Bored and despondent with the virus.

I think a lot of us share your feelings. This has gone on too long now and we are all sick of it. Sounds to me like you have been very sensible in joining various things. Chances are that if you have had 3 jabs, even if you did catch Covid you would probably only have it mildly anyway.
Personally, I'm fed up because I still have itchy feet and am longing to go on holiday. I'm very old, so if this covid thing goes on too long I will probably be too old and feeeble to travel. I've had two booked holidays cancelled, so I am wary of booking again at the moment.

I’ve been wondering whether we could do with a recruitment agency (department of one) aimed at employment for retired people? i.e. a full time job vacancy at the library done on a jo-share scheme with two or even three retirees sharing it? I ran my own business for over 30 years and miss it terribly now. Thoughts please.

Now then despondent little liver bird ? you know what it's like? Best mate gets a fella, you get dropped!new job not what they cracked it up to be but you're stuck there for the foreseeable.....good friends depart and feeling very blue.all these things chuck themselves In Front of us to try and trip us up or worse-stop us in our tracks! Don't be scared of Omicron. It's not scared of us, weak and weedy though it is. Get yourself armoured up ( mask distance, latflo. G&T) And get out there to visit someone you knew where you used to live? All the museums and galleries are open. So maybe venture into fantasy land? See something you've not seen before then do a picture about it/them/ ? Start a project.i love a project to keep me occupied on my lonesome. Even if it's to rearrange a room/redecorate/have a chuckout then enjoy replacing old tat with new tat? the winter months are the pits, but not for long, just think In bout 6-8 weeks nature will be busting out all over. Clocks will be forward, days longer, virus is just ONE aspect of your life, so try to shove it to the back of the queue where it belongs, gone but not forgotten like creeping mould, needs to be checked and kept at bay. I feel like rubbish at the moment too so decided to get rid of a big dresser from my unhappy past and swap the rooms upstairs about, no costs involved but eating up the days. You're not alone. So join the club!xxxxx

You had a lot happening in your life all at once pre pandemic. It all came to a grinding halt. Now though there is a lightening in life and we are engaging more with others. The walking group suggestions could be helpful. How about wild swimming. I know a few folk who have taken to having a swim in the sea conditions permitting or in local rivers. They say it's changed their life. You are in a similar position to many others nowadays but you seem to be a proactive person so hopefully you will pick up where you left off before long. Do keep a check on your mood and seek help if you feel your approach to your life isn't improving.

Hi there Netflixfan I am a fellow scouser now living in London. I echo all your sentiments. Bored. Yes. Fed up with zoom. Yes. My DH died 6 years ago, yesterday. After all the sad business of sorting out his affairs (messy), I decided to move and that took up a lot of time. Having done that I realised I needed to create a new life for myself so joined U3A, WI, local clubs and all was going very nicely until along came the pandemic. I then needed treatment as an inpatient and during that was infected with Covid. Have never been well since. So not only has my health gone down the swanny but so have all my attempts to move into new friendship groups. However, as you say, you cannot keep a Liverpudlian down for long so I am trying to keep myself as occupied and cheerful as possible. I do find walking helps a lot. You get good endorphins and return home quite tired. I have been trying to see more of inlaws, who are a nice bunch but very settled into their existing friendship groups. Hopefully U3A, WI etc will begin face to face meetings again sometime soon. I will try Futurelearn and try to give myself reasons to get out of bed in the morning. Good luck to you and I wish you the happiest new year possible.

We had just settled into a retirement routine when Covid hit. It scuppered our moving plans and we are a bit cheesed off with it all. It could be so much worse so I always bear that in mind and am grateful but I think life may have changed in many ways and once again we will have to find a new normal when this subsides .

Gumtree, I think that’s a really good idea. I was helping at a jobs fair aimed in my local town a couple of years ago and was chatting to someone from the Jobs Centre who told me they’d placed a 75 yo lady as a receptionist at a doctor’s surgery. The company and extra income would be welcome for most of us.
COVID has been difficult for everyone on their own, long, grey days and then a bad summer followed by more grey days but at least we have vaccination and treatment and we must be moving towards mass immunity?

Gumtree

I’ve been wondering whether we could do with a recruitment agency (department of one) aimed at employment for retired people? i.e. a full time job vacancy at the library done on a jo-share scheme with two or even three retirees sharing it? I ran my own business for over 30 years and miss it terribly now. Thoughts please.

Great idea but knowing what most companies are like they'll think they can suck all the years of knowledge and experience out of us for peanuts! Hell! It used to happen when I was working! All those meetings that ended up like an enemy interrogation trying to find out " how do you do what you do?" If I told them that I'd have to shoot them! Oh and what? Sack me once they knew all my stuff? No thanks. sorry for being realistic.

I agree. It’s getting to the stage where there’s seemingly no “bright side”. Watching how this Govt. have handled things, how in England it’s been allowed to run amok under Boris Johnson just makes me so sad. It’s like we don’t count at all, ordinary people.

I think you’ve done fantastically well. You’ve joined things and really tried to get involved but no one could have seen that two years in, we’d still be living this grey half life.

Does your local library have an online book club? Again, it’s “online” but, just a thought. What about a running club. All levels welcome. I’m not a “runner” but it’s outside, fresh air and moving so… I do it!

Don’t beat yourself up, love. It’s dreadful and ongoing and we’re being mocked by a bunch of Tories who’s attitude is “let’s push on”. Easy to do in their position.

Covid came two months after I retired. I had just joined U3A and was also planning on joining the gym as as well as doing lots of other things. Have to say I too have spiralled down. It has left me unsure about going anywhere. I need to get out of this...sighs

If you like people, and want to volunteer, I would recommend going for a Samaritans Training course. They are very good, in depth, supportive, you meet many other people and if you get through the training you can start volunteering at the Local Samaritans Centre. It can give you some huge benefits and an insight into what other people are trying to cope with too. And all the other volunteers are supportive and very friendly.

Hi NetflixFan

I can recommend Sefton Active walking if you live in the part of Liverpool near Sefton. Great walks good chats and some beautiful scenery. The walks are free and Sefton libraries and leisure centres have a booklet listing times and locations.

I’ve been retired a few years now. Wonderful at first! Then I travelled quite often which I lived. Pandemic arrived, I too moved house, bought myself a puppy (which I love) BUT am bored out of my brains at times. Miss my working life in the media, am divorced and often wish I could go back to my full and happy life. BUT will not let this depression beat me and Spring will soon be here and thankfully I have my health but I do understand where you’re at!!

The walking group as suggested by N4na sounds a good bet. Your crie-de-cour struck a cord with me because I am ex Liverpool (5 yrs. as a student 50 yrs. ago!)
I think there comes a point at which we have to say "there is more to life than avoiding death". Get vaxxed if it suits, get out there and go for it. You will meet like minded people. Best of Luck.

Sorry meant loved not luved!

None of us are complete strangers to the effects of lockdowns and restrictions and it is reasonable to feel that all this has gone on long enough.

Are there any of the plans you had made for your retirement that you could implement now? A hobby that had been on standby or a completely new one?

Any form of outdoor excercise would probably be a good thing - lots of others have suggested walking, what about riding a bike?

I dealt with boredom - my own and a six year old grandson's by writing a weekly letter from my old Teddy telling the boy what it had been like being six years old in 1958 and how different everyday things like telephones were then.

Just an idea, but are there any bored children in your circle who might like something similar?

Most of us have piles of old photos we feel we "should" do something about - either discard, or make sure that they are clearly marked with who the people, places and events are for the next generation, if they are likely to be interested in them. Or you might want to hand them on to a local archive or historical association.

It might also cheer you up if you start planning whatever you want to do when life finally gets back to normal. If you are planning to travel then learning a bit of one or two languages as already suggested is sensible.

I retired whilst on furlough. So I don't feel as though I did the whole last day thing at work. Like you I feel at a loose end. I have joined the WEA and take advantage of their courses. Once the pandemic calms down I will do swimming and Aquafit which I love. Have you thought of volunteering, there are lots of roles. It's a shame to lose the skills built up at work.

I am totally fed up with it all even though life is pretty full on with various activities and volunteering stuff. It’s the lack of choice and not going on holiday which gets me down . I am usually optimistic and have loads of get up and go but I feel really low today. Heavy rain doesn’t help.
My advice is to go walking, there are plenty of walking for health groups; go swimming; try walking netball great fun.
Join a book group.? WI? Plenty of options. Good luck

Go swimming! I start every other day with a swim at my local pool, usually around 7.30am. It’s one of the best things about retirement. I can’t rhapsodise enough about how it resets my mind and body into a positive mood for the whole day.

This virus would run amok whoever was governing the country. It’s what viruses do. It has run amok everywhere on the planet and it will emerge in New Zealand however many times they lock down. I truly believe the present plan is the best- leave life decisions up to us. The media must carry much of the blame for the fear it has engendered in the population. I don’t listen to the news any more. I have been triple jabbed and had Covid 2 years ago in April. I take sensible precautions and just get on with life - U3A groups have started up again and I go to those - if I do pick up Covid, I trust it will be milder than before. I am ECV by the way but nothing is going to stop me living life again - not that many years left after all!!

How about learning a musical instrument? It’s never too late and there are lots of community orchestras around who are very welcoming to adult beginners and returners.

Am helping lead a walking group. Did training in September after I gave up Brownies. Do two Fridays a month, usually have about 15 friendly people. We don’t walk far, but it seems to be appreciated. This group has been going for 18 years,it is free. Also do yoga, and choral society, walk, garden and sometimes swimming,and Church. Just have to make your own judgements and walk away from anything you don’t feel safe at.

I haven’t posted on Gransnet before so am taking the plunge! Covid is almost superfluous to what has been going on in my life, but it certainly hasn’t helped. I spent 2018 on chemo for colon cancer and spent 2019 recovering. So just when I was ready to resume some kind of normality, lockdown hit. We were both retired and had planned to move at the beginning of 2018, to be nearer old friends and family. So that had been on hold due to cancer and then went on further hold due to Covid. We finally managed to move in July 2021, after a stressful year of house hunting, not finding anything and at one point, having our buyers pull out. I realised during that year that my husband was finding it harder and harder to keep PN top of things and I found myself doing more and more of the admin, finances and , literally, heavy lifting. Five days after we moved into our new house last July, he had a very bad fall. He continued to have more and was becoming more and more confused and two months ago was diagnosed with vascular dementia. He is only 70. To say I’m devastated would be an understatement. Having survived cancer, and finally arriving where I wanted to be, I’m facing a pretty bleak future I feel, as of course, is he. I’m overwhelmed with guilt that the move, which I pushed for, exacerbated things. And I’m permanently exhausted as I take on more and more care duties. I feel that Covid makes very little difference to my life as it is at present. I apologise if it sounds as if I don’t care about it, particularly to those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods. I realise I’m fortunate to have a roof over my head and a pension. But I’m struggling to see the way forward….

So sorry to read your story Lissajulie you certainly have had a time of it
Puts things into perspective Covid can be recovered from for a vast amount of the population

Hello! retirement is often a challenge for people. As you say you were happy and your time was taken up in a way that you enjoyed. There comes a big gap in one's life in retirement . It's a transitional moment. And there is loss to come to terms with. I've watched friends go through this process. In time they enjoy their own time and being able to do what they want, when they want. During this semi locked down time I imagine it's even more of a challenge. Try not to get too down. Just keep exploring things that might lift your spirits. There are lots of suggestions and ideas on here by others. Be gentle and kind to yourself as you go through this life event.