Is this the end? :(

[tollyfeeder]

I genuinely can’t help but worry that this is going to be the end of life as we know it.

I’m petrified that we’re heading into the next apocalypse.

I’m picturing food shortages, water shortages, no gas or electricity, crime, pretty much scenes from the walking dead.

I have a 4 week old baby I’m just so heartbroken that this is what her future could be.

I’m on maternity so I have the option to stay at home, but my husband has to go to work.

I’m asthmatic and I’m so worried I’m going to catch this and leave my baby without her mum :( :( :(

No.

If it was a 20% death rate maybe. But as is, no. In a few years it will still be around every winter but no one will make any more drama out if it than they currently do about seasonal flu.

Take a chill pill. It isn't a zombie apocalypse. Yet. Lol

But there’s nothing to say it won’t increase to a 20% death rate, we just don’t know :(

Dont stress too much about the asthma either. Just make sure you have an inhaler on hand if pos. You'll be fine!

No. You have a 4 week old baby so it's understandable that you are worried. There's nothing like new babies and hormones to make you question life/death/the universe etc. Yes, society will have to make some changes but it's not the end of life as we know it.

The highest rate anywhere is like 5% ish though.
The common flu death rate is less than 1% and has been around for years and yet never mutated to become more deadly. Of course overfilled hospitals may mean higher death rates but not 20% lol.

No
I feel incredibly anxious about it and am not sleeping/ having panic attacks all night.
But no life will go on as it did after Spanish flu, the bubonic plague etc! It’s going to be a difficult year though.
Yes stay at home and try to enjoy your baby.
Your DH train him in hand washing, alcohol hand gel and the use of dettol wipes, just get him using good cross infection control.
Perhaps sleep separately if you can and want to.
Do online shopping.
Take care

Also viruses don’t like being too deadly, they kill their victims and therefore don’t spread as well. Look at Sars.

Not sure that “take a chill pill lol” is the most helpful response, but worth remembering that everything always feels worse in the middle of the night.

I understand what you’re feeling OP, I am due to have my second in a few weeks’ time and have had several staring-into-the-void “what the fuck am I doing bringing another human into this terrible world” episodes over the last few months, not so much with Coronavirus but politics and social inequality etc. But we can only focus on what we can control ourselves right now, so keep doing what you’re doing, caring for your baby, being as sensible as you can with hygiene and your own health, try not to obsessively google or whatever if it makes you even more anxious, do things you find enjoyable within the limits of being sensible about possible exposure or spreading of CV

Exactly what valley said. If anything it's more likely to become a weaker strain.

I know you are worried and it’s horrible timing for you but try to look at it calmly.
It’s a nasty new bug, it’s causing genuine problems in some countries but for the vast majority of people, it’s a week of a sore throat and feeling a bit hot and headachey. As people get the bug and then get better, society will gain immunity and most people will never catch it again.
The money markets will stop having a fit of the vapours, and in six months it will all have calmed down.
The next few months are going to be miserable for those whose companies have problems but it will turn around.
Your baby will be immune before she’s even old enough to understand what flu is.
Please try not to worry x

Worry is understandable but even if this is as serious as the 1918 flu, it won't be the end of the world - 1918 was followed by the roaring twenties boom. (Try not to think about what happened at the end of the twenties)

Im just struggling so much to see an alternate outcome to the one I’m currently imagining 😔

Unless this kind of catastrophic thinking is how you usually are, this is hormones. Everything seems worse in the middle of the night PARTICULARLY when you have a new tiny baby. Speak to your health visitor/GP and see if they can fast track you into mental health support. Certainly in my area they have a dedicated perinatal mental health nurse who would come out to your home for this type of thing if required and who would be able to refer you in to further treatment

The black death killed a third of Europe.

within a few years, there was a baby boom, and the cultural stirrings beginning that would transform into the Renaissance. Women gained rights, workers' wages increased.

Don't lose hope. This is chaos. When the uncertainty clears and we know what we are working with, people will resume working together to rebuild anything lost.

It will all be ok and this horrible time will pass. Snuggle up with your new baby, they are so lovely, eat whatever you like, drink lots of tea, watch rubbishy TV and mumsnet. 😊

I’ve had a referral to CBT. I am an anxious person but this is definitely a whole other level for me :(

But there’s nothing to say it won’t increase to a 20% death rate,

That is 100% not how science works.

However what you are feeling is an issue. CBT is great. You do need help. It's your thinking, not the virus. I promise.

Definitely go to your CBT. Anxiety can often get worse after you've had a baby. It's best to seek help as soon as possible.

We survived bubonic plague even though its estimated 30 -60% of population died

I will have the CBT but I’m really struggling to see how it will help me here.
Whilst ever this virus is here and affecting us, I don’t feel any amount of CBT is going to reassure me because my fear and thoughts are so intense :(
But of course, I will try.

Hey OP,
It is so normal to have additional anxiety with such a small baby. Worrying that something will happen to you and leave your baby defenceless is really common.

The virus may well change a lot of our habits. It may force us to re-think the way we live but that can also be a positive outcome from this horrible situation. The potential reduction in C02 emmisions from working from home and reduced international travel, re-thinking the idea of homeschooling, being more careful about food waste. Lots of workplaces will get a real experience of people working from home and will hopefully realise that it is not a disaster and perhaps there is value in offering workers more flexibility. The country's economic goals are off the table now so maybe we will explore an alternative to trying to grow the economy constantly and pandering to big business.

Make a list of all the people you have in your network. Genuinely work out who would look after your baby if the worst happened to you and your partner. I did that when DS1 was born in the middle of the Swine flu outbreak and it meant I could put that to one side.

Write down the things which worry you and work out a plan of how you could deal with each one if it comes up. You have just taken on the responsibility for another life, it is really normal to feel overwhelmed.

Stop

The world didn’t end with any other disease spreads. We got vaccines. We got immunity. And we kept reproducing.

Definitely go to your counselling. It’s normal to be concerned but not to the point of this panic. Not given the current circumstances.

I would say that for those with very young babies and children in another 2 years this should be long over and done with and normality will return.
Try to bear this in mind.

Humans are resilient. We have survived through pandemics before, as well as natural and man made disasters. I dont know what you mean by the "next apocalypse" - has there been one before?

There may be food and water shortages. There won't be zombies and marauding gangs.

I think it is going to be rough for some months with the shortages etc. But we will bounce back.