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Original poster

How long can they expect us to live like this for?

220 replies

WithLotsOfSprinkles0 · 30/12/2020 21:15

Can someone please give me some positivity or any ideas of when we can regain some normality?

Mental health, domestic abuse and suicidal rates are all rising more than ever, children losing out education, people losing jobs, economy crashing ...the collateral damage is far worse.

We have a 1 in a million chance of dying from Covid yet we are living like this, a virus with a survival rate over 99% and were living like this.

Not saying we shouldn't take precautions, such as distancing, washing hands, window visits for elderly and vulnerable etc..but for us to live like this for something that has such a small chance at killing us, is just stupid beyond words.

Is there any chance all this can stop by April? Lighter restrictions? My mental health is suffering and I honestly cant take this anymore

OP posts:
bunny85 · 30/12/2020 23:46

So sorry my phone is playing up!

@queenofknives absolutely agree!!!

VenusTiger · 30/12/2020 23:52

@GravityFalls what do you mean by of ???? do you mean 'from' - even then, it's 'WITH'. Look at the data.
Our poor children.

VenusTiger · 30/12/2020 23:56

@Flippingnightmare thank god for your post!!!!! I was literally about to give up totally on MN altogether - it was becoming very hostile. People must switch off the news (what does a politician or presenter know) and read the bloody science! listening to Michie, a psychologist (SAGE) ffs! is NOT the right thing to do if you're anxious.
Get some perspective. Shield (like you would in any SARs or respiratory season) and stop shaming children for trying to live their lives.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 30/12/2020 23:58

3. Great that there are vaccines, but their sole purpose is to prevent serious illness. Not transmission. And with astrazeneca the efficacy is 65%, so it's very damaging and horrifying that people keep thinking that once vaccinated you can go back to "normal," ditch masks, sd.
There is no evidence that any vaccine limits transmission

So what's the point of vaccines if we still have to wear masks and social distance? And if we still have to sd when the fuck do I get my life back? When can I hug my friends? When can I see my friends properly, without having to keep 2m away from them inside our homes? When can I travel by train to my birthplace to hug my brother to properly support him after the sudden death of our dad a few weeks ago? When can I go to the theatre? Concerts?

LaurieFairyCake · 31/12/2020 00:14

You still have to wear them until EVERYONE that needs it is vaccinated - to protect THEM

So about 18 months ? - but there will be a tipping point before then

ArcheryAnnie · 31/12/2020 00:21

I completely understand people feeling at the end of their tethers, and wanting this to end, and throwing around death statistics, but...

It's not just the (incredibly high) death rate, is it? I got covid in late March. I was previously active and working. I have had, to date, four months bedbound, some weeks when I thought I was improving, some weeks when I really thought I was getting better, then several months of so much constant, screaming pain I wanted to die. I am now on more medication than you can shake a stick at, and still I am in too much pain to manage more than 3 and a half hours continuous sleep at any one point.

Imagine a condition where you have chronic fatigue, but where nerve pain means that it's more painful to lie down than it is to stand up. Welcome to Long Covid!

Death rates aren't the only things you need to look at.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 31/12/2020 00:47

@LaurieFairyCake

You still have to wear them until EVERYONE that needs it is vaccinated - to protect THEM

So about 18 months ? - but there will be a tipping point before then

It's not masks I'm worried about - am happy to wear one for as long as needed. It's social distancing. The only reason I have seen any of my family this year is because my dad died and some of us went to his funeral. I've barely seen any of my friends. I really miss the people I love. I have my DP as my support bubble, but I miss everyone else.
JustSaying101 · 31/12/2020 00:56

@JaceLancs I couldn't scroll past your post without commenting - I am so sorry to hear about your situation, it sounds incredibly stressful, particularly at this uncertain time. Would urge you (and anyone else) to contact your GP about any Mental Health concerns. Many services are still available as well as Mind, Samaritans, etc. This year has taken a huge toll on many people with pre-existing MH issues, as well as creating completely new MH issues in people. It has been hard for many to have normality, freedoms and vital health services removed, as well as family/financial pressures all at the same time. Winter is also such a tough season for many, without all of this on top of everything.

Personally, I am hoping in the next couple of weeks, vaccine's will have been administered to those that need them urgently and the gvt release some form of exit strategy for March/April onwards. Spring will be here in about 60 days, it will come round quickly. Try and take each day as it comes, rest and take care of yourself despite everything going on around you. Wishing you all the best.

eaglejulesk · 31/12/2020 01:54

@TheSunIsStillShining - I totally agree with you. So many people bleating on about anxiety and mh issues when they are actually talking about things we all have to deal with, and most of us do so without any fuss. I feel for those who actually do have issues as they are lumped in with these others, and as you said they could miss out on the help they really need while resources are taken by those who just need to accept that life is not always rosy and deal with it.

Also, while I feel terribly sorry for anyone who has lost their job due to covid, some of us were already unemployed and struggling, and now have been pushed to the back of the job queue.

Coyoacan · 31/12/2020 02:33

We've got to buck up and get through this, one foot in front of the other.

Obviously not everyone will be vaccinated by the Spring but there won't be so much pressure on the hospitals by then and life will be starting to get back to normal.

It is hard, but the worst is behind us.

MercyBooth · 31/12/2020 03:00

SAGE had plenty to say about the risk of households mixing at Christmas Kept on about it for weeks. Full on guilt tripping and emotional blackmail. Ditto Independent Sage.

But not one word. NOT ONE about the huge health hazard when the lorry drivers were stuck in Kent with no toilets and no way of washing + the risk of a Covid spike so a double whammy. But not one word NOT ONE about something that was ACTUALLY happening at the time V. households that may or may not mix. Told me all i needed to know.

Jourdain11 · 31/12/2020 06:36

I honestly don't think that there's anything odd about admitting that you're struggling with this.

It's very unnatural for people to be so isolated. Think of single parents and adults who live alone! They literally can't meet with another person indoors by law, unless they have a "support bubble". Mosy people I know in this situation have a few mini bubbles. Why? Because it's just unbearable. That's why solitary confinement is used as a punishment.

1 persons right to be protected doesn't trump another's right to a meaningful life. Saying "do gratitude and look at the flowers" don't really cut it.

It will end, because there is no appetite for it to continue indefinitely and it is furthermore impossible to do so. People have short memories. When normality begins to resume, they'll suddenly find that they're able to do things they didn't imagine they'd feel comfortable doing.

Rafflesway · 31/12/2020 07:03

[quote devildeepbluesea]@pollylocketpickedapocket ex-fucking-actly.

As of August, 300,000 fewer referals for suspected cancer. Who fucking knew?! Covid is the cancer cure we've all been waiting for. Or not.

I am. So. Fucking. Angry. Even more so because I respect others' fears and keep my distance but fuck fuck FUCK!! How fucking DARE we prioritise one life threatening illness over another?[/quote]
This!

inquietant · 31/12/2020 07:07

@MercyBooth

SAGE had plenty to say about the risk of households mixing at Christmas Kept on about it for weeks. Full on guilt tripping and emotional blackmail. Ditto Independent Sage.

But not one word. NOT ONE about the huge health hazard when the lorry drivers were stuck in Kent with no toilets and no way of washing + the risk of a Covid spike so a double whammy. But not one word NOT ONE about something that was ACTUALLY happening at the time V. households that may or may not mix. Told me all i needed to know.

The two things are not comparable in any way, Christmas mixing was a) about tens of millions of households, b) directly involved many millions of people above retirement age and c) was about regular British society.

What happened with the lorries and Dover was not the sort of thing SAGE is responsible for.

I don't understand your point at all.

Emeeno1 · 31/12/2020 07:38

Sometimes having a long term mental health illness can actually help in these situations as you are long-suffering.

I've had OCD for 24 years, often my inner life is pretty close to what could be described as hell. When you have wanted to be dead but been unable to die for so many years you develop patience, acceptance. My eventual, natural, death will be a balm to a troubled mind.

It is my experience that suffering is often productive and we should not always eschew it. Held in the fire we are often refined.

Original poster
WithLotsOfSprinkles0 · 31/12/2020 09:42

@GravityFalls

It isn’t a one in a million chance of dying of COVID though - in the most blunt way of expressing it, 1 in 1000 people in this country have died of covid this year.
No 1 in 1000 of us have had Covid in our systems when people have died of other natural causes.

I could get ran over by a car and die, and if I'm positive for Covid, it goes in the Covid death statistics.

I know too many people who have tests done and came back different result within a few days.

Were relying on unreliable tests and statistics that our government are throwing at us to justify these restrictions

OP posts:
Porcupineintherough · 31/12/2020 09:50

Oh another poster with a minimal grasp of maths and less of science "proving" that the whole world has got it wrong. Someone call WHO...Hmm

BonnieDundee · 31/12/2020 11:00

It is my experience that suffering is often productive and we should not always eschew it. Held in the fire we are often refined.

Shock
Foreveraintenough · 31/12/2020 11:55

@WithLotsOfSprinkles0 I could get ran over by a car and die, and if I'm positive for Covid, it goes in the Covid death statistics.

Ah ok, sorry op. I thought you genuinely were struggling and offered advice on the basis of this. I didn’t realise this was another one of those pretend to be anxious about covid but really want to rant about how it’s a conspiracy.

Useruseruserusee · 31/12/2020 11:59

It’s not about deaths. I’m in a hotspot and we have a major incident at all three of our local hospitals. Treatment at A&E is not guaranteed. I have a child who quite frequently needs hospital treatment due to an unrelated medical condition, so this is extremely scary. We can’t treat anything at all if Covid rates increase.

However I heard on BBC news yesterday that with the Oxford vaccine, the majority of the vulnerable could be vaccinated by the end of Feb. Then hospitalisation rates should start to fall and things look brighter.

Xerochrysum · 31/12/2020 12:04

Yesterday's thread has shown nearly 90% of people has broken rules since the start, so, it's to be expected this is lasting so long, tbh.

JS87 · 31/12/2020 12:27

[quote Foreveraintenough]**@WithLotsOfSprinkles0* I could get ran over by a car and die, and if I'm positive for Covid, it goes in the Covid death statistics.*

Ah ok, sorry op. I thought you genuinely were struggling and offered advice on the basis of this. I didn’t realise this was another one of those pretend to be anxious about covid but really want to rant about how it’s a conspiracy.[/quote]
Let’s be honest. How many people are going to be run over and die within 28 days of a covid positive test? Not many. The number of people who die of something else within 28 days of a positive test is probably far less than the number of people who die of covid after 28 days so it balances out anyway.

Littlewhitedove2 · 31/12/2020 12:28

@Comefromaway this is nearly my exact situation - so sad

JS87 · 31/12/2020 12:29

Pcr is not unreliable. I don’t know why people keep saying it is. A false negative is if you don’t have enough virus in the swab and when they talk about false positives they mean people still testing positive from an infection which was no longer current but there is still remnants of dead virus.

SillyUnMurphy · 31/12/2020 12:37

I’m sorry but I can’t give you any positivity. Today I honestly feel the lowest I probably have in my entire life. My 8 and 6 year old aren’t allowed to go back to school on Monday, meaning I will now have to try and negotiate my way through home learning, for God knows how long, once again - which almost broke me last time. I have to somehow also keep up with my own demanding job. Me and DH and the two children all living, working and resting in a small house. No respite. Can’t see my own parents. MIL on and on at me about how “we have to help the NHS because it’s on its knees.” At this point, I couldn’t give a fuck about the NHS. I care about my children being lumbered with an inadequate education and being unable to pay my mortgage; the NHS is secondary to that for me.