Some people enjoy patronising and depressing others

[Esprohuy]

Clearly everyone is having a different experience of the current situation. It seems to me from the posts here and elsewhere that MN is full of people searching for threads from people either asking genuinely when others think the restrictions may be reduced, or people expressing mental or emotional.distress due to being locked away, sometimes alone. The pattern is the OP posts, there are a couple of sympathetic/in the case of lockdown speculation dovish opinions then the Depressor swoops, usually with a formulation along the lines of:
If you think these restrictions will be lifted anytime soon you are a naïve fool. Christmas will be cancelled and things will never fully return to normal

In the threads expressing mental distress their standard formulation is a variety of:
FFS pull yourselves together. It's been (insert number) weeks, how the F do you think people coped in the war the. All you are being asked to do is stay in and watch Netflix

There seems to be a remarkably large number of people among this cohort who claim grandparental involvement in WW1/2 and have a partner/sibling serving as a front line NHS worker. These depressors seem to scour MN looking to pounce on people expressing povs like the above.

Ages ago, I posted that I was starting a new job in the NHS but I would only be there for a few months as my DH was being deployed.

I was told by one poster “I hope you have reconsidered OP and you aren’t starting” and another said “you are the reason the NHS is broke.” Another posted “I’m going to tell NHS HR so they can track you down.” Good luck with that!

I started the job and left anyway, I hope some people worked themselves up into a frenzy and burst over the fact a random internet person didn’t do what they were told.

Interesting- it says

Projection tends to come to the fore in normal people at times of personal or political crisis[19] but is more commonly found in personalities functioning at a primitive level as in narcissistic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder.[20]

💯. Some people are loving it and I’m guessing they’re not the fun ones at parties...!

Just called out the dementors on the Message from a Paramedic thread. It’s going to give me huge pleasure doing this everywhere I can today.

You may have heard of Maajid Nawaz, former jihadi now Liberal Democrat and slightly supercilious and Israel obsessed LBC presenter. I wonder if it is possible for a Dementor to recognise themselves as such, repent and come across to us, the Curly Wurlies? I had a male friend now as friend who was in fairly good shape but had no sex life as he had an unacknowledged personality disorder. He would constantly point out perceived flaws in others appearance especially any weight gain. When called out on it, his stock response was that it made him a good friend because he was trying to push them to lose weight for health reasons. He wasn't. He was a very unhappy person looking to enhance his relative quality of life by pushing down others. I wonder looking back was he a proto Dementor. I'd say call them out left right and centre in your own life on here in the media! Maybe some of them will Maajid across and eat the CurlyWurlies!

This is a good thread.

The desperation for martial law to happen is another Dementor trait. I think they'd very much like to see lockdown "rule-breakers" to be shot in the streets. If nothing else this has given us an excellent insight into how quickly totalitarianism can spread.

To be fair, there have been some utterly ridiculous threads of late. (Not mental health ones, those are generally very obvious to see and I dont get why posters dont leave well alone. For example the poster in distress as family members had died etc and she was upset - understandably - at the save the nhs rhetoric).

That said, a Facebook group I'm in recently announced they thought lock down would end after this 3 weeks and so it should change to a tourist promotion group. Ridiculous. I got kicked out for saying it was irresponsible (and asking if the admin was on glue...).

*I have also noticed they always have relatives on the' front line' who share how horrific it is constantly. My brother is a nurse and works in a covid ward( about half full with plenty of PPE) and he says hes a nurse so expected to work with sick people

Yes I have noticed this. I have quite a lot of friends and family who are on ‘the front line’ so to speak. They’ve all said yes it’s busy, yes it’s stressful, but that looking after ill people is what they trained to do.*

Yes! The NHS workers I know say the same, they trained to help the sick

It seems to be very glass half empty for some posters, life will never be the same again, we stay in lockdown for years etc, I just think how depressing it must be to always look at life in that way

This lockdown made me see how many curtain twitchers there are and depressingly I can see why when people were publicly executed years ago, it drew a crowd. Some just can't help themselves

This lockdown made me see how many curtain twitchers there are and depressingly I can see why when people were publicly executed years ago, it drew a crowd. Some just can't help themselves

All true but now they are being exposed isn't it possible to counter them, initially at least by calling them out for what they are. Even a Dementor will wither in the face of being identified as such

Two cliched phrases which are very appropriate at the moment:

• Comparison is the thief of joy.

• Misery loves company.

I'm definitely getting the sense that some people want lock down to be a miserable as possible, for as many people as possible.

Definitely.

MNetters have always been rabid rule followers though. Love a bit of authority and shaming anyone who says "wait a minute, what if I just...? Some of them are just loving that everyone else now has rules they have to follow too rather than just them following their own self imposed, joyless code.

Years ago someone wrote an analysis on why so many MNetters are slavish yo authority, adore a rule to follow and the chance to tell others off when they don't. It was so good and spot on but sadly I didn't save it. I've mentioned this before because I always hope someone will remember it well and re-post it again.

I think the majority of people disagree with the Dementors but many are unwilling to say so, especially on a topic like this where they already know the response will be PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM YOUR SELFISHNESS, and especially especially online where ignoring them completely is just as easy and valid an option. Normal bystanders who can 'read the room' are aware that everyone else is mentally rolling their eyes, but because the Dementor has no social awareness they take the lack of challenge to mean that everyone agrees with them. And then the people who do openly disagree, because they're so few in number, look to the Dementor like a handful odd cranks rather than people voicing the silent majority opinion.

So no, I don't think they're aware, because most people are too polite to go around shouting "You're being a bellend!" every time the Dementor opens their mouth. Even if most people are thinking it.

YgritteSnow do you remember what platform it was on? Was it a post on here or an article?

Yes everyone has an underlying health condition a sibling and working in ICU and knows at least three people that are in hospital with covid and it’s ALL OUR FAULT

*sibling who is working in

Oh they HATE it when you share any promising studies or data. I hate to think this, but I think some people are disappointed that their predictions (while being abusive to posters buying hot cross buns or eating sat on a bench) a month ago that we'd have ice skating rinks full of the dead 'because of selfish people like you' haven't come to pass.

And the fake 'I just don't understand why..' posters are awful because they're just trying to hide how judgemental they are.

'I just don't understand why people would be drinking more alcohol right now, its more important than ever that we try to be healthy'

Ooh possible reasons could be anxiety, depression, massive levels of stress, worries about losing jobs or homes, being alone and isolated or being locked down with toxic partners/family members maybe?

@psychomath

It was on here, a lengthy post. I thoroughly enjoyed it

All true but now they are being exposed isn't it possible to counter them, initially at least by calling them out for what they are. Even a Dementor will wither in the face of being identified as such

Very true! Calling them out for what they are is the way to go, I'll start doing that when I see it

Even a Dementor will wither in the face of being identified as such

The problem is, they quite often operate in packs so you end up getting a bit piled on.

A lot of sense being spoken on this thread!

Well, I'm drinking loads atm as I don't have to get up at 6am. I'm enjoying it!

I think there has to be a happy medium and a healthy dose of realism in all of this. It doesnt make me a dementor but then I'm not the opposite either. There is a middle ground and I think its healthy to try to reach it.

YANBU. Some people are total Dementors whose sole aim in life is to suck the joy out of other people's lives.

You shouldn't be leaving the house. You shouldn't be having takeaways. You most definitely shouldn't be exercising. You absolutely shouldn't be enjoying yourself. Misery. Endurance. Gold medal in the Lockdown Olympics.

My patronus is a Deerhound. So dementors I have one thing for you...

EXPECTO PATRONUM!!