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Original poster

End of the World

50 replies

Jenasaurus · 28/07/2020 21:50

Did anyone think when this virus first made the news and seeing the media reporting on China and then realising it was en route to the UK and everywhere else, that it may be the begining of the end.

I was talking to my DS today and he asked me if I thought those poor people who were terminally unwell had thoughts, this is it, the world is ending, it seemed so scary in the first few weeks.

I now feel more calm and positive about it but in those first few weeks I was quite scared. I think this was compounded by my DDs 21 year old friend sadly passing away from it and a couple of other good friends at work dying of it (I work for NHS so a lot caught it but only 2 sadly succumbed to it)

Just wondering if anyone else will admit to thinking in the beginning, "Is this how it all ends"

OP posts:

ACautionaryTale · 28/07/2020 22:03

Nope. I thought then and I'm even more convinced now this is a social media driven over reaction fed by the mainstream media

SkinSkin · 28/07/2020 22:07

I expect they thought that with the bubonic plague and Spanish flu? But no, it didn't need then and it's not going to end now either.

TheWorstShed · 28/07/2020 22:13

Yes, I did, but I have very overactive imagination and mild anxiety / depression so I think that about everything anyway. Sigh I was actually ok though because I am better at dealing with a problem once it has arrived rather than being theoretical.

But it was a weird disconnect - like suddenly being at the start of a disaster movie.

AlohaMolly · 28/07/2020 22:14

I don’t think it’s The End as in the human race will be wiped out... I do think it’s the end of an era. I think things won’t ever quite be the same again!

Discobar · 28/07/2020 22:14

A meteor is more likely the final end. If you were already diagnosed as terminly ill, hadn't the end already come?

vera99 · 28/07/2020 22:18

lokanta.github.io/2019/01/31/buddhist-guide/

Even in a broken world, virtuous action is always blameless. As such, keeping up our ethical conduct will be a source of protection for us as well as others, and we will experience a sense of peace and tranquility as a result of our good actions. Even if it seems that all hope is lost, we can still perform meritorious actions (puññakiriya), such as practicing kindness to others through our virtuous conduct. We can still be generous, sharing what we have with others, and even—perhaps—continue developing our minds through meditation or contemplating the Dhamma. These kinds of actions are sure to bring good results for us now or in the future.

So, as the Buddha asked King Pasenadi; what would you do if the world were ending? And would that be so different from how you are living now, faced with old age, sickness and death?

Original poster

Jenasaurus · 28/07/2020 22:19

@TheWorstShed

But it was a weird disconnect - like suddenly being at the start of a disaster movie.

I agree with this TheWorstShed It was so similar to Contagion and other disaster movies and in the beginning the images in the press from China and the Doctors trying to speak out about it and then themselves dying from it, made my imagination go into overdrive.

OP posts:

Original poster

Jenasaurus · 28/07/2020 22:21

@Discobar

A meteor is more likely the final end. If you were already diagnosed as terminly ill, hadn't the end already come?

Sorry that may have been unclear, I meant those that were dying of Covid, there final thoughts.

OP posts:

BBCONEANDTWO · 28/07/2020 22:21

@ACautionaryTale

Nope. I thought then and I'm even more convinced now this is a social media driven over reaction fed by the mainstream media

TOTALLY - I was thinking that everyone was going to catch it and that we'd have no running water and electric. I did calm down but it was scary at first. It could quite easily have happened though. We needed all the key workers to keep the country going.

OpheliasCrayon · 28/07/2020 22:24

No, it's not the end of the world

grandmasterstitch · 28/07/2020 22:27

I'm more concerned about plastic pollution and climate change, even more so now people are throwing disposable gloves and masks on the floor. It feels like coronavirus is a catalyst for this. As a society we were just starting to change our thinking and behaviour and now it all disposable everything. So no, Covid 19 didn't spell the end of the world for me (as scary and tragic as it was) but I do worry about the long term effects

Thirtyrock39 · 28/07/2020 22:28

The week before lockdown was genuinely the scariest week of my life- I went from laughing about it and I'll admit to almost being quite excited by the drama of it all on the Saturday to being a nervous wreck unable to sleep or eat by the Friday before lockdown.
For me it was the news in Italy, empty supermarkets, schools closing and just information overload and so much change.
All my normal coping strategies such as 'what's the worst case scenario?' Just made me catastrophise more. I remember thinking this must have been how it felt in the blitz.
By the following week I was much calmer and resilient - largely through turning off social media and focusing on the silver linings, but it was an awful few days.
I do cynically wonder if the media and govt were deliberately channeling fear as it's what got everyone I think to stick to the lockdown (by and large) . Not saying I don't agree with lockdown but fear definitely made many of us very compliant.

AlrightTreacle · 28/07/2020 22:29

Did I think it was literally the end of the world? No.

I did however think there was a real risk of either myself or a loved one dying to start with, which from a self centred point of view would literally be the end of my world if it had been me or my partner who were unlucky. The anxiety I had in March - June was awful and not knowing when it would end made it worse.

I also work in the NHS and sadly 5 of the staff at my hospital have died from covid, 3 of my colleagues have also lost a parent, and one of my friends colleagues who was the same age as me (mid 30s) died from it. One colleague in their 40s ended up having a short hospital stay (ward based), another's husband also in their 40s was in ICU for nearly 6 weeks, and another colleagues brother (30s) was also in ICU for a week, but all are thankfully back home now.

It's been terrifying seeing people who I care about get ill and lose their loved ones. But my anxiety has also eased significantly recently, it's like I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel now (or I've just run out of worry). Think I've accepted that this is what life will be like for the next year or so, but that it won't be forever.

hamstersarse · 28/07/2020 22:32

It was made clear from the very beginning that this was a mild disease for at least 80% of the population

I can’t imagine why that could ever have been taken as being the end of the world....but here we are...still living in some form of mass hysteria

AlrightTreacle · 28/07/2020 22:32

Also @grandmasterstitch makes a good point, I'm more aware that humans are basically destroying the planet.

Boredsilly · 28/07/2020 22:39

I was scared and I think totally overreacted, I was glued to the news and reading stuff online which definitely made me worse. All the panic buying, Boris on TV announcing everything was closing inc schools just felt very very scary. I'm ok now calmed down a lot and manage to look at things rationally thank god!

Derbygerbil · 28/07/2020 22:55

History is full of things that have been far more apocalyptic than this. Black Death, WWI, WWII, not to mention all the genocides, famines and floods that killed million upon millions, and literally must have felt like the world ending if caught up in them.

FluffyKittensinabasket · 28/07/2020 22:58

Have I missed something? Why is the world ending?

PuzzledObserver · 28/07/2020 23:03

I was the opposite - when the first reports came from China, I assumed it would be a small thing, never thought it would reach here.

And now - well it’s clearly not going to kill us all, but it is going to do a lot of damage over and above the lives lost and people left with permanent damage.

Legoandloldolls · 28/07/2020 23:06

I was shit scared back in January. But didn't think it was end of days. I am a biology grad so expected a really bad pandemic one day ( just not in my life time thank you 😂).

I'm still scared but looking on worldometres this isn't even denting the human race explosion. Twitter pictures of people dropping dead a over the streets hasn't happened so I do feel calmer with the reality that you dont just fall down dead without warning.

I am still worried but its impossible to live long term terrified so I am getting out and about and fingers crossed for the best.

RhubarbTea · 28/07/2020 23:07

I felt very frightened at the start of lockdown and actually for a while nefore that - I started worring in early Feb as I couldn't see how it wouldn't affect us if it was having that impact in China, and yes I felt very scared.

It did feel like the end of the 'Old World' - but to me, that hasn't changed. My fear levels have dropped as acceptance has moved in, but the fear has been replaced with a tremendous sadness at the loss of what we had. It won't ever be like that again I think. Even if everything finished tomorrow and Covid was gone, we are forever changed by the experience of going through that, the stress, the constant exhortation to social distance, and some of that has got to stick. To say nothing of health workers who have been traumatised, and people who have lost someone very dear to them, in some cases long before their time.

I feel scared of the ripple effect this will have on the global economy and what changes that will bring. I'm no longer glued to Sky news with my heart hammering but I still feel extremely apprehensive, and just cannot feel blase about this, no matter how much I'd like to.

RaininSummer · 28/07/2020 23:17

I never thought it was the end of the world but I was, and still am, concerned about my outcomes for my family members especially parents when we eventually catch it as that seems inevitable especially now we are having to get back out there for school and work. Hopefully our oldies won't get it but mum hasn't been out for four months now and we haven't been in. That can't really go on forever.

FunnysInLaJardin · 28/07/2020 23:17

Yes OP, when it all started all my thoughts lead to the end of civilisation. It was horrifying and very depressing.

Thankfully it didn't come to that, but it was very real for a while.

And I have never suffered from anxiety or depression!

SengaStrawberry · 28/07/2020 23:19

@Thirtyrock39

The week before lockdown was genuinely the scariest week of my life- I went from laughing about it and I'll admit to almost being quite excited by the drama of it all on the Saturday to being a nervous wreck unable to sleep or eat by the Friday before lockdown. For me it was the news in Italy, empty supermarkets, schools closing and just information overload and so much change. All my normal coping strategies such as 'what's the worst case scenario?' Just made me catastrophise more. I remember thinking this must have been how it felt in the blitz. By the following week I was much calmer and resilient - largely through turning off social media and focusing on the silver linings, but it was an awful few days. I do cynically wonder if the media and govt were deliberately channeling fear as it's what got everyone I think to stick to the lockdown (by and large) . Not saying I don't agree with lockdown but fear definitely made many of us very compliant.

This

Northernsoullover · 28/07/2020 23:27

Looking back, I completely lost the plot. I was not just a shopping wiper, I'd queue at the supermarket to shop first thing (because you know, less germs at the beginning of the day). Upon returning home I'd strip everything off and shower. Fruit and veg were quarantined. It wasn't just that it was the dark thoughts about leaving my children without a mum and worrying about who would look after them. I lost a strone in weight and ended up with terrible stomach pains. I had to get some antidepressants from the GP.
I'm ok now, I think I would still shit myself inside out if I caught it through fear of how it will go. Hopefully mild but you just don't know. The day to day fear has gone for me now. I've still no intention of going to a pub or restaurant though.

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