Lockdown ending - feeling depressed

[knickerthief1]

Is anyone else finding it hard to adjust to the idea of returning to a more normal life or AIBU? I feel like maybe I'm losing the plot! I've always had a good social life and an active life in general. I really thought I would struggle badly with my mental health during the lockdown but I've found I've adapted to it very well and have hardly left the house in the last 10 weeks. Now things are changing I can feel my mood plummeting. I've been working from home for the duration.

Yep. I just want to cry I’m so anxious of anyone in my family getting the virus. I’m so ill at ease and i’m struggling with seeing family in the garden but knowing they can’t hug the baby and I’m still basically on my own. My husband is also being pushed to go back to the office even though he can work from home. I feel so depressed.

Agreed.

I was depressed by a few fun events being cancelled and miss my friends, but working from home has never been an issue for me.

I actually had a couple of nightmares about going back to the tedium and stress of going back to the office. Luckily we can and will continue to work from home, but I definitely don't look forward to going back in.

Interesting that I'm a huge planner as well. Perhaps it's just the rest from constantly organising a busy life that's been so desirable!

I am delighted if it's ending. Though I suspect my sector will still be in the shit (no work or income since February. Thanks, lockdown).

I feel the same. I’m an introvert and have found life more relaxing without the pressures of seeing people. I force myself to be sociable to ‘fit in’, but find it exhausting and draining. But lockdown has allowed me to live my life as I prefer to. Although still wfh for the foreseeable, I’m now getting calls from friends to arrange a social distancing walk next week and am feeling anxious.

I've lived not having to make an excuse to stay in

I don’t want lockdown to end. I like just being home with my family and I know where we all are and it is lovely and close.

But coming out of lockdown there are bigger things I am dreading: the consequences. The consequences on my DC Education, the economy, on the cafes I like, my job and prospects. We have been insulated from all of this by furlough.

Yes, I'm overwhelmed by the return to normality, even if that's a new kind of normal. Luckily (?) most people will be feeling some degree of weirdness about the whole thing, so you won't be alone.

Come over here to Wales where we're still in lockdown

In all seriousness, I haven't missed going into work at all, even though I like my job well enough and I like my colleagues, and if DH could be home all the time too, I wouldn't mind that side of it carrying on a little while longer. If he had to go back into the office though I would definitely find it hard looking after the young DC on my own with no visiting/play dates etc allowed. Single parents deserve the world after this.

There's parts of lockdown I will miss for sure.

Lucky you to have been furloughed, @PersonaNonGarter. Your views might be different if you had lost your job and income overnight in March.

Looking forward to going back to work, but also dreading the long hours and permanently feeling exhausted. That part I'm not looking forward to.

I can't bear it. I've never been able to cope with hoardes of people and traffic and it's been so wonderful having a lovely quiet drive to work with nobody else on the road and to see nature recovering again.
Even work has been great, all our routine clinics have stopped, I'm not constantly rushing about like a blue arsed fly panicking because I haven't finished everything.
Soon I'll be working at 100% again and I don't know how I'll cope.

Absolutely not. If anything I found lockdown depressing as it was such a culture shock for me. I have felt so much happier in the past couple of weeks.

It's the lack of any pressure to be sociable I'm going to miss. I loved that I had a perfectly valid reason not to see anyone. Now it's all 'socially distanced' BBQs and Birthday Parties.

"You are one nasty fucker"

I am, am I? What would you be then?

No I just want my life back tbh.Sick of being at home with nothing exciting to look forward to.Im hoping that I'm back at work soon.

I feel disappointed that lockdown is ending. For me, it has been like a complete break from reality. I work in education so have been able to be at home on my usual income- I've had time to do things I enjoy rather than rushing around trying to fit everything in. I've baked, gardened, done yoga, read, cooked, spent time out walking with my family, done face masks, painted my nails, chatted to friends online etc. My teen usually swims a lot which has been cancelled, so the 4 nights a week usually spent trying to fit training around meals and hours sitting at the pool side have been replaced by nights in and relaxed family meals, early starts and school buses replaced by by leisurly breakfasts and our own schedules for school work.

I'm due back at work tomorrow and dreading the old routine, the tiredness, the stress, the schedules, the juggling, the rushing! No thanks!

Our lives have shrunk into little bubbles over the past 10 weeks. I think it’s normal to feel a little apprehensive about getting back to some sort of normality but I suspect we’ll all adapt pretty quickly.

Absolutely. I’ve always been extremely social and thought I liked it. But all my stress has gone, I sleep at night, I don’t feel constantly exhausted....

I went out today and the roads were packed and I just thought...nothings going to change long term is it? And I felt flat....

No one has to start socialising immediately. Just ease back into it if you want to.

Think of it this way - the weather has been amazingly idyllic for almost the whole time we have spent away from one another. Imagine if it had been a slightly warmer version of the utter shit we had for the winter, and how differently you would feel.

It's just another take on it.

I definitely struggled the first few weeks - just lately less so as things have eased somewhat. I spent today working getting ready for reopening - it was a shock to the system But at least I will have money again.

I am usually very sociable and like to keep busy. However, I have really enjoyed just being at home with my family and us being all together and safe. Loving family meals every day rather than just at the weekend.

What I am really surprised about is that my chronic pain issue has got 80% better during lockdown. I think it is less stress and anxiety (I acknowledge I'm in the privileged position of being able to wfh so no worries about job and income). I'm worried that coming out of lockdown will mean my pain levels go up again

A few I know seem to be having this issue, took ages to get used to lockdown, now trying to get themselves out of lockdown mindset.

What seems to be helping most of them, is the knowledge that socialising is not compulsary like so many seem to be making out. Lockdown can be eased for the rest of the world and families can of course chose to lockdown as much as they wish to (all those I know having issues are WFH, and WFH for the near future too..its a bit harder if you have been told to go back to work) and come out of it as slowly as they want.

"I work in education so have been able to be at home on my usual income"

but that's just like a lovely dream isn't it? It's not like that for the vast majority of people over the last 10 weeks. You have been very lucky, be grateful and don't moan that it can't go on forever.