To think I'm one of the lucky ones?

[bentleydrummle]

I'm a teacher. Was wfh during the first lockdown but then at school every day in the others. Have managed to avoid catching Covid (although I did have all the symptoms in Feb 2020 so wonder about that) although unfortunately many many colleagues and students have had the virus. But because I have had to go to work, I've just had to get on with it, and now as restrictions have been eased I think that many many people who have wfh throughout are coming out of this completely mentally scarred, agoraphobic and with mental health issues which will take a long time to heal. I've had friends cancel outdoor get togethers as they are still cautious, have seen a prospective student teacher have a panic attack when visiting school as she has spent the last year studying from her bedroom, and know elderly people who have gone from being sprightly and independent to virtual recluses. At first everyone was lauding essential workers as the heroes in all of this but more and more I think that people who have had to get out there have been luckier in some ways in the long run. I really feel the mental health legacy of this is going to be cataclysmic.

I agree. Also a teacher so have felt fairly close to 'normal' for a long time. It worries me hugely when friends say they are uncomfortable and worried about doing perfectly normal things, despite being fully vacced.

Same here, down to having the symptoms in February 2020 when some parents came back from Italy with coughs, joking 'at least we aren't coming back from Wuhan!' I can't wait to get back to more normality for my own sake and for the children, some of whom have spent half their lives in lockdown (I teach nursery).

I feel the same tbh. Despite working in a hospital all through the pandemic, including working with covid patients in full PEE, which is actually no fun at all. I still feel lucky that I’ve been working and maintained a sense of normality. I did catch covid, it was pretty inevitable really that I would, luckily I was fine, as were my family when I passed it on to them.

My view is slightly skewed as pretty much all my friends and family either work in health care or education so we’ve all been working throughout. I did feel bad for this people cooped up at home trying to work and home school at the same time. Hiding away must have made the outside world seem a pretty scary place for many and I’m sure we’ll be seeing the lasting effects of this for a long time to come. At work all the time I see the affects that lockdown has had on our older population, people who would have normally been out and about at various social clubs and events have been trapped at home for over a year and you can really see the physical and cognitive decline happening before your eyes.

I think you're probably right. I'm very nervous about getting back to normal, prob not helped by having a small baby

Definitely. We are isolating (DD has covid) for the first time, and are all struggling. And it's only two weeks! (10 days plus a few from when DD's class was sent home). If I'd had to shield i can't even imagine how incredibly hard that would be nor the impact on mental health.

Me and DH have both been wfh throughout (with no sign of us returning anytime soon) and whilst at first we felt very lucky (and still do, given we have secure jobs and incomes) it is taking its toll. I feel disconnected from my team, friendships have suffered and may never be the same, and it is all making me very anxious. With the latest variant wreaking havoc and yet folk still setting off on holidays, i can't see how this will end well? It's rife where we are!

I'm not a teacher but I work in a school and I agree, OP. I have friends who have been WFH all along and although they are young, healthy and fully vaccinated they are now panicking at being asked to go back to the office a couple of days a week, finding every excuse under the sun as to why they can't possibly. No amount of reassurance about safety measures put in place by their employers seems to help. One friend is still washing her shopping and waiting 48 hours to open her post. Work has been stressful and at times overwhelming over the last 18 months but I am also very grateful for it.

I was furloughed from work from my part time job and got another job straight away in a supermarket to keep me sane. I’m certain I’m one of the lucky ones 😊

I know what you mean, albeit in a different situation. I went on maternity leave this time last year, around the time DC1's nursery reopened. I know a lot of women have struggled with having babies during the pandemic, and I'm not belittling their experiences, but actually I feel very fortunate - life wasn't going to be normal this year for us anyway.

I know what you mean OP

I know so many people who are very scared to go out and terrified of showing physical affection too.

Also, I work somewhere that involves a lot of parents visiting with young children, and their toddlers (especially) just don't know how to interact with strangers.

It's very upsetting.

YANBU, you see it on here with people saying they are scared to go back to the office.

I work in a "forgotten about" job, it's factory work so can't be done from home but it's not essential so I am not classed as a key worker. I think going out to work during the winter lockdown was a blessing as I'm a single parent so it's the only chance I got to socialise with other adults.

Agree. I am struggling to go out.

In a weird way I think having 2 small children in childcare (one at nursery and one in reception/afterschool club) has been a blessing because it meant I never got panicky/sanitised everything as what would be the point? We don't have a garden so even in the strict lockdown last year I would take them to scoot round the streets/run through the fields everyday.

Yes. And let's show understanding to them with their fear based reactions.

I've been continuing with work all the way through but for the first time I'm going to the cinema today. Even I feel a bit weird as not been in so long

Definitely.

I've had both sides as I was on maternity leave in 2020. Very isolating, boting and frustrating, though I never got to the point of being fearful.

My husband is a police officer and has worked throughout. He knew he was the lucky one, getting to have variety in his days, work chat, routine.

I've WFH Jan-March and then back in school since Easter-ish. Life feels very normal for our family and has for a while. If I was still WFH now I would be really fed up.

Yanbu op. I know a few people who have really lost all control of anxiety.

Agree. We had an ed psych come into school last week, first time since 2019. She insisted it was just her and one child in an entire classroom, so we all had to go elsewhere. She was so edgy and panicky, gloved and masked with a change between each child she saw. She brought her own paper so wouldn't need ours, worked from 4 metres away from the child, sterilised the chair they had been sitting on, wouldn't give them a pencil from the front of the class in case of cross-contamination. Totally stressed about child A being in the same room as Child B had just been, even though they were in the same bubble and sit next to each other for most of the day. She couldn't do her job effectively because of all the health and safety stuff around Covid - not sure if it was her personally or protocol, but she was way more stringent than schools are on a day to day basis (not saying schools aren't bothering, just that our guidelines and risk assessments are nowhere near that level.)

It was really quite concerning to see.

I'm still wfh, I am going back one day a week from the end of July and am ridiculously excited to plan myself nice outfits and lunches!

Totally agree. Live amongst lots of elderly neighbours who seem petrified of going out at all. I think all we can do is listen and support and let them take it at their own pace.
Such an odd disconnect going to work in a packed place (also a teacher) with the only mitigation being a window cracked open half an inch!
Also seen young, healthy colleagues becoming really ill with Covid this year and thanking my lucky stars that life has proceeded normally.
So many divisions in the country at the moment, it’s a good reminder that we have all gone through the pandemic in different ways but ultimately need to come out of it with shared understanding and compassion

I don't agree with your hyperbolic language but somewhat agree with the sentiment.

Once the pandemic has actually ended - because whilst restrictions are easing it is still there right now and does pose a threat that some will feel more than others - most people's mental health will naturally recover over 3-6 months as normally happens after a psychological shock.

Same as most people's bodies naturally recover given time after a physical injury or illness. Some people will take a bit longer than others but it by no means dooms them all to a lifetime of serious physical illness or serious mental illness.

I don't think a narrative that people experiencing natural reactions to an abnormally frightening/stressful period are effectively doomed mentally is helpful. They are natural reactions to an abnormal situation and most people will naturally recover when it ends.

Not instantaneously overnight obviously, but people don't recover from physical setbacks instantaneously either so it would be unrealistic to expect that. Some people will be more affected and may need support to recover, but it won't be everyone who is anxious at the moment.

I also take issue with the notion that this natural anxiety, or a panic attack when first heading out, in any way constitutes serious mental illness. It is a temporary knock to mental wellbeing, absolutely, but not serious mental illness. Perhaps you should actually do some research on what living with serious mental illness means before saying such things in future.

User….long number
I think it was a measured post. Maybe a touch of heightened language in the last sentence but interesting points made

User....I'm sort of reassured by your post actually that you think this is surmountable, especially when I think about the student teacher I referred to. But there will be a lot of this across the population all at the same time which is what makes it very frightening. And in cases where there has been long term trauma to a whole population before, after war for example, well the impact has been Terrible hasn't it?

User.. You make an excellent point that some of these worries are perfectly normal and to e expected.. BUT we now live in a world where 'its OK to not be ok' and constantly urged to deeply examine and talk about our feelings and we aren't a bit worried about X we 'have anxiety' which in some cases I do think is massively overused and feeds in itself. Obviously a balance must be struck, and understanding is important up to a point, but eventually employers, service users etc are not going accept it as a reason for poor performance or service and insist on a return to normal practice and standards of operation, which is not unreasonable.

I had a colleague who left Syria with her children and had to wait two years before her Husband could join her. Two years of worrying about his safety, the safety of her family and friends and her country being bombed to shit. In comparison, WFH doesn’t seem all that bad.

I’m sure that some people’s mh will be impacted but things will eventually return to normal and most people will revert back to their old selves, if they haven’t already. The impact that the pandemic has had on the Health Service, is something I worry about.

I totally agree - I've worked as normal throughout and it has totally saved my MH. Mixing with colleagues and talking about normal stuff has been a blessing. If I'd been indoors with only the BBC and This Morning for company, I genuinely think I'd be on antidepressants and frightened of going out by now.

Your post unfortunately ignores that there are many people who have enjoyed being at home and are dreading returning to “normal” because they have saved commute time. Enjoyed more time with family and prefer WFH.
I think there will be a mixture of both those glad and those sad that lockdown lock-in is over.