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.

@Jeremyironsnothing what other people choose to do with their time and money is up to them. If they choose not to go shopping what right do you have to call them moaning minnies. Who made you the leisure police?

You choose to go into a profession where you need PPE. You can choose to leave it. You also get paid for doing it. It is not comparable.

Wearing a seatbelt. Not being able to have a couple of drinks and drive home. Only being allowed to smoke outside. Needing car seats for children so needing to buy a bigger car if you have more than 3 children

I’ve heard this said ad nauseum now but it’s such a false analogy - none of these restrictions amount to anything like the level of inconvenience and discomfort that wearing masks does for many people; none of them has a comparable impact on the way we interact and communicate as a wider society and none of them discriminates against those with additional needs or physical and mental disabilities to the same extent. And all of these measures had their efficacy proven beyond reasonable doubt before they were imposed - they weren’t introduced in a blind panic because governments were desperate to be seen to be doing something.

@SockYarn completely agree. The 'othering' of people perceived as not complying is horrible.

Most people in my area are socialising as normal. No social distancing. Massive house parties and gatherings, and this has been going on for weeks. They're the same people who would shame anyone in public for no mask though.

I get what you’re saying but you chose to work for the Nhs. Lots of of Nhs professionals have been wearing masks for years anyway ie surgeons and ODPs. You know what you’re getting into when you work in close contact with patients.

This video illustrates the effectiveness of different types of masks in an easy to understand way. The presenter is a respiratory consultant in America.

Oh get a grip it really isn't that bad

@vodkaredbullgirl

Try wearing a mask for 12 hrs, changing every 4 hours.

People say that all the time but it's a rubbish comparison.

Wearing masks in healthcare settings is not a new thing. Yes you might be wearing them in different situations, or for longer, but they've always been around. People who cannot wear masks would not have opted for a career in dentistry or as a theatre nurse. You choose to go into that career knowing the pros and cons.

@Happymum12345 you'd be so heavily sedated you probably wouldn't care

@RJnomore1

You choose to go into a profession where you need PPE. You can choose to leave it. You also get paid for doing it. It is not comparable.

Really? Did barbers/hairdressers/GPs etc choose to go into a profession that requires PPE?

It’s a tiny bit of cotton. Less restrictive than wearing a scarf over your face in winter. Most people don’t even notice they’re wearing one. I feel sorry for people who suffer claustrophobia, etc. but we aren’t talking about being the man in the iron mask here.

MN has a high proportion of extremist conspiracy theorists (people who genuinely believe that Washington DC pizza parlours are selling kidnapped child sex slaves, etc.) The semi-regular conspiracy theory threads are disturbing. The mask threads often degenerate into conspiracy theorists using far right wing buzzwords like “muzzles” and “attacks on our freedom” attempting to weaponise legitimate anxieties over masks in order to groom ordinary people to “the cause.” It’s deeply, deeply frightening.

It’s also worrying how many people are dismissing or denying medical and scientific evidence in order to promote their political agenda. It’s not a million miles away from all the conspiracy theories about 5G and COVID being a hoax.

Obviously everyone is different but I don’t mind wearing mine at all. Forget it’s there after a while.

@TempsPerdu

Wearing a seatbelt. Not being able to have a couple of drinks and drive home. Only being allowed to smoke outside. Needing car seats for children so needing to buy a bigger car if you have more than 3 children

I’ve heard this said ad nauseum now but it’s such a false analogy - none of these restrictions amount to anything like the level of inconvenience and discomfort that wearing masks does for many people; none of them has a comparable impact on the way we interact and communicate as a wider society and none of them discriminates against those with additional needs or physical and mental disabilities to the same extent. And all of these measures had their efficacy proven beyond reasonable doubt before they were imposed - they weren’t introduced in a blind panic because governments were desperate to be seen to be doing something.

Also, all those things protect the person doing them - there is a clear benefit to the person. Masks mostly protect others so selfish people can't be arsed.

Maybe not for you but for me and I expect a lot of other people it is. I have sensory issues when it comes to things touching my face, so much so I always have my hair up as I can’t stand it touching, I have to use sensitive cleaning products on my skin and then there’s the fact I feel that I can’t breathe properly and I’m going through peri menopause when I’m not quite 40 years old. So I’m sorry but everyone Is different.

@TheWoodsAreDark I’m thinking of travel on tubes and trains for essential workers. And even though there was social distancing in shops that doesn’t stop aerosol transmission in unventilated spaces. You only have to look at the death figures for shop workers to see that they have been unnecessarily affected. I have a friend who travels on three tube lines to get to her work in a supermarket. She would have felt a lot safer at the peak if people’s mouths were covered on the tubes and in her place of work....

I think the mask wearing being extended to more indoor spaces is an attempt to get us into the habit for winter. The projection of worst case scenario is far worse than the projection of worst case scenario in April. I for one will be doing anything I can to avoid contributing to a second wave.

It’s a tiny bit of cotton. Less restrictive than wearing a scarf over your face in winter.

People who can't wear masks don't wear scarves over their faces either though.

'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.'

For some, it's the opposite! I have been entering shops for the first time in 4 months, just because people are wearing masks. It's not a cure-all, but it does make things safer.

And the issue of people shopping online, with increased unemployment resulting, has been around for some time. Certainly the pandemic has made it much worse, but I don't think it's the mask-wearing as such; just a virus that people want to avoid catching!

@Sossen

How AIBU to resent wearing one? I’m wearing one and “doing my bit” but I can’t help the way I feel.

Who or what do you resent? The mask you wear protects others? The government making everyone who can wear masks to reduce the spread of a harmful virus?

And im not complaning about having to wear one, yes i choose to work where i do.

GET A BLOODY GRIP

Honestly if people are wearing masks but saying they don't like it, so fucking what. Why do some people think it's compulsory to be happy about it too? And why can't people have a moan about something they find unpleasant? Why can't people who don't like people moaning about facemasks just keep off a thread that is clearly about just that? After all keeping off a thread is easier than avoiding going food shopping which too many people are quick to tell those who can't wear masks they should do.

@SockYarn

Divide and conquer at it’s finest.

See I’be been called daft for not being overly concerned about getting seriously ill with this virus. Don’t get me wrong I have taken all the necessary precautions but mostly this is so that I don’t pass anything on to my children or dh that’s it. We are all young fit healthy no medical conditions don’t smoke aren’t overweight etc. Yet some people expect you to be terrified. Well I’m sorry but I refused to live in fear. See I’be been called daft for not being overly concerned about getting seriously ill with this virus. Don’t get me wrong I have taken all the necessary precautions but mostly this is so that I don’t pass anything on to my children or dh that’s it. We are all young fit healthy no medical conditions don’t smoke aren’t overweight etc. Yet some people expect you to be terrified. Well I’m sorry but I refused to live in fear.

OP, your thread is a ruse. You are simply another non-mask wearer trying to start a bun-fight. That's it. Just wear a mask and protect yourself and others around you, FFS. Nobody is expecting terror from you.

What do you guys touch when you go out?

Doors, trolleys, baskets, PIN pad, touchscreen at the checkout, things in the store, my phone to scan shopping, keys, credit card, car doors, bags, my mask (😂).....

@Sossen I’m not the one starting threads moaning about having to wear a mask though. No one predicted this pandemic, none of us signed up for this, you can’t compare choosing to go out with your family for leisure activities to having to go to work to pay your bills. What happens if you don’t go to a restaurant because you don’t want to a wear a mask? Nothing, if I choose to not go to work because I don’t want to wear PPE I get sacked.

@Alabamawhirly1

History will see this is the biggest human overreaction of all time.

Someone described it on the radio as the biggest mass hysteria of all time that will be studied by psychologists for centuries.

Not really though - countries were fairly relaxed (at a government level) when news initially emerged from china and then lots of people started getting really sick and dying with that approach so pretty much everywhere that’s done that has had to reevaluate.

Countries like Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan etc who’ve taken this seriously from the outset and implemented pretty basic pandemic/infection control measures are faring much better.

Fortunately for those of us who aren’t scientists or medical professionals we have educated and experienced people who know perfectly well that any successful measures will appear to be over reactions to the general public (because they work so people don’t have to see the consequences of their actions) but they will still work to ensure that as many people are as protected as they can be despite the frustrating belief that their opinion is as valid as actual scientific fact based logic.

The 1918 pandemic left history with the example of San Francisco lifting their social restrictions too early and had another outbreak killing many more people than necessary. Very familiar debates including face masks at the time too.. www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1191141

It’s bizarre that anyone is smugly tutting over future generations perceptions of current events while displaying a complete ignorance of relatively recent history.