Is anyone else still living in strict lockdown?

[laura081008]

Just that really.

Since March I’ve lived in lockdown.

My baby was born in lockdown and we haven’t seen anyone.

Even now the restrictions are relaxing, I don’t want to leave the house.

I’ve had friends asking me to go for a socially distanced walk, I don’t want to go.
Our parents have asked if they can come to our garden, or we go to theirs. I’ve said no.

I suffer terribly with anxiety and ocd and I just cannot face the world again after living in fear :(

It’s just too hard for me.

I can’t imagine going out to a clothes shop / supermarket and feeling comfortable.

My OCD means I doubt myself a lot and I know I would worry that I’d touched something, or forgotten to wash my hands.
It’s just not worth my mental health and the worries it would cause me by getting back into the “real” world, especially since it’s so far away from what I will remember before DS was born.

I feel like my life now will be confined to my living room and garden.

I’m being supported with my mental health but I really don’t think it will ever truly help, as my worries are the virus and until that goes away I will never want to leave my house.

I’m absolutely petrified of catching it and leaving my baby 😔

When will it ever go away.

How does everyone else feel?

We are.

Me, Dh, 6 year old and 17 year old.

I’m 28 weeks pregnant, I’ve only left the house to go to hospital appointments, I have a private midwife who comes here. Two weekly click and collect shops. No one is fussed about going for walks and luckily we have a big garden.

FIL occasionally will drop something at the door for the children and have a 2m distance chat with Dh but that’s it.

No plans on changing anything anytime soon, we are all happy.

Click and collect every two weeks I mean, not two a week!

Yes but mainly becuase I can't see the point of going anywhere. I would rather shop online anyway and my fruends and family all live over 100 miles away. Everything I want to do is still off limits.

You definitely aren't the only ones. People keep posting on our local FB group asking what it's like 'out there'. I've only been to the shops twice - for meds and to drop off some returns. Planning on staying in for the next few weeks at least.

Mainly, yes. But for two socially distanced visits in my parents and in laws gardens.

No visiting shops, barely any outside exercise. Everything we get is delivered and we WFH and havent send DD back to nursery despite it being open.

If we can cope without all these things, why not?

Christ almighty, what has happened to us all. The government's messages have terrified people into withdrawing from the world.

We cannot go on like this, clearly. All our children are going to suffer.

@AnyFucker

Christ almighty, what has happened to us all. The government's messages have terrified people into withdrawing from the world.

We cannot go on like this, clearly. All our children are going to suffer.

100% agree. The government need to take responsibility for the fact that they’ve basically terrified a nation into staying in their homes (they have admitted that they used ‘personal fear’ as a tactic to make sure people complied with their measures) and take some steps to reverse it. Otherwise we become a nation of paranoid, frightened citizens who live a half life in their homes.

Even the shielded are advised we can go out for some exercise now, as long as we can do so with good social distancing.

The last thing the country and the NHS needs is for us to go all reckless and have over 2million of us catching it in short order!

It’s much more the case now if whether you believe your neighbours and those who come in to your neighbourhood are going to respect the 2m. There are so many people (perhaps just keyboard warriors) saying it’s all bollocks, that the shielded are concerned about whether going out is a fair risk, and it’s unsurprising that the vulnerable are continuing to risk assess assiduously.

It was easier in lockdown, when you could be more reliant on everyone (or nigh on everyone) keeping their distance

It's nothing to do with the government's propaganda - we watched the situation unfold in China and Italy and pulled DD out of nursery back when they were saying the only precaution anyone needed to take was washing their hands.

It's because thousands of young, healthy people have died of this and it's not clear why. It's because surviving it can still leave you with organ damage. It's because it took months for consequences like that and PIMS-TS to emerge, so who knows what other consequences we haven't discovered yet? It's because it's very clear that people's safety is not the government's priority.

You make your own judgements about the risks and I'll make mine.

@Powerslidepanda I did the same with my children when I saw that things were starting to happen in Italy. People thought we were bonkers and that it would never come to the U.K.

I've only been on walks as I'm shielding.

I've just heard I won't be paid from my part time job from next week as not earning enough to qualify for any support.

It's totally legal but it feels odd that you can be penalised for following advice but I suppose it's the same as everyone else who has taken a pay cut over all this.

My dog loves lockdown though. Lots of company and walks.

We're a sensible medium I think (all young and healthy). We go to the supermarket and for walks/to the park and since we've been allowed we go to my mums garden to play. But we haven't sent DS back to nursery as I didn't want to pass extra risk on to my parents (and DS missed them a lot more than he missed nursery) plus I thought he'd find the social distance drop off upsetting.

We have relaxed a tiny bit as my best friend met me in the park recently, but otherwise we have had all our shopping delivered and only gone out as a family for a walk/bike ride near home.
This will have to change soon though as my DH's business will reopen in July if the government sticks to it's current plans.

My parents however, are still on strict lockdown, mainly because of my dad's health conditions, he is in the shielding group. My mum speaks to a neighbour from the end of the driveway every other week when the neighbour drops off some groceries. But my dad hasn't seen a soul IRL apart from my mum.

@AnyFucker I felt that your comment: 'All our children are going to suffer' was a little unfeeling. Those of us who are either shielding or have family members who are shielding can't just get back out there and carry on as though there is no risk, and neither can our children. That has nothing to do with government scaremongering. It's hard enough to cope with as it is without being made to feel as though our children will be irrevocably damaged by staying at home.
OP, as people have said here, taking small steps to be outside more would be a good starting point. But please don't be too hard on yourself - you have a new baby and lots to cope with. There is no need to force yourself to go to a shop if you don't want or need to, but maybe a walk in the park - or even 5 minutes out of the car when you go for a drive - might help make it all feel less scary.

It’s just so hard how divided we all seem to be.
Some of us see a much greater risk than other’s.

It’s hard living in fear, I know my OCD plays a part in this.

When I say mild asthma.
I still use a low dose preventer.

I sometimes feel like it’s a death sentence knowing Covid is out there 😞

@PowerslidePanda - your information is incorrect. As at the middle of May (UK peak of the virus) only 401 people under the age of 45 in the UK had died of the virus, the majority of whom had underlying health conditions.

I'm shielding and have been out to the doctor and once, to the beach
Maybe that could work OP? I went on a hot day but about 6pm, barely anyone there, was lovely to have a walk and didn't have to touch anything

your information is incorrect. As at the middle of May (UK peak of the virus) only 401 people under the age of 45 in the UK had died of the virus, the majority of whom had underlying health conditions.

"Underlying conditions" is meaningless. A hearing impediment is an underlying condition. So is eczema. So is PCOS. But as of 20 April, 1852 people had died who were young enough and fit enough to have been working at the time of their death (plus there were another 642 deaths in that age group for whom occupation data is unavailable - not known how many of those were also in employment).

Any death is awful but the number of working age people who have died of COVID is incredibly low.

@AnyFucker Absolutely agree.

Honestly, you need to stop worrying and start living your life! I work in the NHS so have been going to work as normal this whole time - when it first started several people at work had a bug which didn’t fit the criteria for COVID-19 at the time. They all stayed at work and worked through it, and have all now tested positive for antibodies, which suggests that they had COVID. However, 80% of the surgery didn’t get ill & didn’t test positive for antibodies, despite sharing offices, a kitchen, staff room and toilet facilities. Therefore I imagine you are very unlikely to catch it from a walk outside!

This thread is incredibly worrying.

People who are terrified of the outside world need to be getting counseling and help. It needs to be seen as a problem.

I am especially worried that one poster has already said that she does not know if she will be able to bring herself to take her baby to get vaccinated.

Well said pinkpip100

I think the discounting the shielding community, especially shielding children, is disgraceful

Ditto the vulnerable who also need to continued with diligent precautions

Re: All our children are going to suffer; I have a friend who is shielding and her son is having to shield with her. Yes, her son is going to suffer because it isn't mentally or physically healthy for a 12yo to spend so much time indoors and on screens and have no normal interaction with peers.

That does not mean that she shouldn't do it. I understand why she is doing it and I support her.

But yes, being honest, it isn't good for kids.

It's a necessary evil in my friend's case. If someone does NOT have really strong actual medical reasons why they HAVE to shield, they shouldn't be doing this. I mean that without judgment. People who are frightened to death need counseling and help.

This thread is incredibly worrying.

People who are terrified of the outside world need to be getting counseling and help. It needs to be seen as a problem.

I am especially worried that one poster has already said that she does not know if she will be able to bring herself to take her baby to get vaccinated

I already have a history of anxiety and OCD.

My baby hasn’t missed vaccinations. I wouldn’t miss those.

It’s the that aren’t essential that I’m
struggling with. Social distancing walks, sitting in families gardens. Etc...