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.

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.

I guess your not homeschooling? Standard of provision is highly variable. If HS goes on for years that will be passed on as another tax rise to deal with child and parent MH and supporting the vast majority of this generation through a lifetime of benefits.

You cant have it both ways of keeping the germy kids out of society long and them expect them to function in society with no impact. Even if the online education is top notch, not leaving the house isnt good for developing brains. Plus say home schooling goes on for years then I would check out of working. I would tighten my belt and I dont think I would be alone in that si again it impacts the economy, which we will need to pay to support the NHS and our unemployable kids.

This reminds me how MN isnt great for MH. So many want to push others under the bus as it suits to protect their own arse but are unlikely to want to be looked after in old age in a care home by someone who never sat a real exam and lost years of education or pay a massive tax rise in a few years.

Most of us had access to a full time education on here. It's not great that we hope so much less for the next generation. It should be that we aspire more for their future. But there is always the sex trade, drugs and crime for them to rely on I guess.

@GirlCrush

some pandemics haven't ended yet....the plague i believe is still active in some areas, flu....sars.....hiv/aids....all still around and ongoing

They are not pandemics, though HIV is sometimes described as such.

Israel is using Pfizer and adhering to that companies vaccination recommendations, not the UK's random 12 weeks between doses.

My fear is that CV will mutate into a strain that is more deadly for young people and because we aren't helping the developing world, will have a nice uninterrrupted time to do so.

@GirlCrush

some pandemics haven't ended yet....the plague i believe is still active in some areas, flu....sars.....hiv/aids....all still around and ongoing

Bubonic plague is still a fact of life in places like Madagascar. Ebola pops up every few years. Leprosy isn't extinct. What changes is the treatments and vaccines that are available, and our understanding of how our behaviour can spread diseases.

@GirlCrush

whats stopping the plague becoming a pandemic again?

I think because It's easier to identify and control One problem with covid it's difficult to to know who's got it and who hasn't because of the pre symptomatic infectious period and the asymptomatic spreaders, that makes it harder to control

I admit I was naive to the knock on effects on the economy and people’s mental health.

I wonder just how common this was. It was the first thing I thought of, so I find I really difficult to understand why people didn't seem to think about this. I feel like I've been forced to watch a slow motion 10 month long (and counting) car crash.

I truly believe that lockdown will be the biggest mistake in terms of cost to benefit in the history of the world.

Covid gains entry into the cells via the ace2 receptors which, generally speaking, are more numerous and widespread the older we get.
For this reason it seems unlikely that it would mutate such that young people more at risk?

I'm surprised so many people are so worried. In the UK you've already vaccinated what, 4 million people? The virus's spread reduces on a downward curve as you vaccinate more and more people. The end has begun! With every few more vaccinated, the spread will slow down a little more.

@Paapa

I admit I was naive to the knock on effects on the economy and people’s mental health.

I wonder just how common this was. It was the first thing I thought of, so I find I really difficult to understand why people didn't seem to think about this. I feel like I've been forced to watch a slow motion 10 month long (and counting) car crash.

I truly believe that lockdown will be the biggest mistake in terms of cost to benefit in the history of the world.

Same

I guess your not homeschooling?

I homeschooled DS out of choice when he was 5-6. I then investigated online schools at transition to secondary. The choice to stay in regular school was a toss up and I still couldn't tell you if it was the right choice. I've now got one absolutely thriving homeschooling (although there wasn't much choice it was a forced decision) and one remote learning. DDs provision was shocking first lockdown and she didnt cope great, its improved dramatically this time and actually shes fine. Provision will get better as we catch up with the online schools as to how its done

You cant have it both ways of keeping the germy kids out of society long and them expect them to function in society with no impact

I'm not expecting no impact. I just dont believe school is the only place children learn how to function in society. And I certainly dont think it's the best place for them in a pandemic.

To the poster saying schools should stay shut indefinitely (but let’s open zoos/gyms etc) - please do knob off. You haven’t a clue if you think that will feasibly happen. The government knows, in fact have stated, that getting children back to school is an absolute priority so do bore off with your miserable, throwing children and parents under the bus agenda. Do you not realise people are really struggling and making ridiculous and unfounded statements like this could be really damaging?

It was always going to be worse in winter. Cases will start dropping as it gets warmer, and I believe this would be the case even without the vaccine - also it’s very important to not forget we are still seeing the fallout from Christmas/new year mixing The vaccine is just another really strong string added to our bow.

We can do this. January is always extra shit anyway so don’t underestimate the effect the weather has on your mood.

You're not alone op. For the first time in my life op, I felt my chest tightening and my heart racing (not covid related I tested negative recently) and today was particularly bad where I felt the walls were coming towards me as if it was crushing me. I threw myself outside and went to the shops. I never felt like this in my life and I don't know how long this is going to go on for. My poor DH had to close his business and we have rent coming up. Thank god we have some savings but I really feel for everyone right now whether financially screwed or just had enough working from home, homeschooling, shielding. Please please this needs to end it it doesnt, the mental scars will be far worse than the virus itself.

@Hazelnutlatteplease

I guess your not homeschooling?

I homeschooled DS out of choice when he was 5-6. I then investigated online schools at transition to secondary. The choice to stay in regular school was a toss up and I still couldn't tell you if it was the right choice. I've now got one absolutely thriving homeschooling (although there wasn't much choice it was a forced decision) and one remote learning. DDs provision was shocking first lockdown and she didnt cope great, its improved dramatically this time and actually shes fine. Provision will get better as we catch up with the online schools as to how its done

You cant have it both ways of keeping the germy kids out of society long and them expect them to function in society with no impact

I'm not expecting no impact. I just dont believe school is the only place children learn how to function in society. And I certainly dont think it's the best place for them in a pandemic.

School may not be the only place where children learn, but where else can they go? If you think schools should stay closed because you wish to limit the spread of covid this way, I take it you don’t want kids all over our museums, libraries and galleries either, or where else should they do their learning outside of the home?

My fear is that CV will mutate into a strain that is more deadly for young people and because we aren't helping the developing world, will have a nice uninterrrupted time to do so.

Yes and this is why we need to hold back the spread because the more it spreads, the more mutations and so the more chance of a new, more dangerous, variant

Why it's so important to stick to the, science based, regulations imposed on us. It isn't the govenrment locking us down, it's science and for very good reasons.

Government will probably be rethinking schools going back after todays news

i dont think schools will be priority at all unfortunately.

@GirlCrush

Government will probably be rethinking schools going back after todays news

i dont think schools will be priority at all unfortunately.

So if schools aren't the priority what is?

i think priority will be vaccines and gaining public support and trust! just getting cases down and hospitals emptied

schools will have to wait, and i say that as a parent of a child who needs to be back in school.

@Hazelnutlatteplease Schools I think will take longer. Online learning is possible long term and really we need the economy open more than school serious question tho, how long do you think we can go without kids getting an education? They won't be back before Easter so that'll be a year. They were in Sept - Dec so 1/3 where part of that would have been trying to gauge where everyone is and get kids back into formal learning. Some schools are doing great, some schools really aren't. Some parents are doing amazing and some can't or won't. How many more years of education can we put on hold given that kids will also regress?

@WhenPidgeonsCry

I'm surprised so many people are so worried. In the UK you've already vaccinated what, 4 million people? The virus's spread reduces on a downward curve as you vaccinate more and more people. The end has begun! With every few more vaccinated, the spread will slow down a little more.

There is no guarantee the vaccines will continue to work as the virus mutates, it may change to something more easily spread but less deadly or to something that is far more deadly and not affected by the current vaccines.

i really do believe we need to be trying to eradicate CV & having vaccination programs around the developing world.

why aren't nations and drugs companies co operating to produce vaccines across all facilities? not just one factory in belgium.

can we re think our education system in reaction to covid and kids missing a yearner likely 2. reduce curriculum or something? do they really need to know the ins and outs of henry the 8ths life and maths problems they never encounter outside the classroom?

do they need 6 weeks summer breaks?

can they stay on at school longer and catch up that way?

@GirlCrush

i think priority will be vaccines and gaining public support and trust! just getting cases down and hospitals emptied

schools will have to wait, and i say that as a parent of a child who needs to be back in school.

When people talk about schools being top priority they mean top priority to open, in a priority stack from most important to least important. Vaccines and decreasing hospital numbers are a given and nothing to do with that stack. Schools still remain top priority to open.

My sons have SEN. I cant homeschool speech therapy or occupational therapy even if people think I can replace infant, junior, secondary teachers ( not college thank God because they have nailed home learning very well).

It's a ball aches if you have more than child, your child isnt gifted and talented and your dyslexic ( Science grad but not helpful at all for this HS role).

I'm not going to take my kids to venues all the time they cant access school properly. Neither am I putting more than the very basic money into the economy than we need to survive right now. They dont need anywhere near as much clothes, shoes etc etc as no one sees them. They go no where. In a normal year I might spend thousands on brining up well rounded kids. Not any more. So again, that's something else. Those after school and holiday clubs have undoubtedly laid staff off for good. My kids dont need to go to zoos and museums while they are behind in maths and literacy. Plus museums = London = Train = tube. I think that more risky than going to say .... Primark? How people live near zoos and Museums in numbers large enough to keep them afloat?

@Hazelnutlatteplease

I don't want to wear masks indefinitely

At some point the greater good needs to prevail. Cultures where masks are more normalised really dont have the trauma and angst about wearing them.

At some point the next generation need a proper education (and socialisation)
We are very attached in the uk to our way of learning in schools but remote learning works fine for all sorts of people all over the globe. If it comes to schools or the economy the hardships involved in completely losing the economy completely outweigh the negatives of remote learning

Social people will always be social. but lockdown has made a lot of people realise socialising less actually works far best for them. The idea we somehow learn how to be social beings at schools is a bit of a fallacy I think.

Goodness - I couldn’t disagree more with every word you have just written. Masks are a way of life in some countries, but plenty of people in those countries might feel ‘trauma and angst’ but if they show anything other than complete compliance, they risk being shot, imprisoned or otherwise silenced. There are not many democratic free thinking countries whos population give no shits about wearing masks much of the time.

Secondly, I have 3 children at different stages remote learning / home schooling.
I can tell you that my 11 year old has not had ANY face to face (not through a screen) human interaction with any friends or indeed other adults except mum dad and siblings, for 5 weeks.
Tell me, do you really think that this is acceptable social contact for an 11 year old? Shut in a room looking at a screen for 7+ hours a day? To not be able to see even one friend in person?? How would you have felt as an 11 year old, expected to work from home like an adult and not see any friends for weeks and months?
Even if you can speak to one or two friends on face time, you don’t get any important group interaction or any proper body language cues.
This is vital vital stuff for an 11 year old developing into a teen and young adult.

How on earth can you can say they dont leant social skills at school? Where on earth else do they learn how to interact with peers and unknown adults in authority?? School is ALL about this. It’s literally half the reason for going to school alongside learning. You can learn this from FaceTime and zoom.

Remote learning as you put it. Well do you actually have any primary age children? Because I can tell you right now, a huge huge percent of primary children are not learning as much right now. Remote learning as put it involves millions of parents (mainly women) trying to fit in a couple of hours school work with tantrums and tears (on both sides) whilst trying to work also. It doesn’t ‘work around the globe’ it’s a short term emergency measure and is wholly inadequate education longer term.
My blood is actually boiling at your ignorance and blasé attitude to schools being closed

yes but the pressure to open schools against must be time consuming. maybe they should all prioritise time on getting the public on board and deaths/rates down?

Boris looked defeated today, they all did. I know Witty isn't a smiler but he looked broken today.

There is no guarantee the vaccines will continue to work as the virus mutates, it may change to something more easily spread but less deadly or to something that is far more deadly and not affected by the current vaccines

Well yes, I suppose if we focus on all the unlikely but negative potential outcomes, then it's not so surprising that so many people have a sense of rising panic after all.

do they really need to know the ins and outs of henry the 8ths life and maths problems they never encounter outside the classroom? It's possible we could do away with history, geography, etc from the syllabus, just teach kids maths, English language and science. But I'm not sure what kind of adults that will raise, what kind of workforce.

do they need 6 weeks summer breaks? Yes unless you want kids pulled out for holidays. Or should only canoes without state school kids be allowed that? They also need time off from only learning maths, English language and science to grow.

can they stay on at school longer and catch up that way? You'd have to totally restricture the whole curriculum, there would be a massive knock on to universities who would see several years of massively reduced intake (they're already surely going to lose some international students) not to mention apprenticeships etc and child benefit / tax credits / name etc