How much longer are we meant to do this?

[Creamteaincornwall]

I have so many friends who are at the end of their tether. Some suicidal, many almost.
I attend a zoom support group for my mental health and emotional well being as I have BPD and ASD. The last few weeks have been horrendous, every person is at the lowest they’ve been since the beginning of all this.
The amount of posts I’ve read on various Facebook groups of people saying they don’t want to get up in the morning anymore, they just stay in bed. Surely this isn’t doing anyone any good physically or mentally?
Surely this will put most in a weaker position if they were to catch covid?

How much more are we all suppose to take of this? With no end in sight?

We also do not have economic luxury for as long as it takes.

The cost of lockdown is huge.

@TheSunIsStillShining

I find it ironic how people now realise how much of a hamster wheel their life is. My bet is that their lives were just as much of a hamster wheel before, but the distractions shifted the focus.

"Get up, make breakfast, tidy up.
Tidy house
Make lunch, tidy up
Tidy house/ ironing
Make dinner/ tidy up"

Was this totally different before lockdown? Probably not. So why make a fuss of it now?

Because inbetween the hamster wheel moments you had seeing family for sunday lunch, seeing your kids play and be happy, dinners out, drinks with friends where you laughed, holidays on the beach, things to look forward to like concerts and shows.

If you didnt have any of that, then yes, your life would have been miserable and is probably still miserable. Most of us tried to experience joy inbetween the hamster wheel.

I watched all of them and do not remember being told at least 18 months of rolling lockdowns.

We were told "at least 18 months" and told it more than once. I distinctly remember it and remember discussing it with a close friend on the phone. We used to watch the briefings together (phone). Also being told we would probably have rolling lockdowns for the period. I even started a "rolling lockdowns" thread on this board because I thought it was something still worth discussing

Rolling lockdowns, for anyone wondering, is a period of stricter lockdown in order for health and other services to cope. Then a lighter lockdown, basically I suppose for the economy to recover. This is then repeated, and this is exactly what is happening

I agree there wasn’t a consistent message of this virus will disappear in 12 weeks either (although Boris tried to imply it), but at least 18 months of rolling lockdowns is not what the message was, even if it was said on an isolated occasion (which it wasn’t when I was watching, which was almost every day)

I think the truth is that so much about the virus is still unknown. About how it will behave in the future but they saw right from the start the seriousness of it

I think they, Gov't and science, have been generally honest about it, but they have no crystal ball either

Of course, it's tough. But the tone of some people is that it's somehow 'self inflicted' and that we can 'opt-out' of the lockdown. We can't. I know some people don't like comparisons withe the war, but it really is very similar. The only way we'll get to the otherside is by working together and supporting each other. We WILL survive this. Humans are surprisingly resilient.

Was this totally different before lockdown? Probably not. So why make a fuss of it now

Really?! Yes that does sound depressing

How much more are we all suppose to take of this? With no end in sight?

I’ve been shielding for most of the past year, and it’s next being reviewed on or around 18/02

I would love to be on ordinary lockdown rules

@Flaxmeadow we were categorically not told back in March / April that there would be 18 months of rolling lockdowns.

Whitty said at least 6 months of SD and used phrases like 'hammer and dance'.

@Chloemol

There is an end in sight, vaccination is well on its way, hopefully at the beginning of March schools start back, then other stuff will slowly open, added to which days get lighter which always help

You can focus on one day at a time, knowing each day is getting slightly better

I agree - stay positive. But don't whine and complain if it doesn't happen the way you think, because you cannot pretend you didn't know there was a possibility of a different outcome. I would love to go back to carefree weekends with no work and screaming kids in softplay, and job security and stopping off at the shops when I wanted things, and no Amazon, and no YouTube. But I am aware that my old working life may not be coming back and I am not pinning the wellbeing of myself or my family of something I cannot be assured of. They are too valuable to bet on a maybe.

I think the truth is that so much about the virus is still unknown. About how it will behave in the future but they saw right from the start the seriousness of it. I think they, Gov't and science, have been generally honest about it, but they have no crystal ball either

Agreed. I’m only saying I don’t agree that people should have expected to be in this position and it’s their own fault for not listening if they didn’t.

Tbf furlough was continuously extended. So no it wasn’t that evident to all that we’d be here a year in. Even with the ‘dance’ speech.

I do think its time to say enough is enough. In parts of the uk lockdown has hardly been lifted at all. Some of us have lived under the tighest restrictions of no household mixing for the full year with the exception of a few short weeks where we could mix a whole 6 people

Its not working , we still have the highest death toll in europe. We are top 5 for deaths per million people

I think we need to bite the bullet , get the economy back up and running and alongside this look at how we sort out health care in this country. Its clearly not fit for purpose. The front line staff are brilliant and everyone of them cares for their patients but further up the organisation is wasteful and rampant Bureaucracy.

I watched the scottish govt briefing earlier. The journalist was talking about a young woman who had died of cancer . She was told by her doctor if her screening hadnt been delayed due to covid they could have treated it

The scottish govt response .. this was a choice we had to make... well it should never have been a choice they had to make.

Are they addressing these issues . no they are just shrugging their shoulders.

Agreed. I’m only saying I don’t agree that people should have expected to be in this position and it’s their own fault for not listening if they didn’t.

I didn't say it's their own fault. It's only natural to want to go back to normal. But I just don't think we have ever been promised that we would. Not in so many words

[quote xmasmob]@Flaxmeadow we were categorically not told back in March / April that there would be 18 months of rolling lockdowns.

Whitty said at least 6 months of SD and used phrases like 'hammer and dance'.

[/quote]
It really was. There was lots of talk about a year or two, with restrictions varying according to how the virus was spreading, so a constant stream of increasing/reducing restrictions according to the spread of the virus, probably varying locally. That's exactly what we've had. I think too many people were in denial and were only listening to what they wanted to hear.

@Flaxmeadow

Agreed. I’m only saying I don’t agree that people should have expected to be in this position and it’s their own fault for not listening if they didn’t.

I didn't say it's their own fault. It's only natural to want to go back to normal. But I just don't think we have ever been promised that we would. Not in so many words

Except the normal by Christmas gaff

I wonder if even policy would have been different if Sunak thought furlough would last so long. Initially it was 8 weeks? Iirc

14:04LucilleTheVampireBat

Ok l will try but please calm down!

The point of the vaccine, in the long run is to bring an end to the pandemic. We didn't know it was going to mutate as quickly as it did. It seemed more stable. If it hadn't mutated, the point of the vaccine was to bring back complete normality over time. We couldn't do it too quickly because the virus is so transmissible which is worse, in terms of the likely death toll, than if it had been more lethal but it's transmissible. We were always going to need to ease out of lockdown when enough people were vaccinated for the virus to be seriously limited in terms of where it could go. With the old virus, the vaccine seemed to prevent transmission so it really would die out if we did things slowly enough. Vaccination of only the vulnerable allows the virus to continue to do a lot of damage (and mutate) even with our vulnerable vaccinated, simply because the small proportion of non vulnerable people who get seriously ill is a large number with such a transmissible virus, and they will need care and keep transmitting, if they hadn't been vaccinated.

Now, there are variants and there are two vaccines, the one we have and the one that's coming. No one is quite sure, but it seems as if most people who would have got seriously ill with either variant will not get terribly ill/die provided they've had the vaccine. However they could spread it (with the SA variant) to someone who hasn't had the vaccine. So we no longer have a vaccine that stops the vaccine in its tracks. The virus continues to spread and only those vaccinated are assured of not dying but they could still need NHS care and they will still be able to pass it to others who may or may not have had the vaccine. It seems that this virus is also a bit more serious so it would make sense to vaccinate as many as possible and hold back allowing it to spread and mutate again. In the absence of a vaccine that actually stops the virus, this is all we have. So we look to the autumn when we will once again have a vaccine that will actually stop the vaccine, and we hope that this time we won't be one step behind it.

The way out of all this, at any stage, other than vaccines, was to have low levels in the population and an effective test track and trace system that would lockdown infectious people as and when required. Not pleasant and clearly a vaccine would be nicer. But until the autumn that is our best bet for normal living. The alternative is lurching in and out of lockdown. But it takes a while to get there and relies on an efficient health care system.

You can huff and puff but unless you're willing to wave goodbye to an NHS with staff and resources, this is probably all we can do.

Boris also said back to normal by November 2020 and then Xmas and then back to normal by spring.

But yes I just can't see why people are confused at the moving goalposts, it was all made so clear from the start...

Boris did massively mislead people but everyone knows you can't trust a word he says...I thought.

I'm losing the plot more and more each day.

My life was much like a hamster wheel previously in the sense that we got up, dressed, had breakfast, did the school run. I did the afternoon school run, home, dinner, went to work or put the kids to bed and watched TV.

The difference was that I could choose what to do. I could wake up and decide if it was gym, soft play, friends, farm, walk, an inside day. I had people I could invite round if I wanted company. I could go for coffee, a swim, sauna. I could meet a friend in the evening at the pub, book a concert, go to a theme park, go for dinner.

All I have now is life stuck with nowhere fun to go and no certainty of planning something to look forward to. The weather is crap, I hate the cold and wet no matter how much I dress for it so often I would rather stay inside.

I miss the conversations I had with people at work, the staff and the customers. The small interactions at the gym or the school run.

Now it's all nothingness.

I feel the panic at the thought of doing this indefinitely, I cant live a life like this, nobody can. It shouldn't be normal to be this insular and isolated. I had kids not once imagining I would be attempting to home school, I imagined a life of fun, of swimming, ice skating, theme parks, them spending time with extended family instead of just me. They don't want to spend their days with me, they need their friends, a change of scenery.

Until it is safe to do something different. We don’t have much choice. And if we choose ourselves to ignore the science well just be right back here again and again.

It’s tough. I am also at the end of my tether but we just don’t have a sensible alternative. Im looking for clear guidance on 22.2 as to why the indicators are. Problem currently is the very high numbers of infections plus the variants.

It’s not so much Johnson

I reckon even Sunak and others thought it wouldn’t need a year long furlough.

Plus we are in worse position due to new variant. Without it and it may be a lower tier

Except the normal by Christmas gaff

But again. I think this is people only hearing what they want to hear.

The PM, who is only a science messenger at the briefings, might say something like
"Hopefully if we all stick by the (science based) rules now, then we might be able to have a good Xmas" ot whatever

But this is not the same as saying "by Xmas it will all be over"

They have never said it will all be back to normal at such and such date, at anytime

[quote lunapeace]@ElliFAntspoo you seem very concerned with the effects of long Covid and what the vaccine will actually do.... but seem not to care about the myriad of issues obesity will be causing your body. All that extra pressure on your heart and lungs is NOT good, don't kid yourself.[/quote]
Thank-you for the post, some people dance around questions and I have no time for that.

I am very aware of the issue - and have been very blunt and honest on a thread about Covid and Obesity. It is an addiction that I have struggled with all my adult life. I know where this is headed. I have no illusions, and no time for fat and obese people who are offended by their own weight issues or affronted by people who question their choices... and they are choices. Driven by addiction, I acknowledge, but they are still dietary and lifestyle choices that people make in the full knowledge that they are harming themselves and likely to lead to pain, suffering, disability and death.

@TwilightSkies

Was this totally different before lockdown? Probably not. So why make a fuss of it now

Cuz there’s fuck all to enjoy about life at the minute.

This is exactly what I don't understand. Looking around it seems that the only things bringing people joy are shopping, pubs, cinema.

There are so many things to enjoy in life: a good chat (yes, even over the phone), a good book, a theater or movie online - just because it's not the same it doesn't mean that it can't be enjoyed.
Playing board games, cards, crafts, writing,....
Even with lockdown I don't have enough time for all the things I like to do and enjoy....

All the things we have to go without are only for a while, not forever. We live 70-90 years. Missing theater in 2 of them... I've missed more years when I didn't have money for it and am still alive. I was sad then, sad now as I love theater. But life goes on. Wallowing in pity won't change the circumstances.

@Chocolino I only have 2 semi-adult men (H and teen) - so on the volume I sympathize. Why not try to revolt? A few months back I had enough of the churn and simply declared that I'm not doing jack. But I expect a clean house, and dinner on the table by 8pm. It took 3 days to get dinner, but worked :) And then we redistributed housework and rotate if I can remember.

@Flaxmeadow

Except the normal by Christmas gaff

But again. I think this is people only hearing what they want to hear.

The PM, who is only a science messenger at the briefings, might say something like
"Hopefully if we all stick by the (science based) rules now, then we might be able to have a good Xmas" ot whatever

But this is not the same as saying "by Xmas it will all be over"

They have never said it will all be back to normal at such and such date, at anytime

No have a google