‘D’H has announced that Covid doesn’t exist.

[OutOfLine]

Name changed for this.

One year since lockdown 1 began and DH has announced that Covid does not exist.

The illness is ‘no different to flu’, he is not having the vaccine because ‘he doesn’t need to’ and if he falls ill with any symptoms listed as Covid he will not be taking a test and will phone in sick with backache or some such nonsense.

AIBU to think WTF?
Apparently he has thought this all along and decided to let us know as he is sick of ‘having his freedom taken away from him’.

What started as a chat about weekly testing ended up with this.

I don’t know what to do with this information. All year (pre. weekly testing /vaccine rollout) he’s just gone along with it all.

So, along with AIBU to think he has lost his mind, WWYD or say in this situation?

@mostlydrinkstea

It sounds like he is scared. He is feels shame because he is scared. To stop the feelings of shame he has to find something outside himself to place the blame. If Covid isn't real then he doesn't have to feel the shame of fear of needles or whatever he is anxious about. So Covid can't exist. If there is no virus he doesn't have to face his fear or mange his anxiety.

As this is all happening at an emotional level there is no point arguing with it because it isn't about a reasoned out argument but an adult man who can't manage his anxiety and fears.

Can he talk about his feelings at all?

I think a lot of people are scared and what you say makes perfect sense. All this talk of vaccinations and testing kits has sent him nuts.

To stop the feelings of shame he has to find something outside himself to place the blame. If Covid isn't real then he doesn't have to feel the shame of fear of needles or whatever he is anxious about.

I’ve just had a thought thanks to your post. There was a similar outburst when masks became compulsory - it didn’t go as far as ‘Covid doesn’t exist’ but he was really wound up for days.

I said upthread he doesn’t wear a mask due to only breathing out of his mouth. He’s had lots of painful operations and it was only when he contacted the doctor and they told him he should ‘exempt himself’ from mask wearing did he calm down.

I don’t know why I haven’t though of this and I feel ridiculous myself now... The test is a nasal/throat swob and the vaccine is a needle. The very two things that have caused him severe anxiety for many years.
I knew why having the vaccine would be a problem. A swift vaccination, straight in/straight out at a vaccine centre would not work but I honestly didn’t even think about the testing kits. Sticking something up his nose/throat.

@ssd

I think people with his views should be happy to sign something saying they won't need an ICU bed if they get covid, as it doesn't exist.

life isn't simple, humans are complicated, society should be able to handle that.

life isn't simple, humans are complicated, society should be able to handle that.

I was just thinking the same...
I am here unpicking what at is going on with someone I have know for 30+ years...
Humans certainly are complicated!

mostlydrinkstea
Sorry to keeping on but how are you so intuitive? Do you work with anxiety disorders?
DH is usually a calm, rational man. He’s a big bloke and nothing fazes him day to day.
I knew about the needle thing but he knows how to handle that (double appts at docs etc).
I wonder if you’ve hit the nail on the head.

Mostly's beaten me to it but I think he's got a bad case of cabin fever and has been massively overthinking having tests and vaccine due to his medical/MH history. I've had a couple of sinus surgeries that cause me mild ongoing discomfort and wasn't looking forward to a test at all. It turned out to be fine but presumably his situation is worse than me. I would ring the test centre and get reassurance they take this stuff needle fear etc into account. Whatever it's like for him it can't be worse than having Covid. Tell him to move out if he gets any symptoms. It's good he hasn't influenced your kids.

Meant to say my sympathies got to all the other posters who have suffered loss and shared their stories here.

Exh is the same, his only saving grace is he doesn't live with me so I don't have to listen to his views. He has a blood disorder that he takes chemotherapy tablets for he's supposed to have been shielding he ignored it. He won't have the vaccine and when I went for mine (dc told him) he text me asking what my plans were for the dc when the vaccine killed me. Had we not already been separated lockdown would have finished me off being stuck listening to the rubbish he has been spouting 24/7. He seemingly has no idea how stupid he appears, I feel embarrased by him and for him tbh.

He can’t get past the fact that this vaccine hasn’t been trialled.

But it has! Where does he get that idea from? OK, for obvious reasons it's not a long-term trial, but it is based on long-tried and trusted vaccines of the same type developed and used successfully for other viruses. To say nothing of the fact that, since its release, it's been used on millions of people.

And, of course, having the illness has definitely been trialled, with three million deaths to show for it worldwide - over 127,000 in the UK alone - to say nothing of the countless more people with long-term and irreversible damage resulting from it. Isn't that enough evidence for him of the risks of ignoring it?

@SidSparrow I can assure you that it doesn't just affect morbidly obese or those with severe conditions.

I'm 34 have mild asthma (ie I usually don't require a inhaler and will only need one if I get a chest infection in fact I use them so rarely that they were out of date! ), fit healthy, not over weight and a good diet.
I am having to monitor my oxygen levels because they have dropped to 93 on several occasions which is a sign of hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the blood). I can't speak more that a 5 word sentence without being out of breath and am on steroids to help my lungs. I have been assessed twice now by video covid Dr from 111 and have been warned that if my levels keep doing the same then I will probably need to go into hospital for oxygen treatment.
Again I'm fecking 34 and fit and healthy usually. I can't walk 10 paces to the bathroom without using a wall for support or being out a breath.

The reality is that no one knows how it will hit them my DH on the other hand has slight muscle pain. On paper I don't even fall into a at risk category.
As for the well I have an underlying condition....... I would argue that my asthma is mild and usually very well controlled through being fit and healthy!

I'm not the only person I know who is of early to mid 30s who has had similar being wiped out by this including friends who are marathon runners.

So just hope that if you do get it you get a mild case and not end up with a case like mine the reality is you don't know what level you will get. Trust me it's terrifying not to be able to catch your breath and I know how to do breathing exercises!

He wants to see them and says that the Government are keeping this thing going unnecessarily.

Because of course it's absolutely in the interests of any government to fuck up the economy, severely reduce tax income and pay out billions in furlough costs.

@Scottishskifun

You have asthma!! A breathing conditon and covid is a respiratory illness. If I had broken legs I wouldn't go jogging.

What do you suggest? After vaccine roll out? 0 covid? Will we all stay locked up on zoom meetings forever?

I would never expect the whole country to make sacrifices for me and frankly expecting people to is selfish. You have to do what you can to best enjoy your life, take precautions etc and I have to do what I can for my life.

@Nith

They would if they want to bring in a new monetry system.

Those making these harmful decisions are still earning a good salary.

@SidSparrow a very mild form of asthma. I last used my inhaler over 2 years ago! So it's hardly comparable to 2 broken legs.
My marathon running friends don't have asthma yet have had similar problems.

And no I don't propose keeping everything locked up forever and do believe in controlled opening up and learning to live with the virus.
There was zero way I could have avoided catching it my toddler was asystomatic infection through nursery.

What I'm saying is that it's wrong to presume that it's only elderly or morbid obese people who end up with more severe symptoms. Like I say on paper the Dr's would never have me in the at risk group!

I wouldn't wish these symptoms on anyone they are terrifying.
I do believe in getting stuff open again as long as it doesn't put the majority of people at risk. Ventilation is a big aspect which has to be addressed and unfortunately yes that means that offices will need to adjust and be more spread out.

You get on with you just hope your in the mild case if you do get it but reality is its rolling a sodding dice! Oh and buy a oximeter it's invaluable!

I think I’ve said it already but out of my 10 work colleagues who all caught it at the same time I am the largest yet I have made the quickest recovery.
That said I exercise, (30 minutes HIIT or 3 mile run a day, 3 mile walk every day and an active job).

No one else has underlying conditions and all are size 10 or less. Most are still at the ‘unable to walk to the end of the garden’ stage.

I think his covid denial is a coping strategy; a way of exercising control in a world he has currently little control over. You say he has previously experienced depression and has anxiety around needles. This combined with social isolation has likely exacerbated a MH crisis. I have recently experienced a bad run of anxiety (previous episode of depression) and was really surprised by it, having coped (I thought) pretty well with the last year. It must be extremely difficult for you to be in this situation and I hope that you can find a way forward together.

They would if they want to bring in a new monetry system. This is the thing about the Covid deniers. It’s like the Christian Evangelicals, they don’t admit to the full extent of their delusion / obnoxious beliefs in the first instance so they obviously appreciate that if they did most people would think they were batshit / morally unacceptable. So they present the more acceptable face of their beliefs / what people want to hear. It is only when challenged that you realise how deeply they are into it and actually in their spare time they are shouting at women outside abortion clinics. Or indeed coming ion Mumsnet with their half baked ideas in the hope of finding more gullible people to recruit to their cult.....

[quote Scottishskifun]@SidSparrow I can assure you that it doesn't just affect morbidly obese or those with severe conditions.

I'm 34 have mild asthma (ie I usually don't require a inhaler and will only need one if I get a chest infection in fact I use them so rarely that they were out of date! ), fit healthy, not over weight and a good diet.
I am having to monitor my oxygen levels because they have dropped to 93 on several occasions which is a sign of hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the blood). I can't speak more that a 5 word sentence without being out of breath and am on steroids to help my lungs. I have been assessed twice now by video covid Dr from 111 and have been warned that if my levels keep doing the same then I will probably need to go into hospital for oxygen treatment.
Again I'm fecking 34 and fit and healthy usually. I can't walk 10 paces to the bathroom without using a wall for support or being out a breath.

The reality is that no one knows how it will hit them my DH on the other hand has slight muscle pain. On paper I don't even fall into a at risk category.
As for the well I have an underlying condition....... I would argue that my asthma is mild and usually very well controlled through being fit and healthy!

I'm not the only person I know who is of early to mid 30s who has had similar being wiped out by this including friends who are marathon runners.

So just hope that if you do get it you get a mild case and not end up with a case like mine the reality is you don't know what level you will get. Trust me it's terrifying not to be able to catch your breath and I know how to do breathing exercises![/quote]
Thank you for sharing this because this is what it is all about. Trying to avoid this and worse happening to human beings in our communities.
So the conspiracy theorists who spout increasingly bizarre ideas on mass extermination plans, supported by elected representatives like my next door neighbor who got elected to serve our little community but is now apparently part of a plan to depopulate the world because she supports the local vac clinic (and she thought she would be dealing with our poor street lights), should think about the damage they are doing.

Yes he might havea fear of the tests fine but hes putting other people in danger by not takng one when he has symptoms

So he goes into work with a covid symptom passing it round and someone could get very sick from him

its just selfish-and then to claim it doesnt exist is just stupid

I understand that he is very anxious about everything at the moment (who isn't?) and about injections and tests in particular.

What about suggesting that he try some form of therapy to deal with his anxieties? That might bring him back to earth and help him see the situation a bit more rationally...

Good luck!

@OutOfLine
Glad that that struck a chord. I'm a priest who has been a hospital chaplain so I hear a lot of people's fears and anxieties. They land up in all sorts of odd places.

There actually is more deaths linked to the flu worldwide before there was a flu vaccination (50million) Covid has killed 2.77million worldwide.....

A virus discovered this year, had killed more than 4 times the estimated annual number of people who die from flu. The vaccine is only thought to reduce the numbers by about 40%, so even in an unvaccinated society, Covid kills more than flu.

Your 50 million figure is linked only to one flu outbreak, which happened before we had the kind of sophisticated healthcare and scientific knowledge available today. That particular pandemic was very unusual as that strain of flu was killing young, healthy people rather than older, vulnerable people and to this day nobody knows why. There hasn’t been a similar flu strain since.

Minty With Swine flu it was explained to us by the public health officials who were organising the response when there was an outbreak in DDs school that younger people were more vulnerable because older people had pre-existing immunity to flu viruses. That was exactly why this virus was different to flu, no proven pre existing immunity and it seems from the profile of people who have and haven’t had it severely that the answer may lie in our DNA . GenomeUK are actually carrying out the only research in the world looking at SNPs, tiny strands on our DNA, to see whether they link to certain health outcomes like this. A far better place to put your DNA than the DNA astrology sites who charge you for it and then sell it on at a profit

Of course I may have been recruited into Bill Gates secret army but there you go