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?

I've been pissed off that I've sunk into acceptance lately. We need to be angry to stay alert. This government is a pile of shit and we need them out next time we get a chance to vote.

ROFLMAO - Any government would have had the same issues and dealt with it similarly. Its a world wide pandemic. You could just as easily blame Labour for the world wide economic crash in 2008. Its swings and roundabouts. These people are no more or less competent than any of the rest of us. They all make decisions based on political expediency and advice from scientists.

Not a Tory voter btw.

@Creamteaincornwall

Is the vaccine really the way out? I thought they were now worried about mutations and variants. It feels never ending.

Vaccination will be the way out, I know it seems bleak right now but we really are making progress.

New variants emerge in countries with poorly controlled outbreaks and high rates of infection (UK, South Africa, Brazil) as mutations occur randomly when someone is infected with coronavirus and the virus has a chance to replicate. So once we get case numbers down this won't be so much of a concern :)

The graph that accompanied that quote.

@Buzzinwithbez - Testing... How effective and accurate are tests? Do they bias towards false positives or false negatives? Why, when they tested everyone in Liverpool, did everything go quiet? Could it be because 60% of positive Covid cases were missed by the tests?

Need to start planning gradual relaxation strategy now.

BJ has promised a reopening roadmap week of 22 Feb and the cabinet have rumoured to have a schools strategy sorted so we will have to wait and see.

We need to be angry to stay alert. This government is a pile of shit and we need them out next time we get a chance to vote.

There is no decent opposition. People will keep on voting Tory because "at least they aren't Corbyn"

I know how bleak it can seem OP but I have to believe that there is a light now with vaccinations. The take up rate among the most vulnerable has been so high and the progress of the roll out far beyond my expectations - this has to be the way out.

I would say to try to stay off most threads as they can catastrophise and my mental health takes a dip every time I venture into them - but the temptation to just take a peek is so strong. The Good News thread and one that is purely about stats and data tend to be realistic but don't make me feel that same way.

@Beaniecats

Its exhausting I don't trust the Government or their advisors either Its like they want this to go on forever

Scientists are scientists. It would be the same scientists regardless of who was in power. They are drawn from the leading expertise in the field and have no political agenda.

Politicians are politicians. If you are naïve enough to think one lying F is better than another lying F, that pretty much explains why we get the quality of politicians we do.

I can count the number of politicians of any real integrity over the past half century on one hand.

@Covidcorvid

I wish I could make my own assessments and live my life accordingly.

Sadly the cafes, shops and gyms are shut so I can’t. I’d go back to normal tomorrow if I could.

You require a shop, cafe and gym to make your own assessment of what the future holds based on the information you gather about this pandemic every day?

The AZ Vaccine works to illiminate the serious effects of the SA strain so the one they are working on is to eradicate the mild effects too, that shouldnt stop us easing up restrictions though

Some more good news

www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-55941234?__twitter_impression=true

@DavidsSchitt

Are you sure we'll have "freedom for more than one day at Christmas" *@ElliFAntspoo*?

Because not 2 weeks ago you said we'd have a Christmas exactly the same as 2020

"the promise that Christmas will not be a repeat of last year, a Christmas exactly the same as last year"

Lol. I'm hedging my bets that the government won't want to be seen as being as harsh this coming year as Christmas past. Both are generalisations, because they will be seen as being the same by the vast majority of the general public, but the more I think about it the more I think the politicians will want something to split hairs over, and being able to say, look, we gave you extra may be it.

Data for England trending nicely downward.

You require a shop, cafe and gym to make your own assessment of what the future holds based on the information you gather about this pandemic every day?

That’s not what I said at all!

I’ve made my assessment....
That I feel for me it’s safe to do normal stuff. But I can’t live my life according to that assessment and do normal stuff because everything is shut. 🤷‍♀️

@Covidcorvid

* You require a shop, cafe and gym to make your own assessment of what the future holds based on the information you gather about this pandemic every day?

That’s not what I said at all!

I’ve made my assessment....
That I feel for me it’s safe to do normal stuff. But I can’t live my life according to that assessment and do normal stuff because everything is shut. 🤷‍♀️

Ah. I get it now.

But your assessment has to align with both the business owner's and the law, and whilst the business owner may agree with you, they don't want to break the law.

Currently the government scientists assessment is over riding your own by government diktat.

I'm off work with anxiety and depression as of what I have dealt with in the last 6 months has been awful (care assistant in a care home) but I now found a new job that starts in March so will be well enough in hope for that. I am just getting by now on meds but I'm happier and calmer and having to get on with it.

Viviana, I'm sorry to hear that it's been so distressing. Good luck with your new job and take very good care of yourself in the meantime.

The Gov't, and science, like any other country, did not say it would be ever be over. They have not put a date on anything ending and they cannot because this is a brand new virus and not enough is known about how it will behave on the future.

The problem is some people have assumed it would end at a certain point in time, "Xmas...summer holidays...Easter..." and so they become disappointed when these self imagined deadlines pass and the crisis hasn't ended. But Gov't and science are not to blame for that. They never said it was going to be easy

I think we will be vaccinating ourselves soon with boosters. We'll have a box every 6 months from amazon.

When I said people should make their own assessments based on the data in front of them, what I meant was, people should be capable of making their own assessment about where this is all going based on the information available, not that people should be able to make their own assessments as to what is safe.

Most people I think feel safe with their face mask had wash routines.

What people seem to have problems making judgements on is what society and government are going to do next. We don't get to choose those things, but we can still plan for what we think is most likely.

I haven't planned a holiday because I think it is unlikely to happen for example.

@Creamteaincornwall

Is the vaccine really the way out? I thought they were now worried about mutations and variants. It feels never ending.

I think this is overegged to keep us behaving. Funny how there was no news of “new variants” until we had a vaccine and people were getting royally fucked off.

Hang in there, brighter days will come x

@felineflutter

I think we will be vaccinating ourselves soon with boosters. We'll have a box every 6 months from amazon.

That wouldn't surprise me at all.

A 6th of the population has been vaccinated. Goodness knows how many have had it and have immunity,

The next few years when the hard slog of coming out of this hits ...then feel bad. Staying at home will be a dream compared to the cost of living in a couple of years.

I agree. Had a baby during the first lockdown so I’ve had two under two at home with me this whole bloody pandemic, near enough. I’m mentally exhausted. I’m sick of being in the fucking house every single day. The weather is shit. I crave space to do something by myself, for myself. But there’s no where to sodding go. Two kids glued to me. Never get a bloody chance to have any time to myself. I’m honestly fed up of feeling so suffocated all the time.

I’m actually looking forward to going back to work purely because at least then I’ll actually see people. Although I genuinely worry about my social interactions for the first few shifts because I’ve spoken to so few people I actually don’t know if I know how to hold a conversation anymore.

I’m so over this. I’m honestly so close to just being done with it all.

Op - don't forget that there are many exemptions. A suicidal friend would come under avoiding harm, illness and injury xx