Gransnet forums

Ask a gran

Loss of confidence after covid.

(15 Posts)
kircubbin2000 Wed 09-Nov-22 14:12:58

Yesterday a friend was telling me she had gone to a nearby town to do some shopping. When she had finished she decided go have a look round big Tesco in the shopping centre.
She couldn't remember how to get to it and came home.
Next day she made herself go back and found tesco, which,admittedly is on a ring road in a new part of town.
She says she has lost confidence after being home alone over the last couple of years. Has anyone felt like this?

vampirequeen Wed 09-Nov-22 14:14:33

I understand that a lot of people have been affected in this way.

Calendargirl Wed 09-Nov-22 14:16:51

Yes, I bet a lot of people are like this.

Kind of used to just being at home.

Hats off to your friend for going back next day and doing it, not easy.

MerylStreep Wed 09-Nov-22 14:25:59

There was a thread on MN highlighting this.
I found it very sad.
It didn’t affect me because when Professor Neil Ferguson invited his married lover over for some afternoon rumpy pumpy I realised that he didn’t believe his own death predictions. So I continued to go out and see my family.

Namsnanny Wed 09-Nov-22 14:40:01

Yes. Not totally covid for me. Intermittant balance issues came about the same time, so my confidence is, variable.
Although I had to drive through a major city, and work out the parking when I reached my destination recently.
Dripping with sweat, but I managed.
Like your friend I think I should do it again.

MissChateline Wed 09-Nov-22 14:46:13

I lost some confidence for travelling in 2020 when I nearly got stuck on a Canary island and when my (now ex wife) and I became separated for several months. Then all of the airport chaos. I’ve decided to be brave and am about to book flights to Vietnam and spend a few weeks backpacking in a country I’ve never been to before.
I got totally damned to the point that I had to leave this site and return under a different name after I disclosed that I actually went for 2 outdoor walks every day on the moors, in total solitude, and that I dared venture into my small town supermarket on a daily basis (sometimes twice a day). After the vitriol I received for being so unbelievably selfish and endangering everyone, including the possibility of having to call out an air ambulance if I tripped over……! I thought that this is ridiculous and continued to see all my family and friends. Having said that, I still don’t know anyone who was more than a dose of flu unwell with covid and I only managed to get a first mild dose of it a couple of months ago.
So it is with great excitement that I will be packing my rucksack and heading off the SE Asia again.

Blossoming Wed 09-Nov-22 15:21:25

Have a lovely time MissC, I’m no longer an intrepid traveler but it’s more to do with my failing health.

JenniferEccles Wed 09-Nov-22 15:33:52

What an exciting holiday you have planned MissChatline!
I hope you get an opportunity to post on here about your travels and possible adventures in Vietnam. It looks a beautiful country.

I remember reading your posts earlier on in the pandemic, describing your daily walks on a deserted moor near your home, and I was shocked at the level of vitriol you received for stating that. Completely unjustified in my opinion. It reminded me of when some police forces used drones to hound dog walkers on similarly deserted moors. Luckily that nonsense didn’t last long.
Anyway I am pleased to see you have returned!

MissChateline Wed 09-Nov-22 16:01:32

Thank you. I was totally shocked by the level of vitriol I received. But I guess people were frightened and I was lucky that I could get out in solitude for fabulous walks. I also think that people who couldn’t get out for whatever reason were envious of those of us who could. But the thing that shocked me more than anything was the assumption that I would endanger other peoples lives by calling an air ambulance if I tripped and sprained my ankle. If people call ambulances of any kind for such trivial accidents it’s no wonder that A&E gets clogged up.

GrannyLaine Wed 09-Nov-22 16:49:08

Miss Chateline I'm just remembering some of the ridiculous stuff that was posted. I got an absolute flaying from one poster for writing a letter to my grandson. Apparently I was putting the postman at risk and bringing he Postal Service to its knees.
🤣🤣🤣

MerylStreep Wed 09-Nov-22 17:04:58

MissChateline
You can tell by my post that I wasn’t what I called the cabbage scrubbers
I knew from day one what mental health problems were coming down the line, and so they did 😥
Enjoy your holiday.

JenniferEccles Wed 09-Nov-22 22:21:50

“The cabbage scrubbers” 😆
I love it!!

Fleurpepper Wed 09-Nov-22 22:28:43

I do know several people who have had Covid recently and have found it very hard to get over it. And were left with a total lack of energy, permanent tiredness akin to depression, despite the fact they have never suffered from either. My OH is one of them- we went out to a Conference today - his first outing for 5 weeks.

nanna8 Wed 09-Nov-22 23:02:08

Here in Melbourne we had a really harsh lockdown for almost 2 years. When they let us out we decided to drive up to a local beauty spot and have lunch. Well we got as far as the spot and then we saw …people all in masks. We got in the car and went home, just couldn’t face anyone. We had a curfew at night and were only allowed to travel 5 km from home . We used to go about 7 km to an isolated and very beautiful place to walk. Shock, horror and we both felt really guilty to be breaking the rules even though we very rarely saw a single soul. The place felt like something out of the Handmaids Tale.

M0nica Wed 09-Nov-22 23:03:20

MissChateline, your mistake, if it was a mistake, was to admit to what you were doing.

My sister and DH did much the same as you. They live in a rural area witha low population and they drove out every day, parked somewhere hidden and remote, field entrances, green lanes and then walked for miles. It was necessary for my BiL mental and physical health. The probability that they would have an accident that required air ambulances etc was so small, even smaller than under normal traffic conditions. DD living alone and ill would go for a long drive once a week.

DH walked down to the village branch of the Co-op everyday and bought the papers. I did my weekly shopping as usual but would make the journey between home and shop by long circuitious routes that kept my car ticking over and battery charged and kept my driving skills honed, should I need them in an emergency.

If more people were honest, many of us bent the rules, Our mental health problems would have been far worse if we hadn't.. The main purpose of the lockdown was to slow the progress of the pandemic so that the hospitals and medical services were not overwhelmed by the numbers needing hospital treatment, not to stop the pandemic, that was impossible.

Fleurpepper I understand your concerns, but we have just got to learn to live with COVID, as we do with all other serious infectious diseases. For about 15 years I suffered from post viral syndrome, even the slightest infection or cold could have me unable to function for several weeks. The worst episode had me non functional for six months. I saw it as being up to me to protect my health, not to limit everyone elses lives in case they infected me.