Why the constant scaremongering?

[FeelingJittery1]

I don’t read the daily mail- hate that paper for various reasons. Was in Twitter looking for a link about something and clicked on a link and ended up in the coronavirus rabbit hole-so many as my stories of unvaccinated individuals passing - single dose individuals passing- most around 30-40 age bracket-atleast this morning. I’m 40

I’m very scared of catching Covid- I’m convinced I’ll die. My dad who is 67 and went through a bi-pass three months back caught it and currently in icu on oxygen. He is in a red listed country which doesn’t help.
But obviously this has brought the whole issue very close to home and a lot if discussion around it.

I was very scared of the vaccine but after a HUGE battle had the 1st dose Pfizer 10 days back - and as per some studies the 1st dose is pretty useless against Delta? I might be incorrect in this.

This time I’m convicted I’m going to catch it and die - schools go back in the 6th and my second dose (I’m trying hard not to think too much about this) is early Oct

Why are the media scaremongering like this? I’ve seen similar articles in bbc too which I actively avoid-

We are at 320 cases per 100,000 which is above the national average.

How can I stay away from a 7 year old in the same house? I don’t go out and wfh- so my contact point will be mainly her and husband (double vaxxed)

I thought I was taking small steps forward but having a massive wobble today….

There should be some sort of a law against this kind of reporting.

If you are feeling this level of anxiety, then you should not be looking on Twitter or MN. It will not help.

I'm a big fan of mindfulness, it helps you stay in the moment and clear the "what if" worries from your head.

The media are not responsible for your anxiety; it sounds out of control. You need to get treatment for that.

With your level of anxiety I’d be stepping away from the Internet and checking in with a health professional instead.

Well you've taken a massive step forward by getting the vaccine. I haven't heard that one dose of Pfizer is useless - not as effective as two, but it definitely adds protection!
You could have been double vaxed by now of course. Giving in to one anxiety just leads to another. At your age, even with no vaccine you are incredibly unlikely to die. But you know all this already I'm sure, doesn't always calm the fears as they aren't rational anyway.
Never, ever go on Twitter again. Just don't. You are fuelling your anxiety.

You don’t go out and only WFH.

There you go then, that’s made everything worse- you’ve cocooned yourself in a bubble that’s not sustainable long term and just heightened a feeling of it being scary ‘out there’.

It isn’t. And you could have been double vaxxed ages ago.

@FeelingJittery1

There should be some sort of a law against this kind of reporting.

Why? Surely it's up to you to take responsibility for what you access and read.

Step away from social media, have you seen or talked to your GP?

There are so many people who feel like this though, this anxiety has been put on us.

Some people are never going to be go back to normal. It saddens me so much.

Honestly it is worrying how anxious you have become about this. First the vaccine now news reports.

You have the vaccine and you are much much more likely to recover than the millions of people who caught covid in the first 12 months of the pandemic.

Lots of people claimed back then that unless you were over 60 and healthy covid was nothing to worry about. I'm not sure this was true as people in their 30's and 40 got Ill but if you worked in NHS care homes. Schools etc you had to take your chances

Delta has increased hospitalisation risk and seems to affect young people more. The vast majority of people you read about now in the press and overwhelmingly those who still believe they are at almost no risk and should trust their immune system.

Covid knocked me for six for months and I was glad to have both jabs and will get a booster if and when it is offered. I know plenty of people who had it. Some barely noticed some very ill but it seems so random and unpredictable. Everyone that I worked with also got the jab asap. Too many people dismiss it as like the sniffles and for many it is but I don't see the media reports of how nasty it can be as scaremongering. I'm sure NHS and nurses treating those poor people wouldn't either.

All these posts are not helping you. However if it helps, DS, 17, has Covid and DH and I haven't caught it yet despite being in a v small London flat.

In normal times I go out everyday, even though I too wfh. I take the Tube too. Don't let Covid take over your life or life won't be worth living at all. Take reasonable precautions but not going out at all is bonkers!

Am sorry to hear about your dad. I too have family overseas. You need to find a way to control your own anxiety, so you can help them by staying as calm as possible. Social media will make it worse. You are not going to die but your quality of life sounds terrible.

You're not wrong. I was on a thread the other day and someone said they had been 'floored' by covid. Perfectly fine, it's a place to share experiences. So, I said I had it and was fine and got 'so what?'

Some people just don't want to hear that Covid doesn't make every single person feel like death.

I currently have Covid and have only had one vaccine (Pfizer). I'm fine, it's been nothing more than a moderate cold and I'm basically recovered now 9 days in apart from not having any sense of smell or taste. I'm about to turn 31. I personally do not know anyone of any age who has been hospitalised with Covid.

News stories only report the bad, not the thousands of people who recover fine from Covid.

Stop attention seeking and get the vaccine, like a normal person.

Not great for your seven year old to see you hiding away scared really is it? That must have a big impact on them.

This isn’t the media.

You have posted countless threads-you have anxiety problems that can only be solved with real life help.

Your GPs told you not to get vaccinated until you had had more therapy to help you cope with it. You need to go back and ask for support.

Umm don’t go on Twitter?? That’s an option.
DH and I are both double-jabbed, both got the Delta variant and were both v ill. DD also had it - no jab. She was groggy but that’s all. 85yo DM in close contact with us but didn’t pick it up - also double-jabbed. Go figure 🤷‍♀️

@MareofBeasttown

All these posts are not helping you. However if it helps, DS, 17, has Covid and DH and I haven't caught it yet despite being in a v small London flat.

In normal times I go out everyday, even though I too wfh. I take the Tube too. Don't let Covid take over your life or life won't be worth living at all. Take reasonable precautions but not going out at all is bonkers!

Am sorry to hear about your dad. I too have family overseas. You need to find a way to control your own anxiety, so you can help them by staying as calm as possible. Social media will make it worse. You are not going to die but your quality of life sounds terrible.

Same, my fourteen year old son caught covid, and tested positive at the beginning of the summer holidays, he felt a bit rough for about 48 hours but was ok after that, we live in a small two bedroom house with one bathroom, both myself and dh are fully vaccinated and neither of us caught it.

Step away from social media, and this section of MN. If somebody with Covid is on social media/MN writing about how sick and awful it’s making them feel, then by definition, they have a mild case of Covid: they are sentient, propped up in bed or on the sofa, and capable of engaging with and writing articulate posts on social media. They are not very very ill.

I did promise myself I wouldn't respond to your posts because I feel l like I may be making things worse, but I have family in India and when things were super bad there, I went a little awry and over the top myself. ( probably apparent from some of my "scaremongering" posts here). So I understand how helpless you feel. Now that everyone in my family is double vaxxed and several have got very mild cases of Covid ( DS is fine, just a little tired), I feel a lot calmer. Learning to live with Covid now and get on with my life.

You have done the right thing by getting your first shot. Once you get your second, you will feel better. If your DD gets it, it won't be the end of the world.

The very nature of health anxiety is that its on the lookout for something else to latch onto. If it wasn't media reports it would be something else.

Thats not to say some of the reporting hasn't been pretty disgraceful at times, but regardless of how something is reported your anxiety will always find something to attach to.

The list of symptoms is huge and overlaps with many other very common but fairly minor symptoms of other bugs or illnesses. Lots of people will have had it without even knowing.
A PP (I think last year) said their child had a temperature for an hour- they were tested and were a positive case. (And that was their only symptom! A lot of people would probably have overlooked or ignored a symptom that lasted an hour!
I do feel anxious about it but I dont fear being unwell dying from covid as I know that the overwhelming majority of people who have it, fully recover.

It's difficult getting back to normal after all the lock downs, sheilding, been told not to do this and that. Our brains have been programmed differently and it will take time to get back to some sort of normality.

For me, it's small steps each week. As I have been sheilding since the very beginning with my dd. It's scary, but normal to feel a little anxious. This week I went to a cafe 😁 very happy with myself. And yes I spoke with my gp about this anxiousness and he said it was normal and he suggested the small steps which have helped. I've even contacted dds school to say she's returning, that's another worry but perfectly normal ones.

I had the Pfizer vaccine, you do have protection from the delta variant. There was a big piece done on CNN where Dr Fauci explained about the different vaccines, their level of protection and how they all offer protection against delta. They are only passing AZ this week or next, so more good news. The USA are very particular about testing and passing medications so if they pass something you know it's been trialled and tested well.

Everyone is different, there is no point reading about people who compare it to flu or those who were floored. It is down to your immune system how it handles the virus. Just because Mary who lives with her granny and 20 kids got the sniffles doesn't mean you will, same way just like Vera got floored by it and felt like she was hit by a bus.

If you look at the stats for each Country the deaths have declined where the uptake of the vaccines have happened. Here in Ireland, while our cases have risen, there has been no deaths. The majority of people in ICU are unvaccinated or have serious underlying health conditions . We have been told that you can still contract covid with the vaccines but it will be very unlikely that you will be hospitalised. Whether that means you get a mild case or a bad case.

Why is there such a gap from your 1st vaccine to your 2nd? Our gap is 4 weeks. Would you feel better getting the 2nd sooner?

OP you post multiple threads on this subject - the answer is seek medical help and step away from all news/social media. The answer to your anxiety isn't external, it's internal.

Why is there such a gap from your 1st vaccine to your 2nd? Our gap is 4 weeks. Would you feel better getting the 2nd sooner?

You get better immunity with a longer gap. Here it’s 8 weeks minimum. There isn’t a possibility of getting it earlier.