To not be over what happened to me during covid/lockdowns

[ifyougochasingrabbits]

Just a few of the things I went through

Losing my cleaning business i had built up over years overnight due to everyone cancelling us

Being humiliated by the headteacher at DC school shouting at me in front of other parents because I refused to wear a mask outside . My little girl being made to start school late and finish late because I was unable to wear a mask to collect her (school run was all outside I may add and I had no problem wearing masks in shops etc but I drew the line at in the fresh air outside)

watching thousands of pounds of income disappear at an alarming rate. while wondering if we’d still have jobs and be able to keep the house we’d worked our arses off for for years to buy. Going through six months of trauma with H furloughed and depressed because his work could not guarantee he'd still have a job at the end of it. He was on half pay as furlough was only paid up to about 30k salary iirc and if you were on more it was employers discretion to pay the full salary which his work didn't. He was even applying for jobs at supermarkets and delivery driving etc and getting no where despite having a high level job at a major house builder.

Watching selfish morons stockpiling at the very beginning

“Friends” dumping me, one Cos I dared voice out loud that I wasn’t personally scared of covid and was struggling with restrictions and did not agree with them.

Having to deal with the fact that many of my (remaining) friends had views I completely don’t agree with and accepting they probably feel same about me.
And having to cope with the fact they supported restrictions that were destroying our lives and mental health

Having my business absolutely trashed all over social media and being called a dirty bitch and worse by local people. Fake bad reviews etc. The “reason” was they took exception to me saying on a local page post that I didn't believe in masks in school (this was due to my kids really struggling with them) My 14 year old said he agreed and some of them then found him on fb and messaged him insulted his looks and called him stupid and a fucking moron etc. This was actual grown adults.

a random person inboxed me on Facebook due to seeing my business ad and threatened to "smash my face in" because she thinks i was “endangering lives” by working

My neighbour reporting us to the police for having an illegal gathering. This "illegal gathering" was me, my H and our 3 dc having a bbq in the garden. Needless to say we all live together

Being put on medication for panic attacks and anxiety in fact I minimised it to the gp. I was actually suicidal and the only reason I am still here is because of my kids and the fact my husband and parents had the same views as me. But I would secretly hope to die in my sleep and almost every day I would wake up and cry because I was still here.

Watching my 3 Kids completely fall apart due to schools being closed. While not only having to deal with seeing posts all over fb about how well other kids were doing and coping doing all their work, managing great. And knowing some people I care about actually wanted schools shut. One of my kids is still very unwell mentally and it all started with lockdowns

Oh and to add final insult to injury, in November 2021 I had to pay £5700 (which was part credit card and part all of our savings) privately for an operation that should have been freely available on the nhs. But cos covid they could not give me a date and I was getting more and more poorly and could not wait.

I am still angry and maybe I should get over it. But I can't. And There's probably more but these are the stand out moments. I'm doing okay now and I have a new business and I'm doing well, H has a new job as he could not trust his old place after covid. but I've been very low again recently with the anniversary of it all

So people objected to your self centred bs, you never attempted to DISCUSS you just refused and you wonder why noone can be bothered with you. You need a mirror love. We all had to compromise, it's about community. Definitely not your trivial belittling others crap

You weren’t unable to wear a mask to collect your child from school, you just chose not to and purposely made your child late. Honestly? You sound like a nightmare.

No sympathy I'm afraid.

Your stubborn refusal to comply with mask-wearing was all your own doing. Was your 'one woman' crusade worth it and what exactly did your defiance achieve? People were working with the knowledge that we had at the time.

Any consequences were on you. It wasn't easy for anyone. You're not the only one.

As mentioned I said I wore masks in shops etc but I was not wearing one outside it was purely performance safety

well yes. But OP made her life a little more complicated by not just putting on a mask for the minute or two it was required.

Lots of laws / rules are stupid. But the simple fact is, if you don't keep to them, you get a sanction. There are ways to get rules/laws changed, but unless and until you do: tough. Follow or accept the consequences.

I don't see that there is a correlation at all between people who, often exasperatedly, followed the (possibly daft, possibly unnecessary) covid regulations and those who blindly went along with the Milgram experiments. They are entirely different things.

Reported - you are obviously goading people and said you are laughing at people’s posts. Therefore you aren’t actually upset at all.

"I don't like this thread therefore I have reported it".

Jesus Christ.

Honestly you sound like a dick. I think you have brought the majority of it on yourself.
Any parts you have suffered whose then anyone else, have literally been self-inflicted.

Covid and the lockdowns that were needed because of it caused horrible problems for many, many people and it’s weird that we’re all trying to pretend all of that trauma didn’t happen.

In your case, you took some unnecessarily antagonistic stances and made things worse for yourself and your family. I would be one of the friends who have dropped you and I’d still be avoiding you now.

The thing is OP, it sounds like you were a bit of a keyboard warrior and anti-mask hero, but where did all your 'taking a stand' get you? All you achieved was to put your kids in the firing line for a load of abuse and now you're here on MN complaining about how your business, finances and mental health is fucked. Was it really worth it to make a point about not wearing masks outside?

Maybe you should've just put the mask on and kept your opinions to yourself, like most of the rest of us did and you wouldn't have suffered half as many problems?

What a gem of a child you are raising. Hope you're proud. Strong, clever, feisty - Riiiiight. Laughing at people and disobeying by pulling the tape off. Top parenting! 🏅

I did claim it but did not get anything for months and the seiss was generally much less than furlough
Yes, it took a few months to come but when it did, it was based on what was declared. So with furlough, you wouldn't have lost 50% of your income, especially as outgoings were lower.

I don't think you are being totally truthful with this part of the story.

Many people’s mental health was negatively impacted by being worried about catching covid and therefore being around other people. Wearing a mask outside school was the least you could do to keep people feeling safe. Obviously, we now know it was probably pointless but at the time it felt scary. You were also naive to post to Facebook and not expect backlash.
However it was a long time ago and I think you might need to reflect with a therapist to understand why all this is still bothering you so much.

Jesus H Christ, I live in Spain, our lockdown conditions were much stricter and lasted longer, we still have some mask mandates in effect. I understand that this has effected mental health for many people but op you CHOSE your actions, so you cannot seriously be bleeting about the consequences of your own actions.

Wearing a mask outside is ridiculous, but if my kids' school required it I would have complied.

Yes. And still the sheeple are bleating how it had no impact and that it was the right thing to do. Even now with the evidence presented to them that people who made up the rules knew there was no point in following them and that the restrictions were designed to appease, with no evidence whatsoever for effectiveness or cost/benefit of direct or indirect consequnces. And despite the things we all are facing now and will for decades to come. They still bleat and never learn, some have gone so far, and I kid you not, as to forget what the restrictions were and how long they lasted.

I think your post makes it crystal clear why you’ve had problems with people.

If you kept your opinions to yourself you were part of the problem.

I was so happy and grateful when the DCs were able to go back to school, I'd have worn a clown outfit to keep it going.

Wearing masks outside is ridiculous, but is bizarre to compare it to Nazi Germany. To me it's more like at the airport where we dutifully decant our toiletries into >100 ml bottles in a small plastic bag and that allegedly stops terrorism. Nobody kicks up about that because they know they won't be on the plane to their holidays if they do, wearing masks to allow your DC to go to school is not dissimilar.

Lockdown was really hard for many of us. My octogenarian DPs led a reasonably normal life before but lockdown exacerbated my DMs health anxieties. As a result I doubt DF will ever be allowed another meal out or a simple trip to Morrisons. But for most of us, life has to go on.

God love you, op. You're easily entertained.

This tbh.

Op, you do sound very self centred. And you admit to enjoying winding people up and being proud of some pretty bad behaviour from your children.

These things do have consequences and losing friends hand over fist is not the only one.

I don’t think the poster is really upset - I think she’s having a laugh at people and winding them up - and I think you’re a naughty boy.

God

I don't know, it seemed like most of MN were having the time of their lives, relaxing in the sunshine in their gardens, or days out at the beach etc on furlough.

Oh and my little girl was only 6 at the time and she used to laugh at people wearing masks outside and when they put their ridiculous biohazard tape in the playground she went round pulling it off. And i didn't stop her
Wow. You sound so proud, too... 🤨

This reminds me of a thread in the early days, talking about how in WW2 people didn't "cower" in their homes and people should take a stand and go to the pub in protest.

When it was pointed out they could prove they weren't scared of coronavirus by taking up essential higher risk posts like HCAs, porters, delivery driver etc, there was no response.

I have never been worried about the direct impact of COVID on me personally, but was deeply concerned about the impacts of an uncontrolled pandemic on society (which would impact me and my family direct). This what experts were trying to get across, but these kinds of posts refuse to take it in.

Encouraging your DD to pull off biohazard tape and laugh at masks isn't helping her become a free or critical thinker @ifyougochasingrabbits