Coronaphobia - people just have to get a grip

[wakeupitsabeautifulmorning]

I'm really worried that irrational fears are going to absolutely ruin the country as well as putting people at massive risk of dying from other things or developing mental health. And God knows what parents with it will do to their dc's mental health and development (keeping dc off school until there's a vaccination etc.)

I’m baffled why healthy people see this as a death sentence. If you have no underlying health conditions then your chance of dying is no different.

I am in the vulnerable category and I’m still going to work - I’m social distancing and hand washing, but otherwise getting on with it.

South Korea are now confident that people get immune - all the more reason for lockdown to be eased so that healthy people can get it and get immune. Then you can see your shielding loved ones again confident that you won’t infect them.

This lockdown is causing huge damage to the economy which gets bigger every day.

Yet another bloody 'will you annoying at-risk people (who are wholly Other to me because you're old/sick/not really worthy of life in x other ways) please just stop being wimps about this, face up to dying and get on with it already so I can get my own personal normal back' thread.

I'm at risk. Lots of underlying health conditions. My Mum is seriously at risk and I am her carer. This is a double whammy for me as I'm also a single parent to my 8 year old DD. Yes, our emotional wellbeing has been a passing issue. But the stark reality for us is, we know people who have died (3 so far, close to us) Mental wellbeing is something we all have to bear in mind at all times. But right now I'm faced with my Mum who has cancer, Dad who has major heart problems, me having multiple underlying conditions, like I say.

It's a total lottery. I'm in full PPE every day seeing to my Mums medical issues. Mental health wise, I have suffered from PTSD in the past. But honestly speaking, I absolutely just have to get on with this now. I have no choice.

It feels surreal, but I got my head around it a long time ago. The lockdown, the fending off of family wanting to visit my very sick Mum. It's actually easier. To keep people at bay is exactly what we needed.

I think the hysteria is also because we're only seeing the most severe cases that have been admitted and the general public aren't seeing the confirmed mild cases. I work for the NHS and have had Covid-19 (tested and confirmed). I had a sore throat, cough and runny nose. Felt really tired for a few days and then was fine. Other colleagues have had similar mild cases. We have tested people in hospital as a matter of course before discharge to other places and they have been positive without showing any symptoms. This is all anecdotal of course and there are obviously people who it affects more but I think people are missing out on seeing the very large number of mild cases that are around. That's why I wish community testing were more widespread. Anyone with symptoms should have access to a test...!

To answer those asking why I’m so bothered what others think I’m concerned that the hysteria will somehow impact the governments plan moving forward. For example if enough parents are adamant they won’t send their dc to school will they keep them shut therefore having an impact on my dcs education and the restarting of the economy because there’s no childcare. And so on.

This lockdown is causing huge damage to the economy which gets bigger every day.

And this I think is going to have a bigger impact on the population going forward than the virus ever will.

Give it time and Mr Sunak will be stood at the Dispatch Box delivering his budget telling us all that "now is the time for you all to cough up and pay back all that was given when we imposed the lockdown". That's when the real problems for families will begin in many ways.

Now that really worries me.

If that's the case, surely they should have been terrified well before this virus came into existence, as one thing in life is guaranteed and that's death and you don't know when it's going to happen and how

A very true statement but it’s completely missing the point that people don’t function in a state of conscience of their mortality 24/7. Some people manage to gain a true acceptance of death through circumstance or age but even then a lot of people never find that peace, they never feel ‘done’.

It’s not just dealing with their own mortality but the mortality of people they love. I’m not personally that worried about me but I am terrified of my partner dying and potentially being severely ill for weeks or what would happen to our daughter and the impact it would have on her life in a period that is already uncertain economically.

With regards to the OP, my own MH difficulties were triggered by a close relatives premature death and even after a couple of decades it’s the defining point in my life and I think it may always be the case. I don’t think I’m unusual and I would be cautious of declaring people are harming you specifically when there is no one getting out of this without being affected in some way.

No one wants to see more death either through covid, preventable health requirements or MH failures but there is an achievable balance in the not too distant future if we can all keep perspective. This is a few weeks out of a lifetime and then hopefully fairly small reasonable precautions to allow society to function. Losing control would lead to much bigger problems for MH statistics longer term.

No thanks OP, it’s not an irrational fear and minimising people’s anxiety and worry over their health or the health of loved ones is wrong.

Those saying they are terrific of the virus maybe be afraid of death or don’t want to risk being incapacitated on a ventilator for weeks and then left with permanent respiratory damage.

This is a pandemic incase you hadn’t realised.

Seriously?

So I should die because you can't go to the pub? I'm vulnerable and need other people to socially distance, and currently, stay in lockdown. I know it's hard, but it's only by working together that we will all pull through. We are much tougher mentally than we think.

For example if enough parents are adamant they won’t send their dc to school will they keep them shut therefore having an impact on my dcs education and the restarting of the economy because there’s no childcare.

Given this government’s capacity for listening, I’d not worry too much that they’d be swayed by public opinion. I’m in Scotland, our government have been as clear as they can be that our schools will be closed until August. That doesn’t mean there won’t be an easing of lockdown before then but my kids will be home until mid August. My own primary education was an utter shit show for one reason and another so I’m not too worried about my kids missing a term, especially given I’m infinitely more invested in their education than my parents were in mine.

I think the extremes of both sides of the discussion are ridiculous. My kids won’t suffer poor mental health because they miss school and friends - I have other reasons to worry for them but this isn’t an issue, nor is it a death sentence if I send them when schools reopen.

At the end of the day it comes down to “I’m scared I won’t get what I want”, whether that be schools opened, pubs opened or an infinite lockdown. No need to despair, just accept that the people making the decisions have a million things to balance and more information about the respective risks than your average poster on Mumsnet. And that no one is likely to be comfortable with all of the decisions made.

Ok, so it’s disgusting and we should do whatever it takes to save the 100,000. What about 90,000. 9,000. 900? Just 9? What’s the limit? Because we as a society already say certain treatments are too expensive, road safety improvement projects cost too much etc. Otherwise we’d all drive at 20mph on the motorway just to save a few road deaths. Or even not drive at all - what’s lifestyle or convenience when we can save lives?! Ban all “junk food” to save huge numbers from obesity and related illnesses. Obviously we’d never do anything gratuitously fun, like mountain biking or skiing, that could cost lives.

So if 100,000 is too many deaths, what is the limit? Or do we shut down all normal life indefinitely just to save even one person? (Which is clearly at odds with other societal decisions about allocation of resources.) And then bear the staggering costs of that for decades to come? Because for all I hear it’s hysterical to talk about social distancing “for years” that’s precisely what the experts in press conferences are saying is going to be needed. The “new normal”.

And I did say “predominately elderly”, which the deaths are. They are just as valuable as anyone else, but clearly the remaining life expectancy of someone in a care home or already 90 is going to be different to the remaining life expectancy of someone in their forties.

I'm genuinely interested to know, what is it that people are terrified of, is it dying? If that's the case, surely they should have been terrified well before this virus came into existence, as one thing in life is guaranteed and that's death and you don't know when it's going to happen and how.

I know I'm going to die someday, but take steps to increase the chance that I will have a long life first. Some of those steps involve not smoking, hardly drinking, eating fruit and vegetables, cooking from scratch, taking regular exercise.

Oh yeah, and I socially distance.

I thought most even just slightly intelligent people make healthy choices to increase their chance of a healthy life. Why on earth wouldn't you?

And I did say “predominately elderly”, which the deaths are. They are just as valuable as anyone else, but clearly the remaining life expectancy of someone in a care home or already 90 is going to be different to the remaining life expectancy of someone in their forties.

But it's not just the elderly. Plenty of vulnerable people are young. We need everyone to socially distance to hive us a fighting chance to NOT get this disease before a vaccine is found.

I think the fact that so many people will still be unwilling to go back to school/work may, paradoxically, work in favour of those who want to do so as soon as possible.

This is because if the government thinks that easing the restrictions is unlikely to result in a stampede to the tube, schools, shopping centres, workplaces etc, it may be more confident about allowing more of those shops, workplaces and schools, to open. Because it will know that any return will be in relatively small numbers, and gradual. Judging by the Opinion polls, around 70% will still be nervous. So the effect of lifting restrictions may be more limited and gradual than if everyone was raring to go.

I do think there is a case for making school attendance voluntary - though at the same time am very conscious of the not that often mentioned other very vulnerable people in our society - namely young dc in physically and emotionally abusive households, for whom school is a haven and possible source of help. Their predicament may not result in increased deaths, but increased suffering, certainly.

3% of the population have had it according to the government and thousands have died.
So you wonder why people care about covid 19?
Have you noticed what is happening OP?

Even if it was "just" the elderly, writing them off in favour of a 40 something, or someone bored with lockdown, or, yes, even an economy, is not a policy or ideology I am ever going to put my name to.
@Wehttam hello! I was thinking about you the other day, haven't seen you on the longrunning thread for a while. Hope you are well.

thought most even just slightly intelligent people make healthy choices to increase their chance of a healthy life. Why on earth wouldn't you?

Unfortunately I guess you could say I've been dealt a really shitty hand in life, where I know my life expectancy has been reduced by quite a few years.

The choice I make is to endlessly pump drugs into my body to try and have a half decent life.

Possibly a half intelligent choice, albeit not a particularly healthy one.

People should get a grip yes, looking at you OP.

It's a very serious illness with the potential to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and crash the NHS and crash the economy so , of course we are concerned , which is why I totally support the current lockdown as by far the best way to recover from the pandemic

Get a grip, it's real , and anything but the strongest action now would be disasterous all round

I think there has been some hysteria. We've been told at work (hospital) that realistically you would need to be in reasonably close contact with someone for about 15 minutes or more to contract coronavirus from them. And yet my local FB page is full of people incensed that someone walked by them in the supermarket or the street. The chances of contracting coronavirus in this way is miniscule.

And I find it disgusting how many people are willing old and disabled people to die.
OP there is a vaccine currently being tested. It will hopefully be available by the end of the year.
And people are dying of other things because of covid 19, nothing to do with lock down.

Many people keep forgetting that the vast majority will have no simptoms or mild simptoms. Many people have had the virus and didn't know it.

@KitKat1985 That may be the case. But given we keep being told new things as more research happens, I am being cautious. Because the truth is they don't really know.

yes most people are mentally robust enough to cope with lockdown. But young dc currently isolated in abusive households may suffer greatly, and have no power to change their situation. School isnt the total panacea for that, but it is a chance to be in a safe environment for part of the day, and (sometimes) a route to get further help.

I dont know how one ‘weighs’ that interest against all the other considerations.

@Lunar567 Does that mean we should not care about the many people who get very ill or even die? Read the lungs thread full of healthy people. About 30% do not need to be hospitalised but get very ill.

@fromlittleacorns Those children are already offered a place in school.