation doesn't arise.

The other potential issue I can see is a nation full of dogs suddenly left alone all day and separation anxiety and houses being trashed and then MN being full of "rehome the dog" drama. Cats I can't imagine will give much of a shit.

Lots of dementor activity on my school fb group - vulnerable parents wanting schools to stay shut so their kids don’t have to miss out

The shielding people seem to be particularly prone to this. Obviously it makes sense for them to be shielding but I know a couple of folk who seem to be transferring their own rational fear into thinking everyone has to be in their house for months.

Tbh I think it's understandable that people would go a bit loopy after not being able to leave the house at all for months. The mental health impacts of that must be significant even at the best of times, and if you're getting all your information about what's going on from news/social media you're probably getting a completely distorted view. If I only read MN and never went outside I'd be expecting my neighbours to call in a SWAT team the minute I opened my front door.

Do most of these families have an at risk adult though I guess, can see that might be difficult.

In this case no, they're all healthy, just absolutely terrified.

Is there going to be a national crisis of people too afraid to leave their homes once lockdown is lifted?

I certainly think so. Someone on FB commented that she was just keeping her kids safe, because thats what you do as a parent and its too much of a risk to go outside and i dont want them to die. Etc etc.

Her children arent vulnerable or shielded and didnt have underlying conditions. The chances of her kids dying from this are tiny. She could not comprehend that.

I worry about kids mental health with parents like that - are they going to have life long anxiety because theyve spent weeks being told that outside is dangerous?

For your average child with no health issues, outside is not dangerous because of corona.

For me its just an "extra" risk to take into account. We might all die in a car cash, but our chances are slim so i go in my car and i let my child go in the car. Similarly, we might all die of corona but our chances are slim so again i would go out and let my child go out.

Its all about individual risk for me.

@DominaShantotto you're doing a sterling job dementor fighting! It's all a bit futile tho, eg when you pull someone up (who's clearly full of shit) and the best they've got is to come back with 'do you even have children?!'
Trust me love I have two, which today feels like two bleedin hundred!

I think the mental health repercussions will echo on for years. Before this had any impact there were far more anxious people on MN than I’ve ever encountered in my life. That seems to have intensified massively over the last few weeks and is being passed on to children. There’s no doubt in my mind that the effects of lockdown are worse than the virus.

I fear for the mental health repercussions of this - and it's certainly a concern I'm going to be raising with school when they go back at an appropriate point (I'm a governor) - what can be done to support ANY children, not just those with previously documented needs, come to terms with how life changed and social distancing and just process it all in their heads.

My youngest's been particularly badly affected - anxiety headaches to the point of losing her vision temporarily, horrendous eczema which she'd never had before we hit the point of Happy Birthdaying the virus away (she was quite keen on that as it meant everyone had fully practiced for her birthday) and it's taken weeks to get her on any form of an even keel emotionally and mentally. The eldest is going more off the rails as time goes on and getting incredibly angry and violent about it all - and I have depression and anxiety I take medication for anyway! At least the dog's not traumatised apart from having to share her sofa (and no one wants to do that cos that fucker can fart)

And the "do you even have children" on here really does translate as "I've totally lost this argument so I'm going to try the my uterus is better than your uterus defence"

i agree @alsohuman i left for a few weeks before lockdown because i felt myself getting dragged into this doom and gloom and it made me feel anxious. I wasnt eating properly and i decided that reading this shit was not good for me.

Unfortunately far more people have read this shit, got involved, really started to believe it.

For me its just an "extra" risk to take into account. We might all die in a car cash, but our chances are slim so i go in my car and i let my child go in the car. Similarly, we might all die of corona but our chances are slim so again i would go out and let my child go out.

That’s exactly how I see it too. It has increased the small risk of us dying any day but even if that risk is now double or triple it is still relatively low.

I think the major issue is that a lot of people had risk assessed life before as ‘safe’ and now this change has made it ‘unsafe’. It was as if they were unaware that death could happen to any of us at any time.

I do genuinely think though that I’d be more scared if I lived in a city. I know quite a few people who live in flats in London and I’m quite admiring of how they’ve handled this calmly tbh.

I don’t know any real dementors IRL but do have a family member who insists on not going out for shopping to the point that she is sitting for hours with multiple browsers open to get a delivery slot. No conditions and pretty young, I pointed out that I would prefer to not have a slot if it meant a vulnerable person could....the response ‘it’s not worth the risk’, the has really turned people into a bunch of selfish twats. And as for making all kids stay at home so their DC won’t miss out, there are no words.

It was as if they were unaware that death could happen to any of us at any time

This is a good point. My family has had more than it’s fair share of tragedy... family members dying young etc. Covid to me is just another thing in the list of things that can kill you. I do wonder if the people who are so petrified have had limited encounters with death/illness etc in the past and therefore it seems a bigger risk to them.

@Teateaandmoretea yes i entirely agree.

We are lucky to live on a quietish street, in a house, with a garden and i am so, so appreciative for that. I have found this hard enough so i would have found being stuck in a flat with no outside space incredibly hard. I am also lucky that when (if) i go back to work i dont have to get on a tube or a bus.

I am just concerned that people think that by staying in, it will just go away, and itll be safe until september, and everything will be ok. And if we go out in june there WILL be a second wave etc etc

There has been a huge misunderstanding of what lockdown was for. It was not to keep the healthy young population safe!

There has been a huge misunderstanding of what lockdown was for. It was not to keep the healthy young population safe!

Yes- but think the adverts etc have been part of this...maybe they should have thanked people more for keeping others safe, rather than going on about staying safe etc. I guess it was done quickly but it has an element of hysteria about it. they look pretty scary too. Did they not think of the consequences.

Even now I'm listening to Radio 6 music (BBC station) and it is going on about 'rave safe' doing a 'stay at home rave' nice idea but again all about being safe at home etc

Yeah i agree, the #stayhomestaysafe thing is getting right on my wick.

They should have pushed the "flatten the curve" thing more imo, and emphasised that this lockdown was to ensure the NHS could cope, which seemingly, it has.

We have achieved that now, its only natural we should be contemplating an exit plan. But because that has not been well publicised, people think they are being pushed into certain death.

I read something on here I think quite near the start about how that we in the west have an expectation that we will live well into old age and that every problem has a solution. I remember a relative had a cancer diagnosis 15 years ago, the expectation was that it meant death and now (thankfully) in most cases people will recover and lead a good life, we vaccinate, insure everything from fridges to weddings and we kind of assume that we can buy a solution to most problems, I think on some level this is true and our experience of things that cannot be solved is limited. I think for some younger people this might explain the hysteria. My parents although not old have had their fair share of tough times and seem a lot more resilient to this than younger people.

I’ve read that back, it’s massive generalisation but you know what I mean, hopefully!