Wearing masks everywhere indoors is so depressing

[Sossen]

AIBU to feel frustrated and, at times, a bit upset that I can’t really do anything indoors now, either on my own or with my kids, without wearing a god damn face mask? I’ve just about been able to tolerate wearing them whilst food shopping but that’s because I now take a lot of time to write out a list and meal plan beforehand and I get in and get out, as opposed to before, when I took the time to browse, picked out what I fancied, and maybe tried on some clothes whilst there. I can cope with this ok but what is depressing me is that my ds is desperate to go to a few indoor places like the trampoline park (our local one has strict guidelines in hygiene social distancing and staggering sessions) and I’ll take him but the thought of sitting there for an hour and a half opposite my dh trying to talk to him with a mask on or watching my ds play and he can’t hear me because of the mask, well it fills me with dread. I had a cinema pass which i’ve has for years but I’ve already cancelled It as there is no way I can sit for up to 3 hours with a mask on, it would be unbearable. Every day out we go on that is predominantly outdoors but have some indoor areas I’ll have to remember to take masks with me. If I nip to post a letter, pick up my medication, go into a public car park to get my car after work I have to wear a mask. I expect to be told I’m moaning but I can’t help it. I fully resent the fact that I am being told to cover my face and I have no choice in the matter. Please tell me I’m not the only one.

I feel your pain op, i have to wear them at work (hospital pharmacy) and they do my head in! Luckily i can switch between a mask and a shield for when it becomes unbearable but still!

I hate having to remember them to go into shops and public transport. They are hot and uncomfortable and sometimes i struggle to catch my breath (i have asthma). My husband is sick of my bitching about it 😂 im just grumpy fed up and annoyed with it all!

That being said if it makes the shielded feel comfortable about going out and if it does help in a small way to slow the spread (though i dont really believe it) then it makes it a bit more bearable.
And yes i know the alternative is worse and theres people worse off but you are allowed to get frustrated and annoyed sometimes.

Though i do like the face i can hid my chubby cheeks, not worry about bad breath, or bother with much make up. So theres that positive 🤷‍♀️

Its a shame because indoor events/highstreet shops/eateries are going to suffer. I detest wearing a mask (I feel hot, faint and I sweat profusely), but I will and have where I have to HOWEVER I'm now spending less money in actual shops. I know I'm not the only one. This is going to contribute to the collapse of highstreet shopping and therefore increase unemployment as people rely more on online shopping.

Additionally, a lot of mask wearers may as well not bother. A good 40% of people in this town aren't wearing them correctly anyway (below the nose, taking them off to speak or sneeze ) and a large amount of them seem to think wearing a mask makes them invincible so social distancing goes out the window.

Its a pointless exercise all round and is just an ineffective government trying to make it look like they are doing something when actually, they are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

wanderings I'm quite disappointed that the bingo card is empty. No comments about masks and ventilators in hospital, murdering grannies, rather mask then dead.

People aren't using them properly (I include myself in that) as it is not really compatible with day to day life. I would be slightly happier about it if people were still keeping distance etc, but they're not.

God, the British really are a bunch of whiney big babies. Suck it up and get on with it. It’s really not that big a deal. If you don’t like the mask you have try a different type. Find something you can cope with and stop whinging.

Whining about this is pointless. Get a grip

@EatDessertFirst

Its a shame because indoor events/highstreet shops/eateries are going to suffer. I detest wearing a mask (I feel hot, faint and I sweat profusely), but I will and have where I have to HOWEVER I'm now spending less money in actual shops. I know I'm not the only one. This is going to contribute to the collapse of highstreet shopping and therefore increase unemployment as people rely more on online shopping.

Additionally, a lot of mask wearers may as well not bother. A good 40% of people in this town aren't wearing them correctly anyway (below the nose, taking them off to speak or sneeze ) and a large amount of them seem to think wearing a mask makes them invincible so social distancing goes out the window.

Its a pointless exercise all round and is just an ineffective government trying to make it look like they are doing something when actually, they are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

I only see this on mumsnet, my local town is packed, people are queueing to get in shops and restaurants. All wearing fast masks. There are are not many people without them.

The bright side is that pretty mask, sunglasses and fringe completely covers my wrinkles

Oh come on.

I'm in Singapore.

Masks are mandatory for all ages 2+ everywhere outside the home, other than when doing vigorous exercise. In the office, at school, walking in the park, in lifts, markets, the beach. No-one likes it but everyone does it (and is continuing to live their lives).

27 deaths in Singapore. How did the non- protective strategy work out for the UK?

sit for up to three hours

You could choose shorter films?

(Puts on mask and leaves..........)

Tbh, I don't have much sympathy for someone whose only issue with a mask is clearly one they are capable of getting over, but don’t really want to, @Sossen. If you keep telling yourself how horrible it is, how it spoils your fun, how you don’t think it’s even likely to be helpful in lowering transmission, then of course you won’t want to go anywhere where you have to wear a mask.

I’m just back from abroad where we wore our masks pretty much all the time. Yes it was hot, yes it was uncomfortable, but we did it because it was the law and because it was the right thing to do. You honestly get used to it over time. If people choose not to go out in public because they hate masks that much, fine. But it’s your choice so there’s no point moaning about it.

Have you tried something like a cotton buff instead of a mask? I have Hygge bands that I normally wear to keep my hair off my face but I use them as face coverings now and they're much more breathable.

Unfortunately that extra breathability is because they don't do the job anywhere near as well as masks. If you can breathe easily, either the holes in the fabric are too large to be any use, or you're only using one layer of fabric.

I cannot manage with masks. I can;t breathe, I panic, they make me want to claw my face off. I have tried repeatedly with different masks and I just can't bear it. Maybe it is psychological but you know what - the reaction is physical and just awful. I can about manage the two minutes to get into the local shop, grab milk, get out. Longer than that - no way.

I have asthma and can claim an exemption from wearing a mask. I have until now being wearing a face visor - not perfect, but better than nothing. But now Nicola Sturgeon has banned them too. My choices now are either just not to go anywhere with requires mask wearing (so pretty much everywhere), carry on wearing the visor, or go without and have to put up with the stares from people intent on "calling out" people not conforming to their standards of mask wearing.

It's shit, depressing and awful. And there is no end point for this madness.

I don’t care, I’m allowed to whine, we all are every once in a while.

@SarahBellam

God, the British really are a bunch of whiney big babies. Suck it up and get on with it. It’s really not that big a deal. If you don’t like the mask you have try a different type. Find something you can cope with and stop whinging.

Some British people. I’m British and I can’t se the problem with masks tbh

WHO said masks offered little protection at first, and only changed guidelines due to lobbying by governments for economic reasons. When the shops opened the footfall was still quiet but people like me started to browse more, so the government thought that getting people to wear masks would give more people the confidence to shop on the High Street. It has had the reverse effect. I would say that quite a lot of wearers are doing so under duress, which is why you get people going through the motions with masks worn around neck etc. In the supermarket, which is now a once a week fast shop with no browsing, that is the only time I wear a mask. I find myself touching the mask to pull it down a bit, I think I am touching my face more with it on, which is counterproductive.

Also, we are also psychologically meant to see masks and realise that just because the weather is nice, and the situation is under relative control, that the virus is still around. SAGE recently said that. However, since the introduction of masks in shops social distancing is out the window. People are treating them like a force field, thinking they have no need to bother keeping away. Again, counterproductive.

I felt safer without masks. I feel that the government just want us to spend, and they were trying to coerce the worried to get back in the shops. I don't feel like when I am wearing one I am protecting anybody at all. I am taking part unwillingly in the government's plan to shift product. I feel a bit ashamed of myself for doing it, if I was a 6 foot bloke rather than a 5 foot woman I would front it out. Like a lot of their activity through this, they have bungled it.

I find full lock down and my children not being at school far more depressing and my friend who lost her Dad to covid is pretty depressed right now. Yes it's uncomfortable but worth it if we have greater freedom.

I also think some have been put in place so he can say see I told you so you should have followed the rules and this is where we are. Just about every dictat he's made has been with this in mind. And he's manipulated them so that either way, it's the public's fault.

"You didn't eat out enough, even with my generous offer, it's your fault the economy's wrecked."

"You ate out too much, so you're all obese, and it's your fault you're draining the NHS."

"You should have gone on holiday while you had the chance."

"You should not have even thought about going on holiday, even though I threw temptation at you by allowing it."

@Sossen

To be honest I don’t quite get why wearing masks weren’t made mandatory at the peak of this pandemic and it’s only now we have to wear them. I get that we now have people who where shielding out and about again but other than that I don’t understand the government’s decision to not make masks mandatory sooner.

Probably lack of availability, but not they are widely available in the supermarkets.

You'll get used to it and it will get to the point of exposure if you don't, I think it will feel like getting in a car and not putting on your seat belt. DH says for him it's car keys, wallet, face mask that's his routine. I'm similar. It takes time, it isn't nice but neither is this dreadful pandemic it has changed all our lives sadly.

Should say "now"

I must admit I’ve saved a lot of money recently as I’m only going shopping when I really need to. People think that’s a bonus but i don’t care about the extra money I just want to be able to go out and not have to wear a fade mask.

wanderings seems all is right with the world and you can start digging your bingo card out.

At least you’re not deaf and relying on lip reading ☹️
If the alternative is full lockdown then I know what I prefer!

It’s awful isn’t it, I hate them, and am quite deaf which adds an extra layer of rubbish to interactions as I just can’t hear what’s being said. Totally sympathise with you OP. Hopefully once the government realises what this is doing to the economy they’ll u turn on it.

Have you tried different kinds? I have homemade cotton ones which I find uncomfortable for long periods but the disposable types I forget I’m wearing them after a while so I use one if I know It’s more than a short trip. Like, for example, the five hours I spent in hospital earlier this week for investigation into the heart condition that I’m left with after having Covid 4 months ago.

Seriously I know it’s an inconvenience and not the most pleasant thing but so many people have died from this virus, so many are left with long term effects. If it helps us get back to a bit of normality while keeping people safer then it’s something we’ll just have to learn to live with.