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.

Also a teacher and I certainly didn’t feel lucky. I felt like I was forced to put my health at risk when many others were tucked away safely at home. I can see the other side though and am glad lots of people were happy to go into work and didn’t feel anxious every day like me! Each to their own but that’s my personal experience of how I felt.

No, I think it's just down to the individual.

My DH has been WFH since March 2020 and is desperate to get out and socialise like "the old days" again.

I’ve been stuck at home throughout, working and homeschooling multiple children and have absolutely no anxiety about things going back to normal. I’ve got out and about as much as I’ve possibly been able to and can’t wait to get back to normal. All the people in similar positions to me feel the same. I only really see the huge anxiety about getting back to normal on MN to be honest.

My mum is late 60's and working part time. Work was a part of her socialife not to mention getting some exercise because she took the bus rather than driving. She hasn't become reclusive as I know others have but she is never going to be back in the office again and it has definitely made her more sedentary before she was ready.