I hate this

[frozendaisy]

Oh god I hate this, just need to vent I know there are no answers that aren't already reported. But this is rubbish.

And we are a more "lucky" household if you can call this that.

Since lockdown I have two amazing, yet confused and at times sad children (11&9), I became sad and paranoid which hasn't happened in a long, long time, grandparent has operation delayed. And now close ones are being made redundant.

There's just no escape in life is there? The Mr used to have a couple of pints on Friday on way home from work, trivial perhaps, but it kept him sane, we visited people and jumped on trains and went swimming and schools had trips and playtime.

Would take a vaccine, any vaccine in a heartbeat.

Hate this.

The reality people need to get their heads around is there isn’t going to be a return to what was. There will be a new normal. It’s not going to be the same. This has fundamentally changed everything

That didn’t really happen for previous diseases though, did it? And much nastier diseases. You did get things like big societal shakeup after the Black Death, but that killed a third of everybody. This one is not in that league.

I am willing to ‘get my head around’ this being the one disease that changes everything forever, if you can explain why it will when eg smallpox, polio, TB, previous flu pandemics didn’t? It might well change how many employers allow working from home, but I don’t see how it’s going to wipe out parties and hugging.

@TheUnquestionedAnswer

"I am feeling very low too. I have a sore throat and no other symptoms, well it's only just a niggle.. have to go in tomorrow, using public transport. I am dreading it"

I'm guessing you're worried that maybe some with a sore throat will use the public transport you're on? Maybe you should rethink your trip on account of you being ill and spreading germs, even if you don't have Covid a sore throat could weaken people's immunity.

I don't think there will be a 'new normal', I think in 3-6 months time things (socially) will be back to how they were.

@Ori37

The reality people need to get their heads around is there isn’t going to be a return to what was. There will be a new normal. It’s not going to be the same. This has fundamentally changed everything, including the models of how we work, how we socialise & everything in between. It’s about adapting to a new norm, & altering our expectations of what ‘normal’ is.

That doesn’t mean you have to live a miserable existence. You just need to work out what this new world is & operate to your best advantage within it.

How do you know this? And if the future does consist of never being able to freely interact with each other ever again, then it will indeed be a miserable existence.

[quote RapidRainbow]@TheUnquestionedAnswer

"I am feeling very low too. I have a sore throat and no other symptoms, well it's only just a niggle.. have to go in tomorrow, using public transport. I am dreading it"

I'm guessing you're worried that maybe some with a sore throat will use the public transport you're on? Maybe you should rethink your trip on account of you being ill and spreading germs, even if you don't have Covid a sore throat could weaken people's immunity.[/quote]
You again.

Always worth remembering that some people's coping strategy is to impose gloom on others.

@GoldenOmber

The reality people need to get their heads around is there isn’t going to be a return to what was. There will be a new normal. It’s not going to be the same. This has fundamentally changed everything

That didn’t really happen for previous diseases though, did it? And much nastier diseases. You did get things like big societal shakeup after the Black Death, but that killed a third of everybody. This one is not in that league.

I am willing to ‘get my head around’ this being the one disease that changes everything forever, if you can explain why it will when eg smallpox, polio, TB, previous flu pandemics didn’t? It might well change how many employers allow working from home, but I don’t see how it’s going to wipe out parties and hugging.

Yes and especially when scientific and medical knowledge is so much more advanced now than it was then? Why would this be the one to change society forever, the one to dictate that human beings can never freely interact ever again?

Focus on some things you would like to do today, tomorrow, this week and then plan ahead a year.

Get everyone outside for walks, etc as much as possible - I've started taking the children out individually as our family walks were hell. Maybe get everyone to learn something new - gardening, cooking eggs, how to operate the washing machine - I know easier said then done, when feeling down / depressed.

If feeling overwhelmed then talk to your GP, they also have NHS Councillors online to help you work through feelings / put strategies together.

And finally it's OK to feel angry and totally pissed off.

Why would this be the one to change society forever, the one to dictate that human beings can never freely interact ever again?

The simple answer is it won't. I'm sure some of those milking it for all it's worth will cling to it for a while, but for most of us we'll keep moving and be back to normal fairly quickly because rationally the threat posed by covid doesn't warrant the same level of panic as it's had.

@trinity0097

A parent at school, who is at the frontline of testing etc for Covid-19 , reckons that a hope of a vaccine might be short lived as antibodies seem to wane after a couple of months in people who have had it.

Antibodies are only part of immunity. There's emerging evidence that people develop specific t-cell immunity to COVID, which not only means that short-lived antibodies aren't a big deal, but that more people than we thought may a!ready have immunity.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53248660

OP, you can go on trains as long as you wear masks, practice social distancing and avoid rush hour.
The PM has indicated that they're going to look at opening swimming pools next week, so that sounds hopeful.
Things will get back to normal bit by bit.

@ScarlettDarling

Op, we're through the worst. You've come this far and you can keep on going. Things are on the up and when your dc get back to school and see their friends regularly I'm sure they'll feel much better for it.

Trinity0097 your friend sounds like a real ray of sunshine! Immunity might not be long lasting. It isn't long lasting for flu and so people get a flu jab every year.

This isn't the new normal, it's temporary. This will pass. We've been through many epidemics/ pandemics before and things always return to normal. Covid is awful but it's not Ebola. Just hang in there

This!

What's mostly been reinforced for me since Covid 19 entered our lives is that a lot of people on social media talk a load of bum.

@Ori37 disagree this time next year people will forget I like to call this abnormal living because there is nothing about the shit normal that is good and the words new normal are just as Shite

@Ori37 disagree this time next year people will forget I like to call this abnormal living because there is nothing about the new normal that is good and the words new normal are just getting on my nerves

@peace&gin I had a breakdown last year and felt Better than this shit

@GoldenOmber

The reality people need to get their heads around is there isn’t going to be a return to what was. There will be a new normal. It’s not going to be the same. This has fundamentally changed everything

That didn’t really happen for previous diseases though, did it? And much nastier diseases. You did get things like big societal shakeup after the Black Death, but that killed a third of everybody. This one is not in that league.

I am willing to ‘get my head around’ this being the one disease that changes everything forever, if you can explain why it will when eg smallpox, polio, TB, previous flu pandemics didn’t? It might well change how many employers allow working from home, but I don’t see how it’s going to wipe out parties and hugging.

Yes this. People are prepared to live this way for a finite period but there will come a point they’d rather just take their chances with the virus than this miserable existence for eternity. Even if I was shielding I doubt I would be prepared to accept this crap as the sum total of my existence forever

Having spent a fair amount of time in Africa throughout my life, it'd take a lot more than the current situation to make me stop counting my blessings. But I appreciate that doesn't really help anyone.

It's interesting now that so many are shouting for this to end, that's its shit, when a few months ago, so many were shouting for schools to close, lockdown to go on for months and reporting people who so much as farted the wrong way.

The reality of what was wished for has finally hit home, it is shit and now that redundancies are kicking in, prepare for it to be even more shit.

Was it all really worth it?

@PhilCornwall1

It's interesting now that so many are shouting for this to end, that's its shit, when a few months ago, so many were shouting for schools to close, lockdown to go on for months and reporting people who so much as farted the wrong way.

The reality of what was wished for has finally hit home, it is shit and now that redundancies are kicking in, prepare for it to be even more shit.

Was it all really worth it?

No it hasn't been worth it, but then I don't think anyone expected it to last this long.

I didn't particularly want lockdown, I didn't want schools to close but I agreed with it as a means to protect the NHS. Anyway, it did that (though we have no idea whether the NHS would have been fine anyway and I have a niggling feeling that perhaps it would) and now why are we in it? Well they won't tell us. We don't know..

Was it all really worth it?

No

I think you’re being a little extreme, aside from job losses, there is lots more you can do right now to make your life nicer than a few months ago.

Yesterday DP and I went for a wander around the local shopping centre. It was all very calm and organised with sanitiser when you went into each shop. Then we had a lovely lunch sat outside a restaurant we’ve missed. The only thing that was different was that they gave us sanitising wipes and a track and trace form to fill out.
Then we went and sat in the beer garden at the pub in the sunshine. I loved being able to order our drinks on their website rather than having to go up to the bar. It wasn’t very busy at all and people were coming in off the street without a booking so no need to make plans ahead of time. Then a couple of friends came back to ours and we watched a film with some drinks.

We both feel a million times better for having had a fairly normal weekend not sat at home in front of the tv! I think you need to put a bit of effort in to make the most of the situation.

I am absolutely done with it all.

I have an autoimmune disease so doing a lot of the things that are now technically do-able aren't really an option unless I want to take a pretty large risk (somebody I know with the same disease I have, who was in his 30s, died from Covid a few weeks ago, which made the risk really hit home). We don't have a car and I'm wary of public transport so for the last 4 months, pretty much, my whole life has been lived within a mile and a half radius of my house. All I do is go to the same two supermarkets a couple of times a week. We live 6 miles from beautiful coastline and we used to go for walks along the beach almost every weekend - I haven't seen the sea (or anything other than the same few local streets) for months. Similarly we have a beautiful city centre which I haven't seen since March.

I actually cannot go on like this for much longer.

@Atadaddicted I really have to pick you up on your post.

I am struggling and it is mainly from seeing the impact on my y7, only child, who is missing school, her old life, and all the things she used to do. Quite opposite to what you suggest . As parents surely seeing our kids in pain is the absolute worst we can experience .

I hear you OP. I am waiting for surgery that I badly need but have no date for and no clue when I will get one. My mental health has been atrocious these past few months. It is very hard not knowing when things will ease up.

But they will. I am trying to tell myself I have to grit my teeth through the next year but there is hope. Life will absolutely get back to normal because it has after all sorts of tragedies like other pandemics and wars. There will come a point where we look back and this feels like a distant memory. A bad one but a distant one. The chances are there will be a vaccine and if not, scientists are understanding more and more of the virus with each month - including the fact more people are immune than was first thought.

It's a case of muddling through each horrible day and trying to find pleasures where we can. I know right now I sink if I spend too long indoors. Getting out and meeting up with others ideally helps a lot. I haven't been shopping or to a pub yet but I will soon. I plan on having as much fun as possible over the summer to get me through the winter months. It's all I can do.