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Original poster

Can this really go any other way?

28 replies

AbsolutelyFudged · 25/05/2021 19:16

Hi,

I'm trying to give my head a wobble and not get bogged down by all the negative news right now, but it's so hard.

Cases were expected to rise though weren't they? As a sort of coming out of lockdown payoff, but then I suppose that was said before we had the Indian variant, but again, this was always going to happen wasn't it?

I'm on the edge of tears all the time the past few days. My anxiety is through the roof.

My nanna, who is in a care home has deteriorated so much over the past year and now doesn't even know who we are. My mum and dad have both been very ill and we have only just started seeing them again. We swore we couldn't lose another year. My dd has expressed suicidal thoughts and is absolutely terrified of another lockdown. She can't see any light and thinks she'll now fail her GCSEs because they've all fallen so far behind.

I'm sorry. This isn't meant to be a pity party. I am just absolutely at my wits end. I'm genuinely terrified.

OP posts:
NothingIsWrong · 25/05/2021 19:17

I feel the same. The only thing that is helping is to ignore the news.

byvirtue · 25/05/2021 19:18

Terrified of what?

SleepingStandingUp · 25/05/2021 19:21

Cases aren't rising op. And deaths Def aren't

Can this really go any other way?
Can this really go any other way?
JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 25/05/2021 19:23

I'm sorry you're feeling this way OP but you really don't need to be terrified. The vaccination programme is going really well... and has proven to offer protection against the Indian variant. We'll be out of lockdown in a matter of weeks. It's all looking good.

StressMagnet · 25/05/2021 19:36

I dont think cases are rising overall. I am double vaxxed, so is dh and my mum. However my mum wont entertain seeing me. Its has been shit and time has been lost we cant get back. I try not to dwell. I dont see myself seeing my mum at all this year. She is 76 so maybe never again if she Carrie's on hiding away. I cant control it so it's got to be parked in the "beyond my control" box.

But honestly look at the data, right now, in this moment which is where life exists, in the here and now, numbers are stable

Can this really go any other way?
Bluntness100 · 25/05/2021 19:43

Op sorry can you explain? What way do you think it’s going?

Lockdown will end on rhe 21 st. You know that right?

Getawaywithit · 25/05/2021 19:51

Cases aren't rising op

Today’s 7 day average is up 18% on last week for new cases. It’s been increasing for the last week or so - not everyday, but most days. Deaths are down and so are hospital admissions. Too early, I think, to say there won’t be an increase in admissions and deaths, however. One high school local to me has closed today due to cases across all years.

Original poster
AbsolutelyFudged · 25/05/2021 20:07

I think I'm just teetering on the edge, like so many.

It's all a bit overwhelming. I understand that the vaccine programme is going so well and that deaths and hospitalisations are low, but for how long? Is it not inevitable those numbers will rise and we're just at the lag stage?

OP posts:
actiongirl1978 · 25/05/2021 20:20

@AbsolutelyFudged it doesn't matter if cases rise in most places as so many are vaccinated it won't result in hospital cases.

It is possible that rising cases in the areas with prevalent Indian variant might have rising hospital cases as so many haven't accessed the vaccine.

NothingIsWrong · 25/05/2021 20:28

@Bluntness100

Op sorry can you explain? What way do you think it’s going?

Lockdown will end on rhe 21 st. You know that right?

I can't bring myself to believe that the 21st will happen because if I let myself think it will and it doesn't, it will break me a little more. I don't have much more breaking I can do before I lose it completely.

Day to day I do OK, concentrate on work, look after the kids. But I can't plan or function beyond a week in advance right now.

Sorry for hijacking the thread

user29093 · 25/05/2021 20:44

I live pretty close to one of the hotspots, so I am concerned that there will be local restrictions again like most of the last year. If you are in one of the many areas of the UK were cases are very low, I wouldn't worry too much at the moment, let's hope the vaccination programme can get ahead of the spread.

It's a strange time, I can't plan ahead. My DD is talking about her birthday party and I can't promise what we can have as I have no idea what the situation will be like in a few months. It's the constant low level stress too, and I know many people are in a worse situation than I am, with only a job loss so far. Flowers as you are having a tough time, I hope it gets better soon.

Lahlahlah · 25/05/2021 20:49

The reason we have had Lockdowns is to prevent the NHS from collapse. I can't see that cases will get so bad that it will get tipped to the edge again.

The vaccine roll out is going really well, I think the tide is turning.

I work in education and cases soared between September and December 2020 - it was frightening. I live in an area that had a huge amount of cases and saw many of my colleagues and students get ill. Since we returned after the Lockdown in March we haven't had a single positive case and this has been with stringent twice weekly testing for all staff and students.

Original poster
AbsolutelyFudged · 25/05/2021 20:55

@NothingIsWrong, yes, I feel exactly the same.

@user29093, I really hope you don't get locked down again. I really feel for those in the areas who have basically never come out of lockdown. Just awful.

OP posts:
Overthebow · 25/05/2021 20:55

I think we just need to see what happens over the next couple of weeks. I’m hopeful that it will actually be ok as cases haven’t risen much at all on a UK level.

Samanabanana · 25/05/2021 20:59

I was feeling confident about restrictions easing but now I don't. I live in an area which is but isn't subject to local restrictions, which definitely isn't strict guidance and only advice but also we shouldn't travel anywhere or see anyone but it's definitely not a lockdown! Confused

I can't help but feel this will never end and I can't even see why - cases are stable, hospital admissions are down. I have been living with some or full restrictions since March 2020 and I am done. I don't see that there is any light at the end of the tunnel now Sad

picturesandpickles · 25/05/2021 21:18

I'm sorry you feel this way OP Flowers.

I agree that switching off and trying to just focus on now is probably best. I switch off when it gets to me sometimes.

I'm not that optimistic about covid right now but am not going to post lots because even though I have my views/opinions - I don't have a crystal ball and I don't know how things will turn out.

Bananasareyellow · 25/05/2021 21:21

I think it's a good idea to limit how much news you consume and make some practical plans for coping if lockdown comes back. E.g. we've agreed with my parents that if restrictions return we'll form a childcare bubble so that they can continue to see DS and help out with childcare (they're both vaccinated now so). I would definitely check out Young Minds website for suggestions about how you can help your DD and maybe it would be an idea to get hold of your GP if you think she's thinking about harming herself - or might do if restrictions return.

Bananasareyellow · 25/05/2021 21:23

I'm not saying lockdown will come back, by the way, but it might make you feel better and more in control if you feel prepared :)

picturesandpickles · 25/05/2021 21:24

@Bananasareyellow

I'm not saying lockdown will come back, by the way, but it might make you feel better and more in control if you feel prepared :)
I think this is good advice - there is no point in trying NOT to think about it as you already are thinking about it.
Thewiseoneincognito · 25/05/2021 21:25

It’s very interesting to see as soon as one of these threads goes up it’s immediately countered with users saying cases are down everything is great.

It makes me go hmmmm. Is it defiance or just naivety?

It shouldn’t come as a shock that we are where we are right now, we continued unlocking as if this new variant didn’t exist. Do not let your guard down!

picturesandpickles · 25/05/2021 21:29

Is it defiance or just naivety? It is often just about soothing fear, in the same way we all do when we think of a car crash, plane crash, house fire etc - we tell ourselves it is very unlikely.

We are all worried about covid, it has shaken our worlds - whether worried about it healthwise or worried about how it has affected our lives and freedom, none of us have had an easy time at all.

PrincessNutNuts · 25/05/2021 21:54

@AbsolutelyFudged

I think I'm just teetering on the edge, like so many.

It's all a bit overwhelming. I understand that the vaccine programme is going so well and that deaths and hospitalisations are low, but for how long? Is it not inevitable those numbers will rise and we're just at the lag stage?

We'll know which direction things are going in about two weeks. Definitely in four.

On the plus side, we're all talking about it, we know the pattern that the Kent variant replicated in country after country of replacing the dominant strain and hiding under the falling numbers of that strain so that it looked like a plateau.

Another wave, another lockdown isn't inevitable yet.

It's in the government's hands.

It's been 16 months - they must've learned something, right?

If only that waiting to see if you get away with doing nothing doesn't work, that exponential growth 📈 is in the small numbers too, and pretending it's not happening and refusing to release figures that prove it is, isn't a long term covid strategy. And pandemics are never "local" for long.

It's still totally possible to turn this around.

The government just have to decide to.

picturesandpickles · 25/05/2021 22:30

It's been 16 months - they must've learned something, right?

Wish I thought they had Sad

StressMagnet · 25/05/2021 22:35

@NothingIsWrong I feel exactly the same about June. I'm not betting anything on things going back to normal. One week at a time is fine by me. I have booked holiday and short breaks up until dec knowing they might get cancelled.

But going abroad or big meet ups? I think I will see six months clear of no restrictions before I entertain that idea.

TownTalkJewels · 26/05/2021 00:34

Something that’s really helped me is talking to friends and family in other countries and realising how different the news coverage and the vibe is.

In America and in a couple of European countries where I have friends, nobody is worried about variants. Nobody is even talking about them. America is definitely treating the pandemic as though it’s on its way out.

I found this really interesting. Maybe we know more than them, or the other way around, or the public health messaging strategies used to shape behaviour are just different. But I don’t think the variants are necessarily the apocalypse that some in the U.K. seem to think they are.