Were you scared at the start? Are you still scared now?

[Lou0808]

I'm trying my absolute hardest to try and adjust to this new "normal".

But so far I'm not doing very well.

I'd love to just go shopping but the thought of having to be constantly aware of keeping a 2M distance, being mindful of touching things or wearing a mask is just not my idea of fun. 😞

We drove past our local shopping centre yesterday and was really surprised at how full the car park was.

It's gone from people panic buying back in March, people saying how bad this was and how serious it is, to now parks, supermarkets and shopping centres being packed.

Are people not as scared of this anymore?
Do they feel like it's not as serious or as much of a threat?
Or are people just accepting that they have to live their lives with this threat around and are happy to do that?

I do have anxiety and OCD and I know they play a big part in How I feel.

But why am I still stuck to my feelings back in March whilst everyone else seems to be moving on and accepting this new way of life 😞

I’m not really scared of getting the virus, and statistically I’m unlikely to get it currently if I go out and about.

However, I am scared (maybe scared is too strong a word) that society will get overly complacent and believe “it’s all over”, as that’s the surest way to ensure that it isn’t all over at all, and for us to be back a square one by autumn...

I’m not confident that Boris is a strong enough leader to guide us through this time successfully. I really hope I’m wrong.

Yes and yes. Scared to go to supermarket, I’m hyping myself to go as we speak. Have just returned to work after being signed off with stress immediately knew it was a mistake to go back, just want thing s to settle down. Hope you feel better about things 💐

No and no but I am slightly concerned that people will forget to stick to the basic precautions of keeping some form of distance, hand washing and general infection control.

her reply was 'I'm not worrying about this' you need to maybe speak to someone about your anxiety. That same person has gone full circle and won't leave the house.!

Yes, some people are very all or nothing... One guy at work was being really blasé about it in early March... completely changed his tune a week later!

I wasn't initially scared at all. Then, round about lockdown, I thought from what the government were saying that I was at risk, and I did become quite wary. I was worried for vulnerable people I know too.

Now, I am still worried for vulnerable people, but I have lost any fear for myself. I am not worried going to public places. Just frustrated more than anything.

I want things to be normal for a bit because I actually think it is going to get worse again in the autumn. I can't bear to think of being in lockdown for Christmas.

Don't be scared to go shopping, while it's slightly different to what it was of course you can pick stuff up in the supermarket, no-one is going round with a 2 metre stick, just act sensibly and follow the instructions. In my local supermarkets I've found you barely have to even queue now

I was anxious to start with - I'm A-neg (if that makes a difference?) - and we live in a country that's been badly affected. However, one can't remain, physically or mentally, at that level of anxiousness over such a long period of time, so we are just remaining prudent and wearing masks, washing hands, wiping washing and door handles etc and sticking to the rules, and trying to keep our business running. That's all we can do.

I'm looking at the summer as an opportunity to spend as much time outdoors as possible (social distancing) but have concerns about this winter and we plan on limiting social contacts then as much as possible (although our teen will still need to see friends).

What with the recession, and the negative impact of Brexit (that will be blamed on the aftermath
of Covid-19) I suspect that we may be in for a long, drawn out period of hardship and uncertainty, so best to preserve energy and try not to expend too much on worrying and take each day as it comes if at all possible.

Seriously though, can I recommend that everyone who is anxious, and has the resources to do so, adopts an animal. They live in the moment and are very calming. The only difference under lockdown being that we are bathing our dogs and steaming our floors slightly more often than usual.

I've never been scared of the virus itself.

I have been very scared about the possible effects on my own life and work, and on society and the economy in general. I'm slightly less pessimistic now than I was a month or two ago, but that goes in waves. This time tomorrow I might be feeling very gloomy again.

Wasn't scared at the start and not scared now.
I wouldn't want to pass any anxiety onto my daughter and I am also pregnant and wouldn't want to it to affect that either.

My grandad is dying from a non COVID disease, sometimes it can be forgotten that it's not all about COVID and there are other illnesses out there and death is going to happen to us all at some point anyway.

I was cautious at the start due to unknowns. Now we know more and I really can’t see the point of killing young and healthy people through maintaining lockdown. The government and media have blood on their hands.

I was very wary to begin with but life has to go on just take sensible measures Still concerned for my daughter who is type 1 diabetic but she doesn't worry as much as me
More concern for the economy but trust Rishi Sunak to do what is necessary. My DH is a Mortgage broker and have found in the past that his business level has been a pretty good reflection on the economy I thought business would drop but he has never been so busy and having to bring our staff off furlough much quicker than expected

No and no. Was genuinely never scared, even at the start.

Concerned at first, not now.

yes to scared at the start, no to scared now

I wasn't scared. A Pandemic is just one of many risks that affect us in life that we have minimal control over. So I stick to guidelines but accept that it could affect me or mine (in fact my brother appears to have the post Covid syndrome 😓). I will deal with what life brings. However, I accept that it sometimes doesn't feel real and I possibly should fear it more. I just try to remember that even for older people with underlying conditions the vast majority have mild illness or recover.

I think the problem I have, is I was scared at the start and I'm still equally as scared now.

There's nothing that I have seen / read that has helped my anxiety around the situation to decrease.

I think I was hoping that lockdown would go on for longer and that by the time we came out of it we wouldn't have to live with such extreme measures.

I love getting my hair and nails done, but the thought of doing under these new circumstances just isn't fun, and that really scares me. 😣

I was to begin with. I am not now.

I was terrified and I'm not now. Its because we know more about transmission and the numbers of cases are right down. That said I will choose my freedoms carefully. I'm ok with shopping, working (alone) and being outside. I'm not ok with pubs, cinemas and public transport.

Never scared of covid, very scared I'll be losing my job

I was extremely scared back in March. I’m still very scared for both of my parents, who are a huge part of our lives and both in very vulnerable categories. They live full and active lives but both have conditions that would put them at very high risk if they catch Covid and I am so afraid that I will lose them.

I have lost a lot of weight and so feel usually that if I, my husband or my kids caught it we would be ok - we might even have had it - but I still feel a certain level of nervousness that we could be unlucky. Healthy people can and have died of this.

I feel scared of this situation ongoing. My children desperately need to be back at school. I also need to work. I feel like I am trapped in a horrible, stifling 1950s housewife nightmare and I feel more profoundly hopeless than I would have imagined whilst my husband (key worker) goes out full time and I look after the house and children. Housework is relentless, repetitive drudgery and homeschooling is awful. I also never want to go on a fucking walk again in my whole life.

I’m scared of going out and not knowing what the new rules are and getting things wrong. Everything seems strange and unfamiliar.

I’m scared that if I do go out as things reopen that the staff hate me for putting them at risk and that I’m doing the wrong thing if I go to a restaurant when it’s possible again.

I’m scared that this terrible, incompetent government will push through their no-deal Brexit and plunge us into the worst financial crisis imaginable and then use it as an excuse to utterly obliterate the public sector and enforce austerity causing unthinkable levels of misery, suffering and death.

I’m scared that as this drags on and on with no end in sight that I will never see the point of opening my eyes in the morning and carrying on with this weird, suspended half sort of life.

I’m scared of future pandemics because no lessons will be learned.

So yes, I suppose my whole life has become full of fear.

Yes and yes.
There are things to give you hope.
At its peak, people who should have had medical attention didn't. The "rules" for hospital admission were too strict and people were going in too late for meaningful treatment.
Dexamethasone.
Better general treatment with oxygen and CPAP.
Immunosuppressants are working in clinical settings.
Age is really an important factor.
I am still very careful.

I've not been scared at all. Theres plenty in this world that can harm us everyday, this is another.

I was absolutely horrified by a particular news report from Spain (can't remember if it was just before our lockdown, or just as we went into it). Anyway, that raised my anxiety hugely, mostly for my parents who are in their 80s. I've been food shopping for myself and them throughout though, and after a couple of weeks, I was much less anxious and am not really worried at all now. Have been non-essential shopping since that was allowed (got some fabulous cushions this morning!), have a hair appointment booked for early July and am looking forward to more things opening up.

The only thing I am anxious about is DD's job - hospitality sector, and I do worry about the wider impacts on employment and health generally in the short/medium term.

Was scared at the beginning, but not for me - for my partner who is auto immune and asthmatic - and I was in school, kids were going off ill all over the place. It was super stressful.

I'm not scared now. There are other risk factors that are much worse than partner's and he wasn't told he was vulnerable by a GP. He'll get it badly if he gets it, but I feel more comfortable with what the risk means than I did in March.

I'm concerned about full school classes, can't lie. Again, not for me - for others, particularly vulnerable staff.

I was terrified at the beginning; more for my elderly father than for me, health wise, but the anxiety of trying to get shopping delivered and not being able to see people sent me into a couple of full blown panic attacks. Now, I feel more anxious about things getting back to normal! I’m still worried about my dad’s health, but I’m more worried about what the effects of isolation for 13 weeks have done to his mental health to be honest. He’s now scared to leave the house and is talking about giving up his car and more and more about what will happen when he dies. It’s horrible :(