Mobile hairstylist and neighbour

[Confrontayshunme]

Story time:
My neighbour (we all have adjoining houses and front gardens) randomly put up an umbrella with a curtain around it this afternoon.

Thought it was odd but maybe her new baby (4.5mos) needed a shade. Then, she comes out of the house with a head full of foils. I said 'ooh that's brave doing your own' when I saw the woman sitting under the umbrella. They both looked sheepish, but my poor neighbour has a baby with insane reflux. So bad that her partner left at 8 weeks and I haven't seen him since. We can hear him crying all day and all night pretty much. So, I put aside my deep love for rules and just said "Good for you. You are doing so well." She hasn't been able to even go anywhere except walking screaming baby around the gardrn. She deserved a treat.

I overheard the hair stylist saying that her partner was abusive. She is in emergency accommodation at a refuge with her three kids and is getting food from the food bank, but she is waiting for benefits to come through as she wasn't self-employed and her salon let het go right before lockdown.

I guess what I am saying is I could report them to the police, but I would rather a new mom didn't get PND and had her hair done and an abused woman got some pocket money for her kids.

Equally, my friend with terminal cancer (who could be killed by Covid and lives alone) has decided that seeing her grandkids and meeting friends is worth it because to stay away from them then die anyway would be worse to her.

Yes, there are twats out there, but is it so unreasonable with all this Dominic Cummings stuff to think that actually some people NEED to break lockdown?

YABU - no excuse for breaking lockdown
YANBU - we can bear with people

Same as you. Total rule follower but mental health is important. No point having good physical health if you don't have any mental capacity.

Having been that mum with PND and a very difficult DD I'd have done the same.

Hats off to you. You probably made her day.

Slightly self-congratulatory thread, but in answer to your question, YANBU. Hope your neighbour starts to find it easier soon.

I'd leave them to it. How is it worse than a whole street ful of pissed up idiot doing the conga on VE Day.

If someone was having a full on garden rave with dozens of people that's different, but I wouldn't bat an eye at the cases you've mentioned.

My own mental health is tanking fairly rapidly. It’s at the point now where over the last several weeks I’ve been on the phone to my GP 3 times now in tears. I have cyclothymia (a type of bipolar) and at times crippling health anxiety. My parents (both 60 and healthy) have invited me to stay over for a few days and I’m probably going to say yes. I WFH and they are both retired. While I do feel guilty (because if everyone did it we’d be in trouble) I really don’t know how much more my mental health can take.