Very interesting thread.
It is all quite the conundrum.
In fact there is a book about the way fear has been used to "encourage compliance" which I am loath to mention because talking about it leads to a bun fight and deletion if threads.
But suffice to say, the messaging we have received around the pandemic from on high was designed to achieve exactly this sort of response with little thought as to how it could be reversed when risk reduced.
I wasn't immune to the fear of the virus myself when it all kicked off. My Mum was in the last month of her life (terminal cancer) and to start with the anxiety around her ending up alone in a hospital dying with Covid on top was nauseating. I wore a mask and gloves and followed shielding rules. When it was unsafe for her to remain in her home which I couldn't move into due to lack if space and shielding recommendations, the hoops we had to go through to get her into our spare room was ensuite left me also terrified she would be taken away because technically we broke the rules according to Macmillan. Her GP had to get her into hospital for 24 hours for "stabilisation" and then she could be released to my house. Unnecessary and pretty traumatic for a dying woman and for me.
As time went on, in fact after the first month it so of the first lockdown, and people weren't dropping in the streets, I thought things would become rational. I watched the numbers and relaxed a bit.
For me the fear transferred from the virus to the compliance of the rules and the vitriolic behaviour of other people, especially online. This is one of the things that bothers me. We were forced into digital interaction, and could never escape the reminders that the virus is real and imminent death was the price to pay for minor infractions.
I've been going out and doing normal stuff since the middle of last year when possible, but those periods when restrictions were at their highest had the oddest effect. Rationally I was happy to be out - but the first time we went to the Range I lasted about 30 minutes and had a bit of a panic attack in the car park - and that's really not me. It was big and overwhelming and felt "wrong". But I knew what I was doing was legitimate and within the rules.
Since then I've found out so much about how we have been manipulated and how disproportionate it has been so my fear is replaced with a simmering rage and lack if trust in the government. Being treated like a naughty stupid child has brought out the worst in me. I'm sure this too will pass.
As far as I'm concerned blame lies in one direction, and it's not with people who took everything so seriously because they were effectively brainwashed into it. Yes, support and a new campaign is needed to help undo this damage, but recovery will take longer than we'd like I think, especially as the virus is still a bigger threat for some, and others think their sole responsibility is to worry about it just as much.