Do you ever feel this will never be over?

BlueSky, I know what you mean..I'm not sure I'll ever want to be in a crowd again. I used to use public transport all the time but don't think I will again. I'm planning to drive again, having stopped. And DH and I are considering getting a campervan for holidays.

Everyone needs to get a grip. Don’t think too deeply. Enjoy the day. Enjoy the little things in life. Be grateful for your health. Avoid people and rediscover your relationship with yr husband. Do all those jobs that you’ve put off for years . Set a target each day. Make a list. Tuck off the jobs. Stay positive . Breathe. Above all we have fantastic scientists working round the clock for a vaccine. Be patient. Something the BBC is not.

Condolences to everyone who has lost family or friends in these unprecedented times.

I didnt live through WW2 so have no personal experience of those years. However, I feel something has happened to our characters in the decades since then. There have been huge improvements in living standards, life expectancy and opportunity (though these have been going into reverse for many people in recent years).

But I don't think it has made all of us resilient. I think we believed the advertising which told us we were worth it and that we shouldn't deny ourselves the treats and the travel and the comforts. But as the saying goes - just cos you can, doesn't mean you necessarily should. So, many overconsumed and thought that the good times, like the ravaged planet, would never end. And the realisation that what many believed was a solid, guaranteed existence could be swept aside by a tiny, invisible virus from the other side of the world is difficult to bear.

But, most of us are not being sent to fight in the rat-infested trenches for years, or becoming displaced peoples, or starving. People have had to endure those kind of long-lasting, life-changing privations since the beginning of humanity. Most of us never had those experiences, thank goodness. So I think we took a lot of our privileges and good fortune for granted. And now we're discovering the harsh truth of you don't know what you've got till its gone.

We want our familiar lives back. But we've only had four or five weeks of this new reality. In the last war, people had to endure that many years, without most of the luxuries that most of us have these days.

I'm only thinking out loud here, but I suspect we'll find the journey out of this easier when we can accept that actually not everything should go back to how it was before, if we're all to survive and thrive in a new way. It's been highlighted in a very graphic way that our priorities as a society must change. I'm taking comfort and hope from the many stories of bravery and generosity. A life where our collective and personal focus is the welfare of us all sounds pretty attractive right now.

We have a campervan Hetty. We bought it last September and have only had two nights away in it. But we have used it for birdwatching days out (Before Coronavirus) - completely self contained. Own loo, kitchen and even somewhere for an afternoon nap. When we are released we’ll feel more secure in it.

Good post Happiyogi.

I've had a really bad day today. Woke at four with what i assume was a panic attack, done nothing much all day. Some days are like this for me! Other days I'm fine. I can't see any end to it and feel quite despondent but try to think about others who've lost loved ones.

My grandson will celebrate his 13th birthday tomorrow at his dads home,..with his 8 year old sister and no mum . She’s at her home without him as she’s in ‘shielded ‘. No one goes in ,and she doesn’t come out... it must be breaking her heart. I know it’s breaking mine. But she must remain away from the kids so she can remain alive for all his other birthdays .

My Daughter died on Monday from the Corona virus, she was a 47 year old key worker. Being a Transport Manager, she was in contact with HGV drivers from all over the Country. She leaves 4 children, who will now grow up without a Mum, and she will never see them develop into adults, or indeed get the chance to be a Grandma herself. It would have been my Husband birthday yesterday, and his 3 year memorial tomorrow, so I feel I've hanging on a thread, especially when I see selfish morons congregating in parks etc, why can they not get it into their thick skulls that it will all be over with quicker if they just stayed home!

FranT, My deepest sympathy on the loss of your daughter -- and at a time that is already so redolent of memories of those no longer with you. No words are adequate at times like this. So i will say no more.

Fran I am so sorry to read your post. Please accept my sincere condolences. What a truly awful time you’re having. Unbelievably sad for you and especially for her 4 children. All I can do is wish you strength and courage at this terrible time xx

Bless you FranT. You must be heartbroken. Sending you love and hugs. ?

FranT, I am so sorry for your loss. Anything I can say would be inadequate. My condolences to you and your family.

We have a family member very poorly, with serious underlying conditions, and the rest of the household not knowing if they will get it too. I am particularly worried for my daughter and her new baby. Feel scared all the time.

FranT no words can ever express deepest feelings of sympathy and concern for you but I am sure along with so many of us on here we are all thinking of you and hope you can come through this with some semblance of hope and peace within yourself. May the sunshine through for you very soon for all of us.

That's so awful, FranT My sincere condolences.

FranT, I have no words. My heart goes out to you.

I’m so sorry. ?

Of course it will end. We are so geared up nowadays to everything happening/ being fixed quickly. We are dealing with nature albeit to us a gone wrong element of nature. Like other aspects of nature we have to adapt, learn to live with or control. Patience is what we need.

I'm so very sorry for those who have lost friends and loved ones.
I dont expect I'm alone in feeling guilty that I'm praying I won't join the ranks of the dead or bereaved. This is truly a dystopian nightmare for us all.
Nevertheless, the nature of pandemics is that they do end, even without any mitigating science or medication, and we do have some brilliant minds concentrating their all on finding drugs and vaccines to shorten this horrible experience.
Stay safe and take care of yourselves!

When I woke up this morning I thought I’d had a nightmare that I’d woken up from. Then I realised it is all real.

Fran t + if only I had the words. I am so sorry for what you must be going through. ?

Aepgirl ; impossible I know but we share the same nightmare thought. Then it dawns
on me that life has become
a nightmare, but from which we must surely soon awaken.

Here to listen - whatever you need to say. Do PM.

FranT, that’s every mother’s nightmare - I am so, so sorry, it’s horrendous.

Bless you FranT - and your family. Wishing you strength and courage and sending you all love.

I'm a bit up and down too! Was listening to Ralph Mctell singing Streets of London at the end of Celebrity Countless today and felt all weepy ….Hmmm!