To not understand why people are looking forward to 2021

[peasoup8]

I was chatting to a friend yesterday about how rubbish lockdown is and we were saying how crap this year has been for both of us. We talked about it for a while and then she said, 'Bring on 2021!' I've had a few other people say things like 'I can't wait until this year is over' and 'I'll be glad to see the back of 2020'.

I don't get it - do they think the virus is just magically going to disappear at midnight 31st December?

I'm extremely sorry about your house OP but you won't be alone in having drastically altered circumstances. And I am very much looking forward to 2021. The worst of all this will definitely be behind us, as the months pass more and more will be vaccinated and we will be moving towards a more normal life. Even if you have been impacted financially, there will be people you can hug again, things you can do in a more relaxed fashion - the list of positives is endless really. There are ways in which my life will never be the same again after this year because god knows I have suffered some huge losses but you have to find the small pleasures and joy which sit alongside those don't you? I plan on having as much fun as is humanly possible, but luckily for me there is a lot I enjoy that is completely free. I will be starting a new business, too, which I never expected to be starting - my sector has been utterly decimated and people are losing jobs left right and centre so I need to step away from it - but my business is going to be really stretching and interesting.

Life brings big ups and downs even without pandemics hitting. You have to adapt and find the good where you can - this isn't a dress rehearsal. There is good and bad in everything.

Roll on 2021 I say because Spring and Summer is something to look forward to even if covid is still around

But how is it something to look forward to? I can't stand wearing facemasks everywhere, especially when interacting with my DC. I hate the uncertainty, the constant start and stop, the fact that this virus has destroyed our livelihoods and now our home.

2021 will probably be better in terms of COVID but it could well be worse in terms of food, money and travel, because of Brexit.

I’m looking forward to 2075. 👍🏻

The worst of all this will definitely be behind us, as the months pass more and more will be vaccinated and we will be moving towards a more normal life.*

But I don't know how you can be so certain that this vaccine will be some miracle cure-all, @TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair. It seems like a vaccine has been in the offing for ages and then progress stalls... again. How do we know for sure that it will be the end to all this shit?

I don't understand how you know for certain that next year won't be as bad as this year. What if the vaccine doesn't work or isn't effective? The flu jab for example only reduces the risk of catching flu by 40-60% - it's certainly not anywhere near 100% effective

Have you kept up with the science? The first two vaccines that are ready to use are 90-95% effective, even in older age groups with one of them. The Oxford vaccine is expected to be similar. Flu vaccines need to be different each winter and there is a degree of trying to predict which strain will hit. This coronavirus looks more stable in that there aren't endless very different strains of it. So while repeated vaccinations might be necessary over the years, they think it's going to be possible to protect far more in the population than with the flu vaccination. Ask any scientist right now who works in this field and they will tell you the situation is overwhelmingly positive.

2021 will probably be better in terms of COVID but it could well be worse in terms of food, money and travel, because of Brexit.

One advantage of Covid is that I'm no longer worried about Brexit. I don't think the impact of Brexit will be anywhere near as bad as this sodding pandemic - it can't be.

It doesn't sound like you're read the latest news/research on this vaccine. It's worth having a proper look at.

@TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair no, I stopped listening to the news a while ago as I find it so depressing. But that does sound hopeful.

And it won't be a 'miracle cure-all.' It is one tool but something that is going to make a really big difference in combination with other things. Even if the situation is 85-90% better in a year, things will feel very different.

Even if the situation is 85-90% better in a year, things will feel very different.

Do you think we will be able to stop wearing facemasks, stop social distancing and stop queuing to go into the shops?

Ok, PLEASE go and google. Things have changed drastically quite recently. It makes more sense now as to why you feel so bleak

The news about the vaccine couldn't be much better. The trials have shown it is far more successful than they had anticipated it could be. The stock market has surged as a result and the first people are going to be having vaccines within weeks.

Definitely read up on vaccine news, it’s good. Better than many expected.

Luckily as it’s a key way out of this depressing state.

Yes - all that will stop. I can well believe there will be local outbreaks here and there in communities where not so many people have the vaccine for different reasons but yes, life is going to be more normal certainly a year from now. And even by the summer of next year it won't be like it is now.

We don't know that the vaccine will work, but the indications are very promising, but actually since March things have improved - it is now possible to get a test if you have symptoms even if you haven't been to a small village in Italy; treatments are improving so people are walking out of hospital who would have died in April, people are spending less time in hospital before they recover enough to go home, other hospital treatments are going on, and many businesses have been able to continue to operate through this lockdown.

All those are positives, even if small ones, and are likely to improve further.

I suffer with depression and anxiety, and the dark cold days of winter always make it worse. From the 22nd December onwards, I always tell myself the days are getting longer, it’s going to get better.

I think it’s like that. 2020 has been getting progressively worse - hopefully we will soon turn the corner and things will start to get better. It will take time, it won’t be even. But it will be moving in the right direction.

Yes there is a vaccine but I feel uneasy.
The Government clearly are not going to return the freedoms they have snatched away
There is going to be a legacy of soaring mental health illness, and poverty as so many have lost their jobs. Businesses have been lost
And...Brexit
Its going to be bad

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54986208

Here you go, OP - I hope it helps you feel better. No none is saying that from the 1st Jan 2021 everything will be back to normal but we are well on our way to getting through this pandemic. It's a case of hanging on in there and getting through the winter.

Of course they don't. For me I look forward to each NY because it's a step closer to spring & new growth in the garden although my garden is currently going mad, I struggle with my mood in autumn/winter & my depression is inevitably worse no matter how much exercise I do or try & focus on other things. I try not to wish my life away due to it though.

@tortoiseshell1985

Yes there is a vaccine but I feel uneasy. The Government clearly are not going to return the freedoms they have snatched away There is going to be a legacy of soaring mental health illness, and poverty as so many have lost their jobs. Businesses have been lost And...Brexit Its going to be bad

The government would prefer us to be economically active. So yes they will release as soon as they can. Pretty much why we saw spending stimulus in Summer. MPs were already reluctant for this lockdown.

Well 2021 is a whole year, they don't mean it'll all change on 1st Jan surely.

A vaccine should start rolling out and there's talk that we will be well on the way to normal by Autumn '21.

I generally find it weird when people makes comments about an entire year. It's the same year as we come up to xmas/new years.
I tend to reflect on each day/week rather than putting an entire year into 'that was shit category'.

The Government clearly are not going to return the freedoms they have snatched away

I'm sorry but that sounds like anxiety and catastrophising. The government has no power when it comes to keeping people locked up permanently. There are too many people desperate to get back to living. There isn't enough army/police to keep everyone shut away.

Yes, we are potentially facing some really difficult times but there are some sectors which are booming, jobs being created, people who want to press on and rebuild things. I am very worried about job losses and poverty but it is not all bad. Life isn't that black and white.

There isn’t just one vaccine, there’s currently 3 close to the point of distribution and two of them have had a success rate in trials of at least 90%. There’s also hundreds of other trials in progress. Plus research on cures and treatment improving. We only really need to prioritise the most vulnerable and healthcare workers for the vaccine. It’s the deaths that need to go down and better treatment for long Covid sufferers. We’ll still have Covid in our midst but it won’t mean the same levels of restrictions.

I’m reading research and science daily. That’s why I feel like at some point in 2021 from a Covid perspective it’s going to start looking up.

Have you never heard people say they are looking forward to the back of a year where they have lost a loved one or a job or a home? It doesn’t mean it suddenly doesn’t hurt at midnight on Jan 1st or that the dead rise and jobs and homes are magically returned. It just means that they are ready for a whole new year ahead of them and as fresh start sort of feeling.

It’s been a fucking horrendous year with no end in sight. It’s totally naturally to hope for the best in the next year, even if there are no guarantees. It’s part of being human. If we get dragged into to much pessimism then we just won’t survive it. This time last year I was suicidal. If you’d have told me what was going to happen this year in advance, I’d probably have went ahead and did it. Despite the fact I’m still in a lot of pain and still depressed I’m glad I didn’t. And I refuse to let anyone steal what tiny tiny spark of hope or optimism I have left. Anyone who dared would be give a very short shrift and told their negativity is the last thing I, and many of us need, right now.

@TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair

The Government clearly are not going to return the freedoms they have snatched away

I'm sorry but that sounds like anxiety and catastrophising. The government has no power when it comes to keeping people locked up permanently. There are too many people desperate to get back to living. There isn't enough army/police to keep everyone shut away.

Yes, we are potentially facing some really difficult times but there are some sectors which are booming, jobs being created, people who want to press on and rebuild things. I am very worried about job losses and poverty but it is not all bad. Life isn't that black and white.

Look at what Sturgeon has done in Scotland that's shocking

Well, I'm looking forward to next year - should I pretend otherwise because others are not?