Nobody can ever say "January 2021 will be awful" again

[Asrui]

Firstly I realise that those who enjoy bringng down others can say "but how do you know February, May, December wont be even worse..?" Just to nip this in the bud, I don't know that, but I do know that there are people who LOVE doom mongering and for whom the combination of lockdown restrictions and what many (not all) people consider a mentally challenging month was like a gift from above. Well I hope those people enjoyed it while it lasted, because regardless of how much you want to be able to say this precise statement again, you can never ever say those words and use them to manipulate peoples' wellbeing downwards again

January 2021 was awful though in terms of covid. High infection rates, high deaths, overwhelmed NHS hospitals. It would be weird to try and block out the reality of the situation. January 2021 has also been positive in terms of the vaccination roll out and also that infection rates declined and we just saw the beginning of lower hospital admissions and deaths.

I have really struggled with this lockdown, in a way I never struggled with the first one. Saying "January 2021 will be awful" was a pretty accurate statement in my option, some people cope with things by being realistic or setting the bar low so they aren't disappointed.

I know what you're saying, some people love a bit of doom and gloom, but tbh I find the stick-your-head-in-the-sand-and-pretend-this-isn't-happening approach equally frustrating.
Sometimes I just want to talk about what's going on and have a conversation about all the possible outcomes without people pretending everything will definitely be back to 2019 normal by next week (based on nothing) and shutting down conversations. I find it frustrating, but in each instance it's someone's way of coping.

What do you mean by doom mongering though? Stating an opinion, based on some pretty strong evidence from preceding months, isn’t doom mongering. It might not be what everyone wants to hear, but it’s valid.
And for most people January was shit. Yes, great strides have been taken with things like vaccines, but demonstrably for the majority of people things weren’t too positive.

Thats just how time works.

It was pretty bad though!

Equally - Jan was a fantastic month - millions of the population were vaccinated, cases dropped from 68,000 per day to 20,000. Hospital admissions peaked but are now falling. Two more vaccine trials completed showing good results. I hope Feb continues the good work.

They can say January 2021 was awful.

I’m very positive by March we’ll be in our way out of here but it was always obvious Jan and feb would be awful. I used to work somewhere concerned with excess winter deaths and they always are but for the first time we’re talking about it. I’ve no idea why people are thinking the surge in cases is anything surprising or about the way we behaved earlier in the year instead of looking at the seasonality of illness. They could even try looking out the window to see what has changed since summer. In spring the weather combined with vaccination will mean a massive reduction in disease. It always does.

Open your eyes. January 2021 was the shittest January for years, maybe decades. Can you or anyone else think of a worse one for the UK, generally?

I agree with hens. I get your point (I think) - time passes, vaccinations are the one thing this country isn't screwing up as far as covid goes so far, every moment represents a move to the better.

But it's been quite healthy, imo, to say "You know what, I've had it" for x or y reasons, and to know that those feelings are valid.

It was a realistic prediction and 100% accurate though.

Agree hens. I started a thread with the PMs opening statement from a press conference, in the coronavirus topic in order to discuss it, and got a huge telling off for scaremongering!

We could all state the reasons Jan was personally shit for us, but it just adds to the gloom. I've been following dedicated coronavirus forums since early last year and can honestly say this is the most negative and depressing one of them all. It's a black hole of gloom that I am going to hide, actually, guaranteeing a better February

@southeastdweller

Open your eyes. January 2021 was the shittest January for years, maybe decades. Can you or anyone else think of a worse one for the UK, generally?

Open your eyes, educate yourself, don't you watch the news, people are DYING!

I get what you're saying OP, you can be completely aware of what's going on, and yet still not want to revel in the misery of it all. Salivate over every day's news of crying medics and people on ventilators. January has gone. February is here with its lighter mornings, snowdrops and spring around the corner. We're vaccinating crazy numbers of the vulnerable each day. Things are most definitely on the up.

Not everyone is a Pollyanna type.
Some people are struggling. They are allowed to share how they feel and they aren't under any obligation to put a brave face on it for the benefit of others. I don't see them as scaremongering and maliciously trying to depress others, I see them as scared and feeling really low. I feel sorry for them. They're not trying to upset others, they are talking about their fears. Ascribing malicious motivations is unfair to them.

Also, January was crap. And February is shaping up the same way. That's not scaremongering, that's being realistic. March, April? Who knows? But I for one will be staying realistic and hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

To me, the constant "it'll be fine stop scaremongering oh what you said might happen happened you must be thrilled I bet you're loving it this week/ month things will be fine stop scaremongering oh what you feared is actually happening you love it don't you bet you're happy people are dying don't say holidays might not happen you just want everyone to be miserable..." Is far more irritating and deserving of the label malicious.

Nice one OP, trap them all in one thread so the rest of the board can have a bit of a breather.

I like your style

yet still not want to revel in the misery of it all

Talking about worries and problems you and others are having is not revelling in misery, nor ‘salivating’ over it. People deal with things in different ways. In the same way, people wanting to focus on the more positive things they see are not necessarily burying their heads in the save, just dealing with things in their own way.

Another month done. Just chalk the months off
Nothing else to do

Sand not save

Were they wrong?

No

It is not doom mongering to be realistic

I'm sorry you're clearly struggling, but you can't blame people who are realistic, for, well, being realistic.

Nobody is revelling in misery. It is just crap. That’s all. Hopefully there’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel now.

It was very hard and I'm glad it's over. Let's look forward and not back. Whatever else happens, Spring is on its way.

It's a very childish interpretation of people's motivations to decide they just love the drama and enjoy bringing other people down. It's the sort of explanation my DD8 would come up with for her teacher giving her homework. It's everywhere on this board and its so strange to see a bunch of adults subscribe to this utterly bizarre viewpoint.

I don't believe people have that motivation at all, the so called doom mongering is actually people feeling alarmed themselves by a new piece of information and hoping to get reassurance, feeling the need to make others aware of it, struggling with their own mental health, or simply being critical of scientific research and looking for an intellectual discussion on the pros and cons. None of these reasons are rooted in a deep desire to ruin other people's day, what a ridiculous concept.

It's all too easy to dismiss anything we dislike or disagree with as 'trolls', which I note is banned on this board. I don't see any difference between troll hunting and calling someone a doom mongerer, and I would support it being banned for the same reasons. If you genuinely think someone is on a wind up just report them and move on.

I'm so glad you're having a rosy time during the pandemic.

I'm also fucking sick of the thread police who feel they can decide what is 'doom mongering.'

If people want to hide from reality then fair enough but don’t expect everyone else to do that.

And go and ask those working on Covid wards or the relatives and friends of the 40000+ people who’ve died in January 21, how this month was for them.