This lockdown is forcing a reset for the planet.

[XingMing]

Where we are, it's rural, beautiful and in fine weather (after six months of rain) this lockdown seems like an opportunity rather than a penance. It's spring, we are gardening. The air is fresher, the sky is clearer, emissions are down across the planet. It's not exciting, but it is an interlude to enjoy family life before DS leaves home for university and starting his career. It's a very special time and I shall treasure the memory of this month. Am I alone in making the most of the moment? (We have aged parents to worry about too but as they are well into their 80s, I know they are not bothered about getting the telegram from the Palace.)

YANBU for making the most of what you have access to and your specific situation and set up.

Don't know why ppl thinking OP is BU for seeing this as an opportunity to enjoy. What are they supposed to do? Be miserable?

Making the most of this time doesn't mean OP doesn't have empathy for or knowledge of the others' circumstances.

Yes @deadsouls I really believe that a large cohort on here want everyone to be miserable like them and if you're not thoroughly miserable then you must be a baaaad person lacking all empathy. Well I might have breast cancer but I refuse to be miserable because that isn't going to help anyone or anything is it.

@kiki275 Stay strong love

@peaceanddove You too take care

I am with you op.

I have had to close my business and I am awaiting some test results.

Before this I was incredibly stressed thinking that I could possibly be dying of cancer. Covid-19 has shown me that everything can change in an instant.

I am enjoying this time with my family. We will deal with what the next few months/year will bring. I will never have my children at home again like this.

I appreciate where you're coming from OP. I think that to not recognise the positives at this time and not allow us to enjoy any of the good, is unwise, for our mental health if nothing else.

The way of the world is that not everyone is having a meltdown over this for whatever reason. It's very overwhelming and stressful for most of us though.

I'm trying to stay positive and see the good of the situation I'm in. I cannot change what's happening or going to happen. The only thing I can control is how I'm reacting to it - and I choose to be positive.

It's a stressed time for everyone and I send all those who have posted here my very best wishes. If you have been onside, thank you, and if you have decided that my good fortune in trying times makes me a smug cow, you are perfectly entitled to judge me --any way you want.

It has turned into a mental wellbeing thread, and mental health is going to be increasingly important for us all during the testing times ahead. Looking for (and hopefully finding) tiny fragments of joy amid the cacophony of fear, anger and anxiety is going to be what keeps us sane in this bucket of shit. I can't change your life or your mood. I would not post today what I did yesterday (and not because of this thread) but I think it is worth reading.

@Kiki275, I am mourning the loss of your stillborn twins with you, wishing you well for a future pregnancy in due course, and hoping your farm delivers a bountiful harvest this year, for your family and for us all.

With thanks and respect to all participants, I am signing off. x

Wow. Way to read the nation, OP!

OP is lucky
But she is right this will effect a major change

We can’t have what we want all the
Time anymore
Easy fast credit will disappear
Make up and clothes and fashion will become irrelevant for some time
People won’t be able to afford consumer goods
Hen weekend and weddings abroad will stop
Business travel will reduce , video
Many many business will go bust , millions won’t have money

Many habits will have taken up will stick

It’s a Shame it took this awful thins to effect it

Spelling

Kiki, so sorry to hear of your loss - the loss of your twins. I lost a little boy at 20 weeks five years ago and still think of him daily, if only for a fleeting moment.

It's turning back into Pangaea.

I’d love a garden . That does sound lovely. We are stuck in a small flat with 2 primary school aged dc.

And being in the city there are now more cars, because people are not using public transport I’m assuming. But I’m glad some parts are getting clearer air and roads.

Xing I'm with you...I'm taking great pleasure in seeing the primroses and daffs come through in the patch of front garden; I'm enjoying having ds still at home as he hunts for jobs.

Yes, it's shit out there...but you have to take the pleasure in the small things, and actively seek them out, otherwise it'll all seem too black.

PinkPolka I realise now I have taken my garden for granted for a long, long time. I know they take time and you may not have once close to you but have you considered an allotment if it is the gardening element you would like?

I posted similar on another thread op.

After a shitty couple of years I've felt very close to the edge for many weeks now and probably on the verge of a breakdown.

The last two weeks of working at home - not having the normal rush of school run, housework, work, extra curricular stuff, stressful family events and obligations - has probably saved me from tipping over the edge. I seem to be in a minority but at the moment I feel like my brain, body and soul is heaving a sigh of relief more than anything else.

Cerise, I have started a thread, similar to your post in the mental health section about how my anxiety/low mood has actually reduced, in spite of the threat of this awful virus.

Nieburr's "prayer" is important here: it says

Grant me serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
Courage to tackle what should be changed,
And the wisdom to understand the difference.

It's not a quote as I have removed any reference to a deity, but I feel the message is important.