I feel like crying I've had enough

[LifesTooShortYOLO]

I made a conscious decision to try and switch off from the media stories and coronavirus news and just try and get in with our lives.
I had been feeling mentally a lot better and almost forgot about covid in the sense of not seeing it in your face every where you turn on social media etc.
Now it's everywhere again 'Plans for plan c' 'lockdown imminent' 'data suggests this wave will be the worst one yet' 'modelling shows new strain could cause 75,000 feather in 5 months'
Are just some of the headlines I've seen today and I just feel so fed up.
Why are we still talking about lockdowns 2 years on?
I'm just so done with it all, it feels like there never will be a normal again, just when we start to get back to doing normal things you get taken back to square one again and told we may have to lockdown or have further restrictions brought back in. It's just so draining 😩

I’m sick of Covid, I got it at the end of September, I’ve needed antibiotics twice since since. I was never ill before.
Now with all the new restrictions there’s three of us working from home which I really struggle with.
I just want to feel normal again.

I do feel so much of this pandemic is media and hysteria driven. Had this happened in the 90s before 24/7 rolling news and social media, things would have been VERY different. Just like the recent petrol 'crisis' was fuelled by the media, covid panic is exactly the same. We have treatments and we have vaccines now but still people are baying for more restrictions. Summer 2020 after such a long lockdown, we should have all been enjoying our freedoms and seeing friends much much sooner but we had the media photographing people at the beach and crying out for more lockdowns.

I dont think most people WANT a lockdown but a lot of us feel we NEED one.. i hated lockdown but I dont see any other way really

"If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same."

Perhaps Omicron paves the way out of this as a mild dominant version of the virus. I went to hell and back with worry in April 2020. Not doing that again.

@Jabbinell

I can’t believe people saying “stiff upper lip” and “you’re lucky you have a house” blah blah blah. FUCK OFF!

Literally nobody is saying that.

I'm saying people should quit saying shit like 'everyone is struggling' when someone posts in desperation. No, they're not. Not everyone is struggling. I know people who have on the whole had quite a nice year. People who have started families, bought houses, spent lockdowns decorating and having cosy board game nights and themed film nights with their partners. My sister admitted she's actually quite enjoyed WFH and having loads of time at home.

It's not equally hard for everyone. That's just a fact. People who live alone or who depended on things like in-person therapy or mental health groups have suffered much more, and there's no point in pretending they haven't. If someone says they're really struggling, the correct response is to wish them well and ask if you can help, not go 'I think we all are' and dismiss them.

@Babyroobs

Judging by the high street in my village today, people almost seem to be imposing their own lockdown ? I could not believe it is two weekends before Christmas, there were few people about, local Coop virtually empty, empty parking spaces in places that it's normally impossible to park in ? Has anyone else noticed the same today ?

The thing is though, if people catch it now they won't be having Christmas outside their own household. It isn't about fear of being ill or dying for a majority now I think, but more the fact that they would 100% miss Christmas with the family if they start getting symptoms from mid next week.

Bellamountain I agree about media.

you've picked the worse case scenario and come on here with that

you failed to say it could be 50000 less deaths than that in 6 months December - April, which would be a normal winter flu death in any case. which you probably never caused yourself concern for before

@Lacedwithgrace

If people wore masks and stopped pretending everything is fine just because they feel safe we wouldn't be in this situation. No one seems to care about the people still shielding, because their mental health apparently relies on pubs and clubs being open, nevermind that a huge amount of people are still trapped indoors terrified of even going for essential food shops or hospital appointments.

Yes this. If we could all find some resilience it would be better for everyone. As it is, we have to pander to those who can't possibly cope with mitigations for a single second, so we go round and round in circles. Meanwhile, many are still unable to do anything because it's unsafe and are showing enough resilience for the whole country.

I’m fucked off with people who love lockdown, say stiff upper lip, you’re fine in your big house.
I am trigged as I have lost someone because of lockdowns and yeah they had a lovely house and didn't live alone, mental illness didn't give a shit about that.

DH works intensive care at local city hospital.
Every other time the media has been up in arms he’s not only agreed but seen it coming weeks before. This time he’s just confused.

In our region at least, there is nothing like last year happening, not even rumblings of it. They’ve not had a single person in ICU who was double jabbed and covid is responsible for far less beds being taken than regular sick people.

I mean they’re on their knees, short staffed, not enough beds…etc but it’s not to do with covid. Makes me a bit cross at having to wear face masks tbh.

What I’ve read about the studies in South Africa is that the Omicron variant is much more spreadable, but very much milder and less deadly than Delta. This means that the dangerous Delta is being killed off and replaced by the new mild Omicron mutation. So with vaccines/boosters/infection and antibodies, infections will be high for a while, but lockdowns defeat the point of a careful spread of milder infection.

The problem is, for the 1000th time, it would have to be VERY MUCH milder for the increased infection rate to not end up overwhelming the NHS.

We all hope for the best but I do see a lot of over-optimistic spinning. The reality is - we do not know yet, because we do not have accurate data, but we should have more soon.

Its the media they make everything worse.

Yes, people forget how they exaggerate. Even today the main headline in the I is "Booster Can Stop Omicron" when having had a booster actually offers only 75% protection.

@ivykaty44

you've picked the worse case scenario and come on here with that

you failed to say it could be 50000 less deaths than that in 6 months December - April, which would be a normal winter flu death in any case. which you probably never caused yourself concern for before

Whilst I agree 24,000 would be far better, that would be a high winter flu death tally, and would be on top of whatever flu deaths we do have, so not a walk in the park.

@Florianus

Its the media they make everything worse.

Yes, people forget how they exaggerate. Even today the main headline in the I is "Booster Can Stop Omicron" when having had a booster actually offers only 75% protection.

If it is 75%, then it can stop Omicron

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I think we all feel like this😟

100% this. ^

I am sick to DEATH of it all now.

I don't know how much more I can take tbh.

Lockdowns will be shown to have killed more people than they have saved.
OP keep calm and carry on. Ignore the media and restrictions

@megustalacerveza your comments are very blinkered while yes of course some of these things maybe make things easier everyone has their own struggles. Parents of school aged children are dealing with the constant testing, rejigging work etc while their children isolate for every single cough and standard illness. Many people are struggling with their mental health regardless of income or living in a household with other people. I just want my life back, to see my friends and parents without worrying, not to have to constantly cancel plans due to my children constantly being close contacts at school, not to have to traipse off to the testing centre and isolate every time someone in the household is ill. Not to be facing another winter of uncertainty, of not seeing my elderly parents due to fear of passing covid to them, not to have to worry about being able to get an ambulance if my youngest can’t breathe with croup again, not to be worrying about homeschooling my children again. I think everyone is feeling it at the moment you don’t have to live alone to feel lonely or isolated or to feel like the op does. It’s not a competition.

@Florianus

Its the media they make everything worse.

Yes, people forget how they exaggerate. Even today the main headline in the I is "Booster Can Stop Omicron" when having had a booster actually offers only 75% protection.

You do realise 75% effectiveness against symptomatic infection is HUGE, right?

In every single thread about covid is this weird black and white, all or nothing mentality. I don't get it at all.

"Oh well if it's not 100% effective, there's no point in bothering" whether it's about vaccines, masks, vaccine passports, or anything else.

Is critical thinking REALLY that bad in this country?

This is much, much worse for people who live alone or already had issues with feeling lonely or isolated.

Ironic then, that those people often fall into the vulnerable category and are the ones who have been told they just have to stay indoors when everything opened up and people stopped taking any precautions.

[quote Rainbowsandstorms]@megustalacerveza your comments are very blinkered while yes of course some of these things maybe make things easier everyone has their own struggles. Parents of school aged children are dealing with the constant testing, rejigging work etc while their children isolate for every single cough and standard illness. Many people are struggling with their mental health regardless of income or living in a household with other people. I just want my life back, to see my friends and parents without worrying, not to have to constantly cancel plans due to my children constantly being close contacts at school, not to have to traipse off to the testing centre and isolate every time someone in the household is ill. Not to be facing another winter of uncertainty, of not seeing my elderly parents due to fear of passing covid to them, not to have to worry about being able to get an ambulance if my youngest can’t breathe with croup again, not to be worrying about homeschooling my children again. I think everyone is feeling it at the moment you don’t have to live alone to feel lonely or isolated or to feel like the op does. It’s not a competition.[/quote]
Sure, but if someone told me they were struggling to cope, I wouldn't snap 'we all are'. I'd listen to them and be sympathetic. Not insinuate that we're all having a terrible time and they should just shut up.

If it is 75%, then it can stop Omicron

It's 75% for the 39.3% of the population who have had three jabs.

I'm not sure what proportion of the herd you need to be immune to stop a disease with an effective R over 3 (which this seems to be) but i expect it will be a lot more than approx 29% (75% of those with 3 jabs)

Though I suppose you should add in the 30% effectiveness of the further 41.9% of the population who have had 2 jabs giving another 12.5%, so total 41.5%

Of course no u12s in those figures

Lockdowns will be shown to have killed more people than they have saved. OP keep calm and carry on. Ignore the media and restrictions

Until this is anywhere near proven, it is wrong to state this as a fact.

People have claimed suicides were higher. They weren’t. That the lack of screening or treatment will lead to higher rates of cancer or heart problems. This may be the case, but without lockdown, the services which opened and treatments available would have been even less available as hospitals would have been overwhelmed for longer.

The pandemic will inevitably have been shown to be more responsible for more than just covid deaths, but to say that is as a direct result of lockdown is unlikely to have been the case.

@RoseAndRose

If it is 75%, then it can stop Omicron

It's 75% for the 39.3% of the population who have had three jabs.

I'm not sure what proportion of the herd you need to be immune to stop a disease with an effective R over 3 (which this seems to be) but i expect it will be a lot more than approx 29% (75% of those with 3 jabs)

Though I suppose you should add in the 30% effectiveness of the further 41.9% of the population who have had 2 jabs giving another 12.5%, so total 41.5%

Of course no u12s in those figures

We could well be at around half the country triple jabbed by Christmas at the rate they're vaccinating. The mitigations around travel, masks and workplaces should help slow the spread while the boosters are being done.

It's not about stopping it for now, it's about slowing it.

I think it's complex partly because someone can fall into several categories at once. I am still shielding (doctors' advice), which obviously isn't great - I'm aware of how CEV people with ongoing major medical issues haven't been able to resume even quasi-normal life.

But then I'm also, in other ways, really lucky to have the things that make a pandemic easier: nice house, stable relationship, lots of support, not too worried about money. So if you looked at just that part of my life, I seem incredibly fortunate and as if I have nothing Covid-related to be upset about... Yet it still has, of course, had a massive impact (especially medically). And I'm aware there are many people shielding who don't have these things to make it easier to cope with, less unpleasant day by day.

I think everyone's personal situation is so nuanced that all we can do is try to empathise at a human level.