How worried are you, right now?

[Bluewavescrashing]

Until yesterday I was mildly concerned about the virus, but I couldn't sleep last night and have been preoccupied all day. I feel like if I talk to actual people about my concerns for my family and society as a whole, it will make it real. Feels a bit like a dream.

How are you feeling today?

Yeah, I'm very concerned. We are a fairly young family so should be ok, but I have asthma, and last year I had the flu which turned into pneumonia and sepsis, and that trip to hospital scared the shit out of all of us. I have a horrible feeling that I will get it and have complications - I'm one of those people who always catch the weirdest bugs so if someone is going to catch it, it will be me.

I have woken up with what feels like tonsillitis, a really sore throat, high fever and headache, and every time I cough I think "here we go". I think if there were more coverage on people who have had it it might make me feel a bit better. Knowing a bit about the symptoms and learning from others might make it seem less unknown.

I'm mega pissed off at my mum though. She is the most sickly person I know, and up until yesterday she was adamant that she would be travelling to Estonia. Now she just wants to see her friends and go to the theatre. Sigh.

Really worried, my DM is completely convinced shes going to die imminently.. every time anyone comes to visit she says 'that may be the last time i ever see them'.. She lives next door, and i'm high risk too. Thanks for your 'everyone will lose loved ones before their time' speech, Boris! Really great for the older generations mental health!

Meanwhile i was made jobless today in my main job, until its all over.. self employed for small independent business, no help from government for me.. so how do i pay the bills now??? Just what i bloody needed!

My worry level goes up and down throughout the day, depending on what emerges in the news. I was reassured by BJ and the medics at that press conference yesterday afternoon but by bedtime was really worried because of the number of European countries that were closing schools, banning large gatherings and closing borders.
Fil has a cough so they are now self-isolating. DH is worried because his dad has a chronic health condition and his grandma lives with PIL - in her early 90s.
I don't think we are anywhere near the worst of it yet. I amless worried about us- because we are relatively young and healthy- but worried about PIL and about the country. I am not convinced quite a lot of people will follow instructions given. I also think there could be social disorder from some groups if they feel let down and things get bad.
DH says we just have to stay calm and do the things we are told and use our common sense.
On a lighter note, DD (almost 3) does not like handwashing. DS1 (5) is very keen to show off how we should wash out hands. So tonight before tea, DH got DS1 to do a demonstration and we watched and copied him. DD looked very unimpressed and shook her head when DH told her to join in. She scampered off shouting 'No Daddy. Me not like that'. She is a little witch. She let DH pick her up and he washed her hands while she giggled.

The question the OP asked is, how worried are you right now, and some pps have said, not at all, some have said they don't fit the high risk categories and then... other pps are having a right go at them! Stop it please!
I get anxiety over my health, generally, yes I've gone up and down with anxiety over the last few days - I haven't watched the news for a year, but have watched Boris' announcement recently, and SM is fuelling my anxiety! When I read that some people are feeling calm about it, it really helps, so don't be the one to shout down people feeling calm about this please.

Balk - I'm not winding anyone up. I was completely serious. I'm really, REALLY not worried. The thing that concerns me most is that so many people have lost their minds over this. That's the bit I find truly scary. The hysteria, the prepping, the endless threads on here about it. I truly despair. I'm still trying to figure out how to hide the whole subject.....

I’m kind of with you @ruggypeg . The collective shit losing over this is beyond ridiculous. Most of will probably get it. The vast majority of us will be fine. Apparently a number of people don’t even get symptoms (professor guy on the radio who had looked at the data off the diamond princess) which is a problem for it spreading. Some people won’t be fine and those are people’s loved ones and it’s very sad. I’ve got people I love in high risk groups as well as I imagine most people do. But after watching sports relief last night I read up on malaria. Hundreds of thousands of people a year dying, the majority of them children, of a disease that can be prevented and cured. Why should wee be immune from such illnesses? I’m not saying to ignore CV and we should be trying to minimise the impact but I think we need to just move towards an acceptance that sadly no matter what we ever do people will sadly die and it’s just life to an extent.

I can understand why people are choosing to not be worried

But to think it won’t impact your life in any way other than feeling a little ill for a while is naive it seems some just want to balk at others who are feeling anxious

This will impact our lives for a long long time, needing to see a gp, needing to attend hospital, economy, products we buy, where we can travel to, future plans and so on what we take for granted is all change for some time

I think the impact the hysteria is having on the economy is the really worrying part. Beyond that, I can't raise an iota of concern. As just said, diseases like malaria kill people day in and day out. Domestic violence kills, on average, 2 women every single day in the UK. Where's the national uproar about that?

Oh and before anyone says it, yes, I know people can be concerned about more than one thing at a time. There's no hourly reporting though about other illnesses, whipping society up in to a frenzy.

I go in waves definitely not at the blasé people die end. What makes me feel tense is people needing care and not getting it. What I am thankful for is that children have been ok. I’d be off the scale if not for latter.

What makes me feel tense is people needing care and not getting it.

Oh yeah I agree. This is why I think a flattening the curve strategy is sensible to minimise the impact .

I’m worried. Very worried.

Hopefully we will get through the actual illness relatively unscathed but the social situation is frightening and I’m so so sad for my daughter. These are her last couple of terms at preschool and I should be planning lovely trips for the Easter break - this should be a carefree happy time for her. She asked to go to the shops and buy things to make a cake this weekend and I had to say no because of it all. It makes me want to weep for her.

Cornett go to the shops and buy the items. How are you getting food?

Some of the misinformation I've read on here over the last few days has given me the absolute rage and is definitely fuelling the panic.

There's no doubt this is a very serious situation and I'm concerned about the elderly people in my family.

However, despite all the doom mongering on here life will go on, a vaccine will be developed and this once in a lifetime event will linger in people's memories for a very long time.

I know what you mean @Cornettoninja my son is finishing primary school and looking like his residential will be cancelled and that if school shuts he might not even get his high school transition, particularly important as he is autistic.

But why on earth wouldn’t you bake a cake? Come on, in the nicest way possible, give yourself a shake.

I am not worried. I am trying to change my behaviour.

But I knew from half term I wouldn’t visit my aunt or my mum for a month, now I think well after Easter.

I am worried about my friends and my sisters who work for the NHS. I hope they can cope with other people’s anxiety and the work that may come their way. I hope that they can stay healthy in every way.

I am worried for people who are anxious.

@MarshaBradyo - yes I can do that () but she actually wants to go herself and choose the ingredients, pay the money etc. It’s one big ritual for her.

Plus she’s definitely sickening for something and when I went to pick up a prescription yesterday the person behind the counter looked like she definitely shouldn’t have been there (she looked so poorly with cold symptoms) that I just can’t justify taking her out in public now.

I know I'm anxious because I can't stop cleaning

Have you got a partner or if not a neighbour who can run out and get the ingredients @cornettoninja? Not the same as what you planned, but still making a cake.

@MigginsMrs - I do try and keep a lid on my anxiety about this but I’m finding it challenging to say the least

Cornett fair enough not taking her out but can you ask someone?

Oh we’ll do some varient of that @MigginsMrs but I’m just saying that denying her such a simple pleasure of the whole walk to the shop, buying ingredients etc. is getting to me. She’s 4. She should be able to go to the shop to make a pissing cake without me having to risk assess whether it’s going to have consequences like this.

I know but you are doing the right thing.

I understand. I’ve suffered from bad health anxiety myself in the past. I also understand the disappointment, I’m dreading telling my son that the trip he’s talked constantly about for months and won’t get another chance to go on will be cancelled :(

The impact on the economy is not about hysteria (supermarkets are doing fantastically well at the moment) but based on science and the nature of how viruses impact humans

Countries are placing people in quarantine from certain countries or banning people people coming in to slow down the spread of the coronavirus- that isn’t hysteria that is placing people’s health first

The advice will soon be along the lines of other countries, large events will not allowed to take place, restaurants/bars will have to follow certain regulations and people will rather stay away to keep themselves safer

It is not hysteria that is impacting our economy it’s a virus that is incredibly hard to contain that is impacting the way we live that is having a knock on effect