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Original poster

To think that not everyone is scared

425 replies

loveisagirlnameddaisy · 03/01/2021 18:19

Of catching Covid....?

I'm sure I'll be flamed to within an inch of my life but never mind. And yes, this thread may have been done to death before but hey ho.

Having read countless threads today about schools closing/not closing and cases rocketing/going down, can I get a sense check of who is terrified about catching Covid (and why) and who is not?

For balance, I also read a thread the other day from a person who is clinically vulnerable and whose DH had just tested positive and she was terrified. Almost the entire thread was filled by other clinically vulnerable people who had had Covid and told her not to worry.

So, while we can all agree that yes, this is a novel virus and yes, people will die because that happens with any virus, is this the virus which we should all be terrified of?

OP posts:
smallandimperfectlyformed · 03/01/2021 19:22

@Knittinglikemad I am so sorry for your loss. @Wardrobes123 I have been vaguely following your thread and I am sorry that your husband is so unwell, I hope he makes a full recovery.
I personally am not particularly scared of catching the virus myself but I do understand that it is much scarier to those who are considered particularly vulnerable or who care for others who are.

delilahbucket · 03/01/2021 19:22

I'm not scared of catching it other than having to isolate and not be able to work when I am self employed and can't just stop working. That worries me far more than being ill. I'm fit and healthy, so is dp and ds but I am still taking precautions to not catch it.
On the other hand, what concerns me more is being asymptomatic and passing it onto either of my parents, one who is 72 and one who is diabetic and obese. So I am doing outdoor meets only. Easy enough with my dad, he likes to walk. My mum cannot walk, so I stand outside her house while she stands in the doorway.
I've known lots of people have it. Most mild, a couple asymptomatic, a few it completely floored for a week and one seriously ill and I have no idea how she didn't end up in hospital.

Jimdandy · 03/01/2021 19:22

I’m not terrified, but I’m quite relaxed/balanced about stuff like this.

I’m not worried about catching COVID at all, I believe in me it would more than likely be a mild illness. I worry about passing it on, but I have to go to work and food shop so there’s not much more I could do than what I’m supposed too (self isolate etc).

I’m no more worried than I am about a car crash, terrorist attack, getting cancer etc

Petitmum · 03/01/2021 19:23

I'm not scared of having it myself but I am concerned about passing it on to others. For most people, it is a mild illness BUT those who need hospital care are overwhelming my local hospital (south wales). I'm scared of me or my family needing urgent care and the hospital being unable to provide it..............the wait for an ambulance around here is dangerously long and they are queued up for hours outside the hospital.

MumOfPsuedoAdult · 03/01/2021 19:23

I know it's a bit of a lottery (ie who might have it bad / get long Covid) but I'm more scared about life not returning to some sort of normality this year than I am of catching Covid (which I see as an inevitability).

Heatherjayne1972 · 03/01/2021 19:23

No I’m not afraid of the virus
I work with the general public and I’m in the vulnerable group
If I get it then I get it
I just can’t get worried about a virus that 99% of people will survive

I am worried about the wider economic effects and how this will affect my children in the future

Chicchicchicchiclana · 03/01/2021 19:23

@Nousernamesleftatall

No not scared at all. When the dust finally settles we will see that this was a huge over reaction fuelled by a hysterical media, dodgy test and usual winter hospital bed problems. Death rates in all western countries (whether they locked down or not) for 2020 are normal.
But this just isn't true is it? Why are you posting rubbish?
gwenneh · 03/01/2021 19:23

A friend of mine who was not otherwise clinically vulnerable was on a ventilator for 71 days and lost a leg. He’s in his 20’s and was just married before he got ill.

The majority of people being “fine” is not reassuring when faced with the people who have had their lives changed or ended. Many of them didn’t know they were “clinically vulnerable” until after the fact.

I do not want to catch this virus and if that means I’m “terrified” then fine.

MagicSummer · 03/01/2021 19:24

I am over 65 and am petrified of catching it. I know I would not have a good outcome as I panic about health issues and have health anxiety. I am just staying at home until I can get my jab.

DailyCandy · 03/01/2021 19:24

But people who are conscious of the risks and want to avoid catching covid aren't necessarily 'scared'. I'm not frightened, but I'd rather not have covid.

There's no black white distinction between fearful/fearless here.

PhoenixReincarnated · 03/01/2021 19:24

People are scared because it spreads so easily and you don't know how it will affect you until you get it. Some people will be asymptomatic, some people will get a mild version of it, some people will get what is called long covid. Others, like my friend, will end up in intensive care on oxygen.

I suspect it's the unknown, as much as anything, that scares most people.

Me personally, right now I'm feeling like crap because I have a cold. I have no idea what I will feel like if I get covid but I'm not worrying about it. I'm of the mindset that if I get it I get it. I don't want it but what will be will be.

PhilCornwall1 · 03/01/2021 19:25

@PinkiOcelot

I’m not scared of catching COVID. I am scared of what the future holds for the economy and education however. We can’t go on like this long term surely!
My thoughts too. The long term economic damage scares me regarding the whole covid situation.
WhySoSensitive · 03/01/2021 19:25

I’m not scared of the disease itself but the long term implications, at this stage those with long covid or similar are suffering chronically.
I don’t want that.

Layladylay234 · 03/01/2021 19:25

I'm not scared but people who don't understand risk and make me wonder how the fuck we're ever going to get out of this mess make me really scared.

jessstan1 · 03/01/2021 19:25

Not everyone is scared. People like me who haven't been out other than to the post box are not scared :-), I have no reason to be.

I might feel differently if I was out and about in the world, working etc. I do not scare easily but I would be concerned.

I do know people who have had it, one has had it twice, the first time was bad, the second mild; that is my cousin's partner. She also had it but mildly. I also know or rather, knew, a woman of 45 who died of a brain haemorrhage; she was sent home from hospital after tests because they were only keeping beds open for Covid patients, told to come back if she felt unwell. Obviously she should have been kept in hospital instead of being sent home with some pills.

My son has had it as have a couple of his colleagues, way back in February; one of his friends has been ill ever since, the other recovered quite well.

It is a very serious illness for many people and you can only do so much to avoid it. It's easy for me because I'm retired but understandable that some people are scared, especially those with underlying health conditions.

Sparklesocks · 03/01/2021 19:26

I’m not scared as much, but equally I’m not in the ‘oh I know I’ll catch it eventually and i’m ready’ camp either. Some of my friends have had it with awful symptoms (all in their late 20s-early 30s and in good health). Nothing hideous enough to be hospitalised but still a very grim few weeks, I’d rather avoid it if I can. I don’t live in fear but I’m careful where I can be.

Amiable · 03/01/2021 19:27

This might sound odd, but I have Addison's disease, a chronic, potentially fatal, illness, so I live with the threat of death every day anyway. If I get COVID, then I will do what I can to fight it, but I'm not going to cry into my pillow every night about potentially getting it otherwise I would be a wreck!

I am being very careful, as are my kids, but I am not scared. The way things are going with these new strain, I reckon most people will get it anyway.

Layladylay234 · 03/01/2021 19:27

Oh sorry,I should add that after the news of cancer operations being cancelled,I am scared of getting cancer as it runs in my family. Also scared my mum's will come back and she won't get treatment. Cancer treatment and diagnosis are really fucked for the foreseeable future. And that's what I'm scared of

vodkaredbullgirl · 03/01/2021 19:28

My eldest starts a new job tomorrow and i'm a bit worried about her catching it. She has been out of work since the start of the pandemic.

I've worked throughout (care home) but get tested weekly all negative, just waiting for the vaccine.

Skipsurvey · 03/01/2021 19:30

i am starting flow testing tomorrow and i am anxious about how i will feel should i test positive, i think i will be so anxious.

GhostPepperTears · 03/01/2021 19:30

@mildlymiffed

I'm pretty terrified. Not of being ill- but I'm a single parent to a ds10- who would have to care for me and for himself! The thought of that terrifies me; I don't like to think of him either fending for himself for an unknown period of time, or of him worrying about me.
Sorry to hi-jack your post, @mildlymiffed but it's a great illustration of how there are many different reasons someone might be scared of catching covid, beyond their own health.

I know family members who only just scrape by in normal times and who will not get paid if off sick - terrified of the imact on their finances if they are unwell.

I know someone else who had covid earlier on and it triggered a depressive period that meant they were off work for 3 months (never having suffered from poor mental health before). They are terrified of having to deal with that again when they're only just getting back on their feet - they are coming up to the time when they might be reinfect-able.

A family member who lives with a 90+ year old relative and is required to have close contact for care reasons - worried about how they will cope of they contract covid, even if they don't feel especially unwell themselves.

Plenty of people have some degree of health anxiety, I can imagine a global pandemic in which an illness makes the headlines every day for months is very difficult for them to manage.

Layer on the reduction in the normal, happy diversions many people use to keep their mental health in good condition: many hobbies, clubs, social events, family or friends, coffe mornings or whatever.

I can see why some people are finding the whole thing terrifying, tbh.

Ravenesque · 03/01/2021 19:30

I'm not terrified and maybe not even scared but I worry that if I do get it given my underlying health issues it might be quite bad. I think I'm actually angry really, angry that the government are always playing catch up leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths, not just of people with Covid-19 but of others because hospitals are falling apart because of the numbers they are having to cope with. Or not cope because this is out of control.

I'm also sad because I have a friend who is terminally ill. I managed to spend Christmas with him and his wife (who is one of my best friends) because I isolated for three weeks. Yes, I know it didn't have to be that long but due to not having anything to go out for I stayed home. It will be difficult for me to see him again for quite a while now given the state we're in and if he gets it he will die sooner than he otherwise would.

Ultimately, none of us knows how it will impact us, or who we could pass it on to and make seriously ill. So, maybe not fear but deep worry is what many of us are feeling right now.

Coyoacan · 03/01/2021 19:31

I'm not scared but 1) I wouldn't like to give it to someone else and 2) I don't fancy getting it right now when there the hospitals are full up

Oaktree55 · 03/01/2021 19:31

You’re missing the point. We’ve already got one new variant causing a shed load more issues because we’ve allowed too much transmission. The more the virus circulates the more chance for mutations. We need to keep transmission down whilst we vaccinate ASAP. Especially with spacing the vaccine doses there’s greater risk of mutations. Does the U.K. want to be responsible for unleashing a further variant globally?

Username198 · 03/01/2021 19:31

I’m scared of being too old to have children by the time I’m allowed to socialise and meet someone again.