Lockdown positives and how much longer can you cope?

[whatisforteamum]

I have to say I am in my mid 50s and apart from the obvious tragedy of so many families affected by this awful virus I have found the actual restrictions ok.
Normally I am a workaholic and don't see dh from one day to another.I think being forced to stop work for a few weeks and not to out...didn't much before the to work hours and social anxiety.
Chores have been caught up,I've had time to chill and wear my own clothes eat at meal times and just be.
I love a long walk and love in the countryside.We have a kind of routine.
This is my first Easter off in many years.I could come with a few more weeks for sure.How about anyone one else?
How much longer could you cope with?I honestly don't miss anyone but Iive with dh and ds.

@jogonlll I fully appreciate that this is a dire situation but it helps people to cope with the craziness by being grateful for small things like having time to spend with family or being able to appreciate a family meal together - things that maybe they would previously have taken for granted.

I think if you are finding this all ok or enjoyable you do need to check your privilege

I absolutely do appreciate how privileged I am. This is much more like how I would like to live my life though, maybe when I retire.

I’ll be honest I’m really struggling we had to move into a refuge a few months before lockdown started and it’s me and two DDs both under 6 in one room and my god it’s hard I will cope for however long I have too but I miss going to work and the girls having school as a routine

If it wasn’t for having to entertain a toddler while teaching remotely, I’d be quite happy!

I think if you are finding this all ok or enjoyable you do need to check your privilege.

People really cannot win on mumsnet, this place really is a cesspit.

If people say they're struggling they're told to get a grip and how they could be worse off, how privileged they are.

If people say they're doing ok and try to seek positives in a terrible situation, they're told to get a grip and they're privileged.

Not so happy here. Have spacious house and garden which I'm enormously grateful for. However I have a bit 9 year gap between my kids (13 and 4) so they don't really entertain each other and are both lonely in different ways. Also we are both out of work as have limited company in a niche industry that doesn't exist right now. Positives though, we are all getting to spend alot more time with the 13 year old, as normally she is never home, always out with friends. Also as previous posters said, our dog is in seventh heaven, lots of walks, cuddles, food scraps and never alone!

If I still have money, I could do this for a good few months more.

I'm struggling mentally. I have good days and bad days. Right now my biggest concern is my DH's mental health, he has done so well this last year and up to this point but I can feel him slipping today and I am so scared this is the start of a new depressive period, it breaks my heart.

It grates on me to see people sharing those memes about your country ordering you to drink in the garden and sit on the sofa as a joke completely minimising how this can actually affect many people.

I think if you are finding this all ok or enjoyable you do need to check your privilege.

I live in a 2 bed, house with 4 people. We are both self employed and shitting ourselves about not being able to earn, not that we are high earners in the first place, both average. Not much privileged going on here. Don't even have a private garden, still realise that we are luckier than a lot of people, and I'm very relieved and grateful that we are managing at the moment. Doesn't mean I can't make the most of the time we have off work, and try and make the best of it. People live in dire conditions every single day of life, does it stop you living at any other time.... No. So jump down off your horse mate.

It's a mix here. Hard not seeing the senior Twixes for many reasons... In terms of DH and I, day to day we're all good in lockdown. He's 100% working from home (NHS related) while I sort out home related projects we've been meaning to sort for ages and venture to Waitrose once a week. No DC (sadly) but we are each others besties and excellent lockdown budies. I will miss our daily hr walk when it's all done.

i live alone, am disabled and my mental health is laughably bad.

i’m in the shielded group. tomorrow marks the beginning of week...4? of isolation. i have my cat, my neighbours are nice, there’s a shared garden that’s being used fairly, it’s quiet here, financially my benefits won’t change so on paper i’m doing much better than some.

i just can’t see the end-point, and that’s the thing that keeps me awake at night. if i get the virus and need a ventilator, i will die. i have a massive substernal thyroid growth that needs surgery to remove. my trachea is pushed over to the left of my throat and squished into a curve. i’ve had an abandoned operation this year as they couldn’t keep me oxygenated under intubation.

so do i just stay in forever? wait for a vaccine? write my will, aged 47?

i’m frightened, and that’s the honest truth of it. i pass the time quite well, on good days. on bad ones, they are endless and filled with panic.

i could do without it, really.

I will struggle badly if this goes on longer than another month.

DH is able to work from home as long as 50% of his time is work related and the other 50% spent on self progression - the latter is very easy as he usually does it on top of work, doing a work related course and volunteering for charities where he can gain a different type of experience in the same profession. This means he's only working 7am-5pm, has no traveling and evenings free.

Personally, in terms of day-to-day life, I’m finding this enjoyable. I’ve surprised myself by how easy I find entertaining myself and how creative I can be, given the time.

I’m very worried about finances and the impact on my two young adult DCs, though.

We could go on for years but to be honest not much has changed for us. Both working more or less as usual, with our usual income, and all of our usual trips out class as essential anyway.

The only change of note is not going to see the in-laws.

We have it easier than most. DH is working from home, long hours but lucky that he’s still working. I work freelance from home. I have a 6 and a 4 year old who I’m now homeschooling as well as a 15 month old at home. Days are long and full on... DH working, me trying to educate the older two while looking after the toddler plus getting my work done every evening when they’re in bed, definitely no time for rest/chores/decorating and we’re both absolutely exhausted (toddler gets up between 5.30 and 6 and still wakes in the night), but at least we’re not both working full time from home while trying to homeschool and look auger the toddler.

Oh and I’m really worried about my mum who is nearly 60, frontline NHS and lives alone so she’s either at risk at work or lonely at home, but we’re all safe and well for now.

And we’ll cope for as long as we have to I guess. We’ve got a roof over our heads and food on the table.

I think if I was told that I would be locked down for another 3,4,5 months but then everything would go back to normal, my loved ones would all be fine, I'd still be healthy and have a job etc, etc..... I'd be fine with the actual restrictions. It's the restrictions in the context of the fear and uncertainty that's getting to me really. Too much time to think!

Could carry on for a good while but we’ve just moved to a new house which needs loads of work. And as a family we don’t normally get a day off together from February to the end of October so having lots of days is brilliant. But we are lucky bigish house with a garden that needs loads of work on the edge of a village with loads of empty walking and exercise opportunities. Food wise we are using only local small companies so not had to do supermarket or get slots. So all is good. Just moneys shit.

I have 3 yr old who has autism and non verbal and a 1 year old my husband is WFH so i have company but hes very busy with work so im feeling very lonely as 3 yr is non verbal and needs to be watched constantly, is just climbing everywhere .

Im on week 5 tomorrow and today i had a wobble. Not going out as have asthma.

We do have garden which im super greteful for but finding really difficult with 3 yr old. She is also really struggling with her sleep and has been up at 2.30am right through with few hours asleep in day but then going back to sleep at 10pm next night , just tired and need break

Anyone saying 'check your privilege' can just stfu as far as I'm concerned as its a phrase used by virtue signaling people with more privilege than most. I don't have time for it, and it's a phrase which gets an instant 'ignore poster sprouting crap' mental note.

I think for many people it's a time to evaluate their lives, their friendship and ultimately what's really important to them. It does not really matter what your circumstances are, it's a universal sense.

There will be a lot of people who feel they need to change their lives in various ways and to various degrees as a result of this.

Whether it be to end friendships, change careers, retrain, move somewhere completely different, divorce or something else.

In this sense even if it's bloody awful now, I'm sure that it will have a positive effect for a lot of people rather than them 'going through the motions' and just carrying on for the next twenty years because of the sheer intensity of what's happening.

It's not an experience you will shrug off easily or forget.

Personally I'm not looking forward to restrictions being lifted because there will be a significant minority who completely lose the plot and won't be able to control themselves. And there will be a lot of pressure to have big parties etc. Which I think after so long of being away from others, might be extremely traumatic in its own right for some.

I want things to slowly change, and I very much hope that school reopening won't be one of the first things to happen as I think it will be particularly stressful for both children and adults with fear still at the back of minds.

It's made me realise who I want to avoid and who is an outright waste of my time. And it's made me realise that it's far better for your mental health to have routine and productive goals in life whether they be personal, as a family or as part of a career. Being directionless and unable to find things to occupy yourself is not good for you.

The pace of life is something I'm appreciating. Living in the moment rather than dwelling in the past or wishing your life away is much more fulfilling in a way. Taking each day as it comes and making the most of it rather than being bogged down in having to do x by then, y by then, then ensuring you fit a and b around it all.

You don't have to be mega rich or secure in your circumstances to go through this process. Indeed I think that idea of 'necessity being the mother of invention' is something which will drive people more in a lot of cases.

As a rule I think imaginative creative types or people who are able to keep themselves busy are fairing best.

I'm doing more than I normally would and working harder. It's certainly not what I'd call a relaxing experience.

We're doing ok, but my work productivity is not amazing. With couple of kids around it's to be expected ofc.

It’s certainly made me realise that as long as I have shelter, energy, water, food and alcohol, I am fine. I can see retirement being a bit like this for me. Getting up later, staying up later. I do however think that what’s coming post virus is going to be terrible for a lot of people economically.