Bored and despondent with the virus.

Lissajulie. Well done for taking the plunge in posting and sharing your difficulties. Lots of people will now be thinking of you at what sounds like a pretty awful time ….

Thank you, that’s very kind.

So sorry bout how you are feeling but so very many are feeling just the same. I’ve done everything to avoid Covid but tested positive Tuesday after a PCR test and felt pretty awful but today bit better. Think positive it’s always a pretty miserable time of year but it’s getting lighter now n spring is around the corner. Get yourself out go for a walk you will be surprised how much better it will make you feel. We will get through this difficult time n life will hopefully get better. Take care

Join the bored and despondent club

You are definitely not alone on that one

Good news is that we have control of it at the moment and heard immunity is helping that to happen as is the vaccine

Lissajulie don’t feel guilty. None of your situation is your fault. The move could turn out to be a good thing but in any case it’s life and will have its ups and downs. Do look after yourself as best you can. Try contacting your GP? And do come on GN to share / offload / find other perspectives. I hope you soon find the peace of mind you need.

I retired a year or so before covid hit, and had a very free and active life. My husband retired after me, and tbh, put a bit of a brake on things, as he is a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. Then covid felt like it had completely scuppered everything I was enjoying and despite the fact that I enjoyed being at home and have lots of interests within the home (craft activities, play the piano, reading etc), it was the enforced 'enjoyment' of these which took the shine off of them.
We all caught covid last year, and my husband was in ICU for weeks just before Xmas, so I understand why he is fearful of catching it again. We have had our 3 jabs since then, so reasonably resilient to it, if the medical experts are to be trusted. In fact, my son and husband both tested positive just before this last Xmas, and had just the symptoms of a cold, and I tested negative on my daily lfts. However, my husband has become even more reclusive, being frightened he will catch it again (even though his recent experience showed the effects to the very mild). To the extent that he is reluctant to go to a social evening with our bike club this week, saying "we'll catch covid again" - even though he was happy to go to the same event each month last year, without benefit of firstly the second jab and the booster. I despair of him! I feel like I'm trying to escape from quicksand just to get out to go for a walk with my sisters. And feel like I'm being suffocated and buried alive - I just can't deal with being stuck in the house for the rest of my days!
That said, I really like Mummer's upbeat post, so I'm going to try and be more positive and upbeat. I think it's easy to feel a bit depressed at this time of year, once all the sparkle and focus on Xmas has passed and we're faced with the grey days of the first few months of the year.
Just a word of caution about swimming - this is something I do insist on escaping from the house to get out and do, but last week our swimming pool had 'double-booked' and it was heaving with a huge amount of children having a pool party, with the usual regular swimmers all being crammed into a very small section of the pool. I am aware a number of us have made written complaints to the management about their unsafe practices, so just check with your local pool what measures they have in place.

I feel your pain.
I retired from teaching less than a year ago.
I swim three mornings a week (early get up like work) and on the other two week day mornings, I mind my GC.
I do tutoring M, T and Weds.
The bits in between I fill with yoga, cooking, reading, craft, socialising, computer games/social media.
I try to see friends whenever possible.
I hope this helps.

Gransnet provides much solace! Thank you for your very kind comments, so appreciated.

Just at the moment I feel glad that I don’t have to go out anywhere as it is so cold and wet. I have got on with my family history project, am reading more, and feeling grateful that we can still afford to have the heating on as much as we need to.

But yes, there is a huge void, and there are times when I feel fed up and lonely. DH is ECV so he limits what he will do, and I do to a lesser extent, as I don’t want to risk bring the virus home. The grandchildren are growing up so fast and I am missing out on their company. I don't enjoy walking on my own and daren’t join a walking group as I am not sure about being too far away from a loo. Walking alone actually makes me feel more lonely, but I force myself to go round the block most days.
I try to be positive, but yes, life is slipping away as we are getting older and less venturesome. One thing I have done is to book a holiday for next July ( in the UK) so I can look forward to that and plan places to visit. It is not all bad.

Hi Netflixfan
I’m exactly the same retired and thoroughly disillusioned- i know it’s wrong to complain - I’m well , no family worries and a wedding to look forward to but none of this helps. Currently I’m applying for jobs- won’t be forever but just until things look more under control in the world.

Lissajulie what a stressful time you have had. I hope you feel you can open up on GN now that you have made your first post. I think it can help to talk to people who don't know you personally.

netflixfan
I help out at The Big Help Project in Liverpool. They are always looking for volunteers. Also South Liverpool Zero Waste Community are looking for volunteers.

Some great suggestions here but it sounds like you don't really want to go out at the moment. Why not look for a hobby that really absorbs you? For me that would be jigsaws or embroidery, I don't notice the hours going by. You could try painting, crafts, learning a language, so many ideas on Pinterest too. If you can find the one for you the hours indoors will pass much more quickly.

I sympathize with you and feel the same way. I have been doing on-line courses, such as Duo Lingo and have an exercise DVD for yoga, practicing daily, I volunteer for the Park Runners and go to classes for Yoga and pilates (not online in person) so I keep active and optimistic.
But what has the potential to cause problems is the cancellation of medical appointments, and hospital follow ups for example at the Eye Clinic and for DEXA scans. By prioritizing COVID, everything else is sidelined. This is annoying for patients and medical staff alike.

I completely get where you're coming from netflixfan. My job ended a couple of weeks before the first lockdown and every holiday planned for after that was cancelled, plus some other events that would have been key. Family and friends in Australia haven't been seen for 3 years now. Grandparent duties and photography helped me fill the days but from September 2020 virtual immobility due to worsening OA floored me. A hip replacement in April 2021 set me on the right track but progress has been slow.
I think feeling low and despondent is perfectly acceptable, nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sorry not to have suggestions for improving the mood and will read the ideas of others here with interest.

Go back to your art group netflixfan….. I’ve had three jabs and I’ve been tested and told I have omicron.. I’ve been in bed two days but am now beginning to feel better… it’s been no worse than a bad cold for me anyway. If you’ve no real issues with your immunity health…. then ignore the dire warnings and get back to enjoying your life.
It’s been an awful two years…. but this version of the virus seems to be petering out!

.... but Im so depressed and bored now. There I said it - being a Liverpool girl brought up to be cheery and optimistic at all times it is hard for me to admit this

Ain't that just so - it's such a burden

So nice to read all you Nans comments, very comforting. We are not alone, there's hundred just like us. I too am fed up to the teeth with Covid & Omicron. Just before it all kicked off we sold our house, not sure where we wanted to go (not too far from family) then chose a new-build as didn't want to "do up" any more homes. Well, we're still living with relatives (thankfully) as the new build still not finished, hopefully will only be a few more weeks now. So all my belongings have been in storage for months (forgotten what I own). I've also got health problems with my blood since having 2 vaccines, under investigation but feeling ok.
Best advice is like others here, just get on that overcoat, wrap up and get gentle walking. Everything doesn't seem as bad when you get back home. Happy New Year to all of us!

My husband retired in Decenber 2019. I had lots of plans to do stuff like visit places I'd never been to maybe join the National Trust. He had some mobility issues that we were going to deal with by buying a bigger car. Then came Covid-19. His health deteriorated half way through 2020 but he was still mobile enough to go shopping on his own. Then he got a UTI Oct 20. Spent five weeks in hospital and rehab with me being scared stiff he was going to catch it. We had a quiet Christmas with just one daughter then in January he got a gall bladder infection, caught Covid-19 in hospital and died a week later. Our retirement was destroyed and now I can't be bothered with much organisation for the future. I even had Covid-19 myself in October but hardly and symptoms at all, I wasn't actually ill. Had positive LFT and PCR. Hopefully therewillcome a time when you will feel safer to start your life again.

What a lovely uplifting post Mummer and such wonderful supporting posts from all the other GNs. This is a great community to be part of.

So sorry MaggsMcG, what a shock for you, I am also widowed. My life is very different to how I imagined it would be at this age.

I feel the same Netflixfan, everything I enjoy doing involves being with people.

With the NY I decided to be brave and go to the village cinema tonight - just been out with the dog for a walk and there's a big CANCELLED sign written across the poster.

So it's Saturday night and I'm stuck on my bed with Amazon Prime on my laptop and another season of 'Succession'. I'm going to get rectangular eyes!

This is the most supported post I've read on gransnet.

So very sorry for you MaggsMcG.

Netflixfan our U3A reading group is restarting next Tuesday. Hurray! Everyone has to be vaccinated use hand sanitiser and keep the distance rules. I'll be there. I don't know how much safer we could be.

We may do LFTs too. Must check...