The lack of empathy and humanity for other human beings exposed in this pandemic

[HumanFemale1]

I know I'm not the only one who noticed this but I just wanted to vent really and talk about.

A friend shared with me that they are terrified of venting about their mental health issues caused by the lockdown because every time they tried venting they were shamed and told they are selfish for caring about anything else than people dying (of covid)

Another friend called my thinking 'dangerous' when I said I think the govts approach should balance covid with all the negative aspects of lockdown such as job losses, isolation etc.

This idea that only covid matters and anyone who is negatively impacted by lockdown and restrictions just needs to suck it up is baffling.

I wanted to ask for your opinions on whether you think people in general lack empathy towards other and this pandemic just exposed it or is it something about this pandemic that brings this out in people?

It has shown some people are very bad at assessing risk, are fearful, appear to never have considered the general fragility of life, are unable or unwilling to make hard choices, can't accept we can't control everything, can't handle not everyone sharing the same opinion and like to blame someone else (TempsPerdu)

We're shielding and any sympathy for our situation has long since run out. I get the distinct impression that many people ( including people I thought were close friends) think we are just being over dramatic or awkward. (FuzzyPuffling)

Yes, Fuzzy, Temps's post demonstrates it perfectly. Anyone who feels the need to shield clearly cannot assess risks.

@alreadytaken

The deliberate minimising of developing mental illness post covid needs to stop.

At no point would I claim mental illness does not matter - I'm saying the risk of developing it post covid is being deliberately minimised. Clearly your mental health requires you to pretend it doesnt happen or that "brain fog" is somehow normal and/or unimportant.

Deliberate minimising of post covid mental illness.

I don’t have any mental health issues or illness what are you talking about.

Your stating that covid is causing mental illness as it’s a fact. It isn’t. They are still looking at a very small number of people that have experienced brain fog or brain fatigue after covid. There was a doctor on TV this morning taking specifically about it. In no way did he describe it as mental illness and contributed it to still recovering from a serious virus. Your massively over arching. And trying to cause panic by insinuating the virus can cause significant mental illness. It’s just not true.

@alreadytaken

The deliberate minimising of developing mental illness post covid needs to stop.

At no point would I claim mental illness does not matter - I'm saying the risk of developing it post covid is being deliberately minimised. Clearly your mental health requires you to pretend it doesnt happen or that "brain fog" is somehow normal and/or unimportant.

Deliberate minimising of post covid mental illness.

What mental illnesses are you talking about?

Anxiety
Depression
Bipolar
OCD
Schizophrenia
Paranoia disorders
Psychotic Disorders?

If your going to day Covid causes mental illnesses which ones are you talking about?

Have you got a specific link detailing the types of mental illnesses they are supposed to be finding?

@LauraBassi

Good point, you are right, I do need to remove myself from social media as it makes me silently simmer. Whatever side you’re on, it’s exhausting trying to pretend you feel the same as people you really disagree with. I think I’ll hide a lot of my Facebook friends till this pandemic is over

Watching an interview on BBC News channel with a partially sighted woman who has a guide dog who has been verbally abused and even physically pushed because she is unable to social distance , Guide dogs are trained in a certain way and see long queues outside as an obstacle. Outside one shop she got a lot of abuse from many people in a queue. Shes called Linda and the guide dog is Iggy. Whats the betting there is a correlation between the arseholes treating her like this and the ones who think there should be no mask exemptions

@MercyBooth

Watching an interview on BBC News channel with a partially sighted woman who has a guide dog who has been verbally abused and even physically pushed because she is unable to social distance , Guide dogs are trained in a certain way and see long queues outside as an obstacle. Outside one shop she got a lot of abuse from many people in a queue. Shes called Linda and the guide dog is Iggy. Whats the betting there is a correlation between the arseholes treating her like this and the ones who think there should be no mask exemptions

That’s really horrible, what a terrible experience that must have been for her.

@Codexdivinchi You can read the paper yourself, I'm tired of the lazy.

Some people want to spout the "lockdown is going to kill everyone because it's their mental health, innit " line - with no evidence. Faced with proof that those who have had covid are frequently diagnosed with mental illness they try to deny it. Apparently mental illness only matters when it might - with no evidence - be made worse by lockdown.

You think there is no evidence that lockdowns and restrictions are causing mental health problems? Or you want people to link to studies for you (there are plenty)? Who is being lazy?

I think the paper you linked to makes for very interesting reading and I hope that as with other short and long term effects of contracting covid it will be taken seriously and people supported as required. But saying there is no evidence for mental illness associated with lockdown is not doing your argument any favours.

www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-mental-illness/one-in-5-covid-19-patients-develop-mental-illness-within-90-days-study-idINL8N2HS4ND

post.parliament.uk/mental-health-impacts-of-covid-19-on-nhs-healthcare-staff/#share-this

Obviously there are of course issues with worsening mental health throughout the population but the previous two reports show that some is all very interelated with COVID rather than lockdown per se.

Of course it is. That’s not in doubt as far as I am concerned, I have made that clear. Nor is the impact of lockdown and restrictions on mental health, I would hope. There’s also the argument that should the virus be allowed to spread without any attempt at control measures and should this result in huge numbers of deaths then many people’s mental health would suffer hugely too. I’m not sure that we need some sort of one-upmanship about it all though. As expressed very well upthread - people are very stressed in a variety of ways depending on circumstances. Coping mechanisms and support services are unavailable or in short supply.

I only really see this polarisation in terms of “you only care about covid” and “you only care about yourself” on MN though. In RL everyone I know is or knows and loves people who are clinically vulnerable, or who are struggling with mental health, isolation, or who are working for the NHS, in schools, care homes, who have been made redundant or lost businesses and homes, who have had covid and recovered well, or still suffering, or who have sadly died; who have died of other things, or not received treatment they needed - or combinations of these various things. All worrying about different aspects of the current situation for each other and for ourselves. People have been incredibly sympathetic about my own situation, and I theirs. The accusations of selfishness on either side just don’t seem to come into it in RL.

I feel Covid has revealed a tendency towards simplistic binary thinking and partisanship, as evidenced in this entire thread. Lots of people have empathy and sympathy with all kinds of situations, but others like to put people into one of two boxes according to their beliefs and then demonise those in the opposing camp whilst only having sympathy and empathy for those in their own.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

I think people are stressed. I think people are having vastly different experiences wrt financial security, leisure, experience of covid and loss. And I think the uncertainty that swirls around this new disease makes it anxiety-inducing. The stakes are high in areas where the evidence is limited. Many people are caught up in their own worries and it’s understandable some find it hard to imagine opposite situations. But there is also an awful lot of kindness, decency and self sacrifice in evidence.

This!