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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How has the pandemic changed your life?

134 replies

velvet24 · 15/01/2022 12:04

For me its brought some positive changes. I now work at home which I love, I am less stressed and rushed. I now appreciate walks in the woodlands and village, I enjoy little things like feeding the birds in the garden. I have slowed down and I feel happier for it. I take time for me now, whereas pre covid i was rushing about 5 days a week.

I know people have lost jobs and loved ones and that is horrendous, this post is looking at how the pandemic has changed life, for better for for worse? Be honest.

OP posts:
maddening · 15/01/2022 14:35

Hybrid working (once we are back in the office). Benefits include work life balance improvement, lower petrol costs.

My husband already had an office so I have changed the spare room to an office (with sofa bed so it is dual use) .

I am in the northwest and a lot of colleagues are in London, it was previously v London centric, all being based at home has def broken down the North South divide and has been a leveller.

FrownedUpon · 15/01/2022 14:49

Life is less stressful as now working from home. Also appreciate the small things more e.g our local countryside & our garden which was a bit neglected before covid. I have more time to plan & cook meals & am eating a lot healthier which has made a huge difference to how I feel & look.

FluffyRabbitGal · 15/01/2022 14:53

It’s been a mixed bag here. I’m a front line NHS Worker, so professionally the last 18 months have been the most challenging of my career.
However, in March 2020 I was in £6k debt, with no real savings. Over the course of the pandemic, I have paid this back, saved a deposit and moved into my own home. So personally I’m in a far better place.

Krustykrabpizza · 15/01/2022 17:47

Not much other than wearing a mask and wfh more often. That's it really

JustMarriedBecca · 15/01/2022 17:57

Positive here.

WFH has repaired my relationship with the kids which was under strain owing to the fact my commute and working full time meant I never saw them. It's made me a happier and better parent, wife, daughter, sister and friend.

I massively appreciate where we live. Open fields, we walked a lot before but now we do so every day in summer after dinner.

I feel like I fell into an Enid Blyton novel.

I've realised that a number of family members and friends aren't worth being arsed with and now I take their lack of interest far less personally. It's on them 🤷

ToykotoLosAngeles · 15/01/2022 17:59

I had been back at work after having DS, part time, for 4 months when covid hit. Still breastfeeding, still having broken nights. I now have a 3 year old. So life was bound to change and evolve anyway.

Daily life isn't that different, because DH has WFH since 2018. However I now have a new job in a more stable, busier sector (in office - I hate being trapped in the house). I've lost friends - my fairly social NCT group is down to 3. I've also missed out on the places we were going to take DS before he starts school.

Chely · 15/01/2022 18:05

I like people less.
When barely anybody wanted to come meet our baby I decided to give a lot fewer fucks about other people.

gorseinonn22 · 15/01/2022 18:11

Working from home is better for me. Though unlike 150,000 people, that is an option I have.

Babdoc · 15/01/2022 18:13

Still struggling with long Covid after 22 months. My retirement pre Covid was fab - holidays, cruises, theatre, concerts, long hill walks, local clubs (bridge, table tennis etc).
Now none of that is available or possible.
I am slowly building up my exercise tolerance, but improvement is glacially slow.
It’s taken the best part of 2 years to get from gasping at 100 yards, to puffing at one mile on the flat.

Glenthebattleostrich · 15/01/2022 18:14

It triggered anxiety and depression in my tween daughter.

Almost destroyed my business to the point I am closing ut this summer

Made me realise how little I matter to quite a few people and has affected my friendships.

JanisMoplin · 15/01/2022 18:18

Far far worse.
DD is having MH difficulties and I am not sure she will ever be the same again.
I hate WFH and I hate DH WFH. We are sick of each other's faces.
DH's job has suffered and there have been layoffs.
I have health problems and am on a long NHS waitlist
Lost some friends not to Covid but just because they have become introverts.
My mother is another country and I worry abt her constantly because I can't visit easily.
Not seen my sister for 2 yrs as she too is not in the UK.

I could carry on forever...

cereallover · 15/01/2022 18:20

Can't run properly without some people moaning at me to run in the road or in the mud ( I almost got run over and mud/wet grass can end up rolling ankle). Apparently one person and a dog need to take up all the pavement these days 🙄

ghostmouse · 15/01/2022 18:25

Brought nothing but pain. Thanks to the pandemic my husbands cancer was missed and it killed him.

I was made redundant from my job, my daughters eye problem is worse .

I could go on and on,

Count yourselves lucky those of you who have had positive experiences with the pandemic. I and many many others have not

ghostmouse · 15/01/2022 18:26

Sorry just ignore me, I appreciate I come across as angry and bitter, it’s no one’s fault

cereallover · 15/01/2022 18:27

@ghostmouse

Sorry just ignore me, I appreciate I come across as angry and bitter, it’s no one’s fault
Flowers so sorry 😞
JanisMoplin · 15/01/2022 18:28

@ghostmouse I am so sorry. I think you have a right to be angry.

GlamourBear · 15/01/2022 18:28

It's made me realise what is truly important to me and I now prioritise these things in my life Smile sounds corny but it's true!

GlamourBear · 15/01/2022 18:31

@ghostmouse

Brought nothing but pain. Thanks to the pandemic my husbands cancer was missed and it killed him.

I was made redundant from my job, my daughters eye problem is worse .

I could go on and on,

Count yourselves lucky those of you who have had positive experiences with the pandemic. I and many many others have not

So sorry you've been through this, I also lost somebody very close due a delayed cancer diagnosis then limited time with them due to covid rules. It's mainly this which has changed my mindset. I'm trying to take something positive from a frankly shit 2 years!
Mich1986 · 15/01/2022 18:32

Saying 'no' more and taking less bullshit.
Also much better with money, got savings and paid off overdraft.

Snowdropsinourforest · 15/01/2022 18:34

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Lwg87 · 15/01/2022 18:35

Home schooling my son reminded me of how I'd always wanted to be a primary teacher and now I'm on a teacher training course and loving it. Grin

Snowdropsinourforest · 15/01/2022 18:38

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Dinosauratemydaffodils · 15/01/2022 18:42

Killed any hope for my future. In early March 2020 I was in a great place, loads of therapy had finally worked, I was sleeping and had a plan for the rest of my life. We were even booking proper holidays. By May 2020, my ptsd symptoms were back with a vengeance and they were suggesting inpatient beds. The pandemic cost me everything I'd worked so hard for and I don't have the strength to do it again. It made me realise I can't go into the career I had intended (currently sahm) because I'm just one crisis away from a full blown breakdown regardless of therapy. I feel stuck, resentful and rage filled coupled with self loathing.

My husband had a (minor) stroke, I couldn't go to my amazing grandmother's funeral and my six year old in particular has really struggled.

HippyMoon · 15/01/2022 19:20

Loads!

DP changed career paths.

We moved from the city to the countryside.

We both WFH and earn better.

We adopted dogs because we WFH and have time/money to take care of them!

My career has grown in ways it wouldn't have without WFH or the pandemic.

We have been quite lucky really.

Mummadeze · 15/01/2022 19:35

Re-discovered my love of tennis and have made lots of friends in my local area by joining a club. Commuting five days a week previously left me with no time or energy for anything. However, have started to dislike and resent my job since working from home all the time. Which is bad as I am the breadwinner and a career person. I completely gave up alcohol due to the pandemic which has been life changing and a great thing. But I no longer want to go out at night very much which means my social life has deteriorated. I have also put on 2 stone over the past two years which has been hard to deal with. The worst thing for me though is not being able to see my parents who live abroad and are terrified of Covid. I often wonder if I will ever see them again in person. And I miss my Mum very much.