Rising sense of panic

[ASchuylerSister]

Does anyone else feel like this?

I was following the virus in China on Twitter from Jan 20 so I was glad to lockdown in March. I admit I was naive to the knock on effects on the economy and people’s mental health.

This third lockdown has knocked me for six. I’ve got a rising sense of panic. The affect on mental health, education, the economy. I just can’t see an end in sight anymore.

I feel so selfish and self centred as there’s plenty of people in a worse off position than me but I feel like I’m drowning.

I’m normally a half glass full kind of person and see the best in every situation but all I see is bleakness right now.

@argueifnecessary What have they said about the new strains and people that have already had covid?
I’m 10 months in and still suffering from March

Do you know what scares me about this one, they want to vaccinate the worlds adult population, which they have never worried about before, than it dawned on me tonight, they are worried about variants popping up and being more contagious and deadly, which they have never worried about before, it makes me think this has come from a lab and it’s far worse than they are letting on.

I haven't got the slightest doubt that things will get better. Once the vaccine has been administered to a significant proportion of population, may be 60-80%, the spread will slow down. Life is unpredictible at the best of times. This has given us an opportunity to think what are the real important things in life.

OP, I feel a bit panicked when I let myself think about it, I have been in a vortex sometimes when I think that this is the beginning of the end for humans, that the world is healing itself and it will do so with or without us.
But then I think like a PP said that her late husband said - everything will be alright in the end, if it's not alright then it isn't the end.
This is an alien situation to all of us, and most days I muddle along ok.
I'm hoping that longer, warmer days and more people getting vaccinated will help.

@Hazelnutlatteplease

Things will get better.

Either the vaccine will wipe it out

Or the country's economics and society will change.
Government only makes provision for stuff that its economically sensible to do. So if this continues indefinitely the number of icu beds will increase and therefore there will be less risk to the NHS. Track and trace will get better, instant tests will be improved and those breaking quarantine will be more harshly punished.
The economy gyms, retail, zoos themeparks etc will reopen. Schools I think will take longer. Online learning is possible long term and really we need the economy open more than school.

Masks will become the norm.

I think your crystal ball is a good one

@Pissedoff1234

The government are banking on the vaccine and getting cases down right now. Lots of people are doing the wrong thing and lots are untrusting of the vaccine.

This is a tactic designed to scare people into doing the right thing. And it's working.

Personally I think they're making a big deal about the variant to cover up their own failings and dithering that have left us in this position with the worst death rate and long term lockdown.

it makes me think this has come from a lab and it’s far worse than they are letting on.

It's not that, its that the potential for this happening is increasing. Where more people travel if a random virus manages to jump species its less likely to end up more confined to a single area. A pandemic has always seemed very unlikely in the west whereas countries with more previous first hand experience of SARS etc were more prepared on what to do. We took a long time to go "oh this it is it's really happening.. nah don't believe it I dont see why I have to change what I'm doing". Countries that took quicker decisive action did better.

We will get through this. But we might have to be more prepared just in case something worse comes in the future.

The government are deliberately taking a negative stance to encourage compliance. It’s a scare tac tic and it’s working. They were warned by Sage that people will become complacent once they hear good news about the vaccine so they are ramping up the fear to avoid that. It’s not a nice tac tic and it treats people like children but please don’t fall for it. This will not and can not go on for much longer. The narrative is changing, people are getting fed up. The vaccine is hugely positive news they are just downplaying it. They also probably want a Big Bang moment when they can give some good news.

@HuggedTheRedwoods Yes, I could do something through Moonpig or something I guess. Thank you 💐

Do you know what scares me about this one, they want to vaccinate the worlds adult population, which they have never worried about before,

The "world" has been vaccinated before, a few times. We have jabs for a number of diseases in childhood

than it dawned on me tonight, they are worried about variants popping up and being more contagious and deadly, which they have never worried about before,

They have been worrying about that since they saw the virus form the very start. The situation has been serious from the very start BUT the good news is that science has been throwing everything at it from the start. They know so much more now than they did only a year ago. Its actually amazing what's happening and the vaccine roll out is going so well

it makes me think this has come from a lab and it’s far worse than they are letting on.

It would have been seen to have "come from a lab" right from the start. It hasn't

China made the genome for SARS-COV-2 available worldwide on the 10th of January 2020

The economy gyms, retail, zoos themeparks etc will reopen. Schools I think will take longer. Online learning is possible long term and really we need the economy open more than school.

Fuck that. If zoos are open before schools we will really have collectively lost our minds. I accept the need for schools to be closed at the moment (leaving aside the very high number of pupils who are actually at school as a separate issue) but if people are bimbling around zoos and sweating their way around gyms before kids are back at school then this country is even madder than I thought it was.

well yes, we have 3 variants already, how many more waiting in the wings??

@Remxhah126 so sorry about that. I hope you can find some support.

It is hard - take care of yourself if you can. So many people feeling like this.

@User133847

I think this could be another reason for sure. Then we can't blame it on their shit decisions to eat out to help out, Christmas or the shambolic opening of schools for one day.

I was actually doing history schoolwork with my DS today about Smallpox. The government actually made the vaccine compulsory as people were so distrusting of being injected with something inhuman (in this story it was a disease from a cow). People published anti vax propaganda and lots of people wouldn't take it. After the government stepped in everyone had to take it and 100 years later it's complete gone and was a lot less prevalent up to that point. So this has happened before.

Trust in the science.

Trust in the science

This ^^

@Katie517

The government are deliberately taking a negative stance to encourage compliance. It’s a scare tac tic and it’s working. They were warned by Sage that people will become complacent once they hear good news about the vaccine so they are ramping up the fear to avoid that. It’s not a nice tac tic and it treats people like children but please don’t fall for it. This will not and can not go on for much longer. The narrative is changing, people are getting fed up. The vaccine is hugely positive news they are just downplaying it. They also probably want a Big Bang moment when they can give some good news.

Glastonbury was cancelled yesterday and it was reported the Olympics likely to be cancelled.

More things will open in the summer (like last year) but plenty of restrictions will remain (like last year).

It is not just the bad news, it is the conflicting stuff. So we were told that the Kent variant spread quicker but was not more deadly. Except now apparently it is. And I read an expert who said we would never get herd immunity and would always have ‘countermeasures’.

After today I know they will excuse deaths on public behaviour and are just waiting for the vaccine to get them out of the shit. Im shit scared how many more 1000s will be collateral damage.

Really really struggling tonight.

It’s the first time they have locked down the worlds population waiting for a vaccine, there’s something not quite right about this they are not telling us

Yes the last few days in particular I have felt this , I simply can’t see an end and it’s like a tidal wave coming towards me

@Remxhah126

Message deleted by MNHQ. We're so sorry - but we don't allow posts like this one Mumsnet.Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

I'm sorry. Despite all the shit I still feel optimism. I hope you can too.

Fuck that. If zoos are open before schools we will really have collectively lost our minds. I accept the need for schools to be closed at the moment (leaving aside the very high number of pupils who are actually at school as a separate issue) but if people are bimbling around zoos and sweating their way around gyms before kids are back at school then this country is even madder than I thought it was.

We need people to be fit and healthy. Obesity is a coronavirus risk factor, Gyms have an important role in weight management for very many people. Also for many people with "mild" depression, regular exercise can be as good as antidepressants so it's good for mental health too.

People need fun. It helps deal with the rough stuff. Transmission outside is low. Potentially it could be lower if we all wore masks. Also very many people use it to get children out for (loooong) walks/exercise without the children knowing. Open zoos contribute to peoples wellbeing and the economy. They cannot do that closed and if they stay closed too long a good many will simply run out of money. Zoos cannot operate without guests indefinitely.

However children can learn remotely. As school learn how to do it they will get better at it too. Schools are just about the worst place for transmissions, bad ventilation, small areas, too many people, masks do make teaching harder. It's harder to redesign schools to make them pandemic secure that it is to operate them remotely.

And if the economy doesn't restart there will be no money for schools and the nhs anyway. And people need fun to balance out work.

So no if we're traipsing round zoos or even going back to the pub before we're back everyone full time schooling it really wont be the wrong way round necessarily.

@Katie517

The government are deliberately taking a negative stance to encourage compliance. It’s a scare tac tic and it’s working. They were warned by Sage that people will become complacent once they hear good news about the vaccine so they are ramping up the fear to avoid that. It’s not a nice tac tic and it treats people like children but please don’t fall for it. This will not and can not go on for much longer. The narrative is changing, people are getting fed up. The vaccine is hugely positive news they are just downplaying it. They also probably want a Big Bang moment when they can give some good news.

Look at the death rates. Of course the new variant is more lethal, the evidence is there.

It is not just the bad news, it is the conflicting stuff
I agree the lack of certainty is very stressful, if you have a rough idea of what to expect then you can make plans and that makes you feel more secure and in control.
I think a big reason for the lack of certainty is that this is a new thing.
worse case scenario (imo) gvts will just have to turn over more of our resources to healthcare and an education system which can function during the restrictions