Moving On

Former Member

With more and more people being given the vaccines, more data being shared about the safety of larger gatherings (sports/clubs etc), and a lot of people getting ready to put their lives back to pre-covid normal....How are we all holding up?

personally, with my anxiety I definitely think its going to take a little longer for me to reach 'normal' - if i ever will because to be honest i like wearing a mask outside! keep away respiratory viruses, AND keep my face hidden from strangers? YES PLEASE.

I know a couple people struggling a lot more than me though, I'm able to leave the house with fairly little anxiety, but people close to me are finding it much more difficult to even do that.

So how is everyone here feeling about it? Are you worried you may not be able to get back to 'normal'?

lovemimoon

Hey! I'm extremely nervous to going back to my normal routine - as horrendous as the lockdown was, I agree with you on this one

Past User wrote: »

if i ever will because to be honest i like wearing a mask outside! keep away respiratory viruses, AND keep my face hidden from strangers? YES PLEASE.

When the lockdown started, everything plummeted - my health, my work ethic, my relationships, everything. I had a lot of difficulty adjusting. Now that everything is going back to normal, I feel like I'm having whiplash.
I'm worried that I'm not going to adjust back to my everyday routine again. And with everything that happened, it's not the same anymore.

AislingDM

I totally agree with both of you @Past User and @lovemimoon !! Like being expected to do a 180 and just get back to really close social interactions is pretty weird! And it also makes complete sense that people with anxiety (and other mental and physical health needs) will probably struggle immensely with readjustments, especially after having to spend time getting comfortable with restrictions. There has been so much flip-flopping between coming in and out of lockdowns and I think it is inevitable that going back to 'normal' will be so tough. Plus as you say, I think some of COVID's impacts should stay as our 'new normal' like I am cool with shops having hand sanitiser everywhere - even if not everyone uses it, at least some will! and masks on public transport are cool too This whole past year and a half has been truly a mess and I am just glad you guys are opening up about how it might make you feel to 'go back'.

Former Member

@lovemimoon I'm so glad to see someone else agree with me about keeping masks! They've been the only positive thing to come out of this horrible year.

I'm really sorry to hear about the difficulties you faced because of the pandemic. Having to deal with the pandemic alone is hard enough, but with so much else added on top makes it 100x harder. I know what you mean about the feeling of whiplash, i'm even starting to feel drained just by doing the really small 'normal things' like being in a shop

lovemimoon

Past User wrote: »

i'm even starting to feel drained just by doing the really small 'normal things' like being in a shop

Agreed! I went to Wilkinson's yesterday and I felt drained by the time I arrived. We all are drained from time to time not like this, you know? Unless people have experienced this pre-covid then I apologize, I don't mean to offend you.

People starting to order online and it's impacting our everyday lives. People I know are doing online grocery shopping and it's hectic. I know it's sufficient doing stuff online but it's good to blend that with the outside world, you know?

Former Member

@lovemimoon I 100% get you on this one, doing something as normal as going to a shop is really draining because of how many people are there, how loud it can be - and to add to the fact that individuals have learned a lot about themselves during the lockdown, for example, sensory overload, so going into a shop, especially during a pandemic, can be quite unsettling!

I completely agree with blending online and in-person shopping too. I believe people have gotten quite comfortable with just ordering things online and never going outside which was okay for during the lockdown but while things are being lifted now it's important to go out into the real world.

Sending love to you

Former Member

Yea I dunno its exciting but very scary. Like returning to work and that.
Im also wondering if anything will ever be fully normal again, it is possible like work wants to cut how many days i got to physical work for example, I already worked remotely partly so yeah.

I really want the masks to go away at least compulsory ones because they make me feel very ill, but i still dont feel like bad enough to ask for an exemption plus a lot of shop owners don't allow it. Because of that I have avoided going in too many shops and that though i been in more recently it feels like u cant just browse much anymore.

I feel like the pandemic has also engrained the whole avoidant pattern into others so its hard to adjust.
I dunno when I will get to hug someone again or shake hands (not that i like that lol because in this country people expect u to shake hands so hard )

It feels like after pandemic lifts everyone will be expected to do lots of things and be active.

Past User

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