How have you found this lockdown compared to the March - June one in 2020?

[daffodilsandprimroses]

In the first one I missed having my hair done but I didn’t mind other aspects. Quiet roads, wildlife, a general feeling of solidarity.

This one has been utterly horrific and really has affected my mental health, although I’m ‘lucky.’

I pray to god we will never go through another one!

I was on maternity leave last time but am now back at work. This one has felt far more normal - DS has gone to nursery every day, I pop to the supermarket when I need to, I'm not worrying about whether we'll be able to get milk or bread or whatever. I've missed being able to go to proper shops and going out for a meal but I've been so busy with work that I doubt I'd have had a chance to do any of that in any event.

I found the first lockdown okay. I felt that there was solidarity, everyone working together for a common purpose by staying at home. Everyone was behind the NHS, it felt like everyone was on board trying to do the right thing. I did feel fear of the unknown though.

In the subsequent lockdowns it has got harder. This last one has been horrible. There feels like so much division in the country and so much selfishness with some people refusing to social distance or wear a mask because they don’t want to.

I work in a school and there has been so many negative comments on MN about teachers and teaching during this time. It is horrible to read when you feel like you have given your best everyday in your job because you care deeply about the people you work with. I also resent being told that I’m wrong when I share what it is like in my place of work.

As lockdowns have increased I have got increasingly frustrated and angry with the government messaging and last minute decisions made which we are accountable for and responsible for implementing with little / no notice (‘closing’ schools in Jan after I taught 32 children face to face for one day), no masks allowed in classrooms then allowing them but only in secondary, cancelling exams but not releasing any guidance or information as to what is replacing them etc.

I do feel there is light at the end of the tunnel though but it is difficult to look too far ahead at the moment.

@Januaryissodull

Agree with *@FreeFallingFree*

The idea that there was solidarity. Was there heck.

A lot of people turned into vile, judgmental, nosy, snooping, police state, lockdown loving little Hitlers.

I haven't forgotten the threads on here berating people for going to buy a loaf of bread and telling people to put cheese in their coffee.

That was MN though. I didn’t really see much / any evidence of that in RL, just people being nice. I probably do know nice people, though.

It was a novelty first time. This time it’s starting to feel horribly ‘normal.’ I had a baby in December and so the second lockdown happened when he was two weeks old - awful.

I found this one far easier. Being able to meet friends has made so much difference, just being able to go for a walk and speak to someone in person rather than everything being on Zoom only.
Also we have been eligible for a support bubble this time around which has made a world of difference, although I realise this doesn't apply to everyone.
Last March I had a tiny newborn. She is 1 now so much easier to look after.
Also the general feeling now is much more positive, vaccines increasing every day, whereas last year there was no end in sight.

I found the first one scary. School ending so abruptly for one kid, so many things cancelled. Shelves bare. Streets empty. Awful. Still not processed it fully.

Now. Hmmm. Vaccines are great. I have no trust in the gov so that is worrying. Not better as such but more used to it.

Television doctors were talking us we shouldn't wash our cars one it might already covid
What?

in some ways harder and some ways easier. last lockdown didn't see my family for months whereas this time i could at least go for a walk with them. In addition we've moved from a tiny flat to a lovely house so have more space.

But like others have said the weather this time round is awful and affects mood and there's a lot of fatigue. last year we thought that it would be a couple of months and just laughed it off. but now we are just exhausted.

plus also going through IVF which has been super stressful so it's been much tougher

I had (bad) physical symptoms of stress from this one. Covid and Brexit collided in a pretty hideous manner in my world. First one was ok, shit and scary but the sun was out and we were still in the single market .

On a bigger picture I was shocked by the amount of kids in the schools second time round and had to try hard to find inner zen to not be horribly judgey/feel like a mug as we continued to do the right thing for society not just ourselves (failed a little on the judgey bit apparently).

I'm not sure.. It was almost a novelty to begin with last time and the weather helped.. Then it got tough with work /home school etc.
This time the weather has been awful and no pubs /restaurants to alleviate this tricky time of year.
I'm feeling good now and hoping for a may holiday.. Had to cancel amazing holidays and move them.. This one is UK.. If we can make it I'll be very happy.. Small pleasures.. Dc at school.. Moving, mixing.. Socially good now..

I can’t judge anyone for not strictly adhering to the letter of the law second time around. I didn’t. I’m confident I didn’t put anyone at risk but I didn’t absolutely adhere either.

@ChocOrange1

Television doctors were talking us we shouldn't wash our cars one it might already covid What?

Should have my glasses on.

That was one of the much publicised stories. I forget which TV doctor it was, but there was a lot made of it at the time. Do not wash your car on the street as you could spread covid was the message.
Complete poppycock and ridiculously controlling and fearmongering..

@btwwhichonespink

The first was was fine for us. We were worried but more than happy to follow all rules, really enjoyed the quiet motorways when we did have to go somewhere. Spent a lot of time enjoying being together.

This most recent one I have been the opposite. Very resentful of the mixed messaging, the sudden and drastic u-turns, and the poor and contrived evidence to justify the measures.

It has seriously affected my mood. I think it has disproportionately harmed my children and I am afraid I no longer believe in the measures or the government.

This is where I am at.

It was a new virus what we didn't know much about, I supported it. It was also nice weather.

Now into our third lockdown, we have unreliable statistics, scare mongering media and the government just making a pig sty of everything.
We now know this virus preys on the elderly and vulnerable. To keep cutting the lives off the whole nation to spare a small majority who were mostly life expectancy age has just been madness has been insane.
Putting measures in place that have had no hard evidence to support it.

I was horrified to read posts suggesting we ‘sacrifice’ the elderly in the first lockdown. I sort of understand now.

Much worse this time. First one was a novelty and a bit exciting (I know how awful that sounds). A bit of a break from work, kids off school, decent weather and it will all be over in a few weeks. Roads were silent, clear waters in Venice and all that. Time to make banana bread and spend time with the family.

This time round has been horrendous. Everyone is worn down by it, we've had a crap year, deaths have been mind blowingly awful, it feels like it will last forever and the optimism (weird I know) of the first lockdown has long gone. I've found it far harder to cope this time.

@daffodilsandprimroses

I was horrified to read posts suggesting we ‘sacrifice’ the elderly in the first lockdown. I sort of understand now.

The hard truth is we 'sacrifice' elderly every winter when 10s of thousands die each year to the flu. If we had locked the country up every winter, we could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives by now. But we haven't. Because we cant shut off life to preserve every life and that is something a lot of people don't understand.

@daffodilsandprimroses

I was horrified to read posts suggesting we ‘sacrifice’ the elderly in the first lockdown. I sort of understand now.

We haven't done a great job of keeping our elderly safe. We've left them lonely in care homes. We taped up benches so they couldn't go for a walk if they'd need to keep taking rests. We've scared them witless. They've lost mobility due to lack of exercise and cognitive ability due to lack of stimulation and opportunity to socialise. Many died anyway without seeing their families and they died both because of the shocking decisions made around releasing people with covid to care homes and from many other ailments that elderly people die from anyway. Many other people approaching old age have had one of their last years when they've had the ability to travel and get out and about frittered.

If I had been elderly, I'd have been going for quality over quantity.

I've found it angrier and more (quite rightly) cynical.

I think in the first lockdown most people had at least some faith and hope that even if the government were inept, they meant well, and lockdown/masks/domestic and international travel restrictions would be a temporary measure. Vaccines were coming, herd immunity was growing, and they were our way out.

There was hope, and that lent itself to endurance.

People are now openly more sceptical about why elements of the government refuse to open up. Data not dates, indeed.

Much worse, like so many others

I never actually liked the suggestion that people who were questioning measures were prepared to 'sacrifice' the elderly. When we went into the first lockdown I thought it was the right thing to do. I know it's easy with hindsight but it makes me furious how much we have all had to sacrifice, when the much sainted NHS were discharging elderly people with coronavirus into care homes. And also a lot of cases were contracted in hospital itself.

I felt all along that there was never enough balance- that we should take some measures but there is a limit as to what is reasonable to ask the public to do. Also with regards to the elderly in care homes- I think it's absolutely barbaric the way they have been separated from their families and especially now they have been vaccinated what exactly is the aim? Not enough balancing of their needs, and acceptance of the fact that we all die- the greater risk is the last months of someone's life being made utterly miserable and isolated.

On a personal level in the first lockdown, it came at a point where work had become dire for me so being furloughed was a relief. After a horrendous few years in my personal life it gave me the break I needed. The weather was good and the schoolwork that was being set was manageable and aimed at keeping them ticking over. It felt like my DC's well-being was prioritised. The lockdown was still rubbish but I was able to be positive about some things.

This most recent lockdown- completely different. I started a new job in the summer holidays last year and I'm lucky because I love it, I have excellent employers. But I'm tired all the time and struggle for motivation. The government also decided that apparently it was possible for parents who work full time to also be able to teach the full curriculum to several DC- our school have not been particularly great either. The ever-changing goalposts make me really concerned about what lies ahead. I'm far more negative about the next couple of years than I was a year ago- possibly because it feels like we have well and truly lost all sense of perspective and so I wonder about the future reactions to new variants, and particularly how this is going to affect children and young people .

Also feel that people in my age group and position have been completely disregarded at every single stage and in every way possible. I'm 30s so understandably low priority for the vaccine but the issues around blood clots have been frustrating- I will still happily have the Oxford vaccine as I do believe the risks are tiny but it pisses me off that people of my age are not offered a choice when I may be higher risk of a clot than a 25 year old man for example. We've been completely disregarded around homeschooling and concerns around our own and our children's mental health. So yeah, not feeling particularly positive right now and far worse than a year ago.

It was the weather that made it much harder for me. In the first lockdown I took my toddler exploring local parks every day, and she was a year younger so she was quite happy pottering around the grass and looking at ducks. The roads and parks were very quiet, I am young enough not to ever have been that worried about our family being affected by the virus but others were more afraid and stayed home.

In a lot of ways this lockdown should have been easier, because playgrounds were open, and she's in nursery for three days, and we travelled a bit more to places to walk. But it was so cold and wet that we often couldn't stay out for long, plus other things like health issues/work commitments meant we were more restricted as well.

Socially we are quite isolated (partly by choice) and I'm mostly focused on my immediate family's needs, so I never got into the whole community thing even in the first lockdown. I feel very detached from society now and I'm not interested in doing things for society as a whole, what matters to me is the right thing for myself and my family.

My experience has been much like yours OP. I had some low points during the first lockdown but nothing compared to this one.

I hated the first lockdown as I am a serious planner and found crossing off things in my diary as they were cancelled to be horrible. I had SO many things planned (including festivals, bucket list holidays, tickets for events I’d been waiting years to go to!). It depressed the life out of me and I hated every minute of it.
That being said, there was a slight sense of novelty. My job became a thousand times more stressful so I didn’t really have much time to brood and the weather was nice! Now I just feel a weird sense of emptiness. I haven’t had anything cancelled (because I didn’t have anything booked) so I’ve been spared that misery, but I hate not having things to look forward to and I feel very depressed and lethargic a lot of the time. I have booked a hair appointment and a brow wax for April and I can barely hope they’ll go ahead? What a sad life!

Oh, and I also had covid over Christmas, literally around the time of the announcement of lockdown. At no point did I feel like I was seriously ill, but I don’t feel ‘right’ and my fitness has seriously decreased....but I’m not sure if that’s long covid or literally from barely moving for three months because the only place I can actually go is work?

The first one was tough in some ways because we had foster children come to live with us and could not get their school/teachers to interact about them in any way shape or form.
This time, they’ve been back in school and enjoying that.
Also my entire industry was halted during the first lock down but this time we’re working, which is great.

This one hasn't been as bad for me because you could meet one other person outside so I've been out walking or running with someone several times a week. It has made all the difference. Also more parks open and car parks not blocked off to stop people driving for exercise.

I suspect a lot of parents found it much easier with pre-school childcare remaining open this time around as well.

Other than the weather, I think the first one was the most difficult.