Covid anxiety is here to stay, for many ...

I hope that the sanitising, distancing from strangers etc. continues in public places. I like the fact that we're far less likely to catch the next person's cold or any virus than we used to be.

Well, I have continued, throughout, with my weekly Supermarket shop. I enjoy that weekly outing, enjoy picking my own food thing, enjoy the mental maths involved. Never felt in any danger in doing this. Would only, ever, have food shopping by computer if I was totally physically unable to make that trip.

I love the fact that most of the small shops (that have managed to survive) have re-opened. Really enjoyed,yesterday, my trundle (on mobility scooter) down to the promenade in the warm sun yesterday, and seeing so many people enjoying sun, sea and sand.

Yes, Corona is a virus we will all have to learn to live with for some years to come, along with so many other illnesses.

I am concerned at how many people seem to live their lives in fear - if more money was available for mental health then perhaps there would be more people being able to be helped to overcome these fears and live in the real world. The amount of bleach being poured into our waste water over the past year concerns me.

To me, one of the best bit of news yesterday was the development of a vaccine for Malaria, which has for so long been the major killer disease in the world.

dh still wants our daily paper’cooked’ for 10 minutes in the oven before he reads it.

I go to a local library but I don’t cook the books! Wonder about it though, I have to say.??

Witzend As we say of so many stories, no smoke without fire. He must be smouldering when he takes it out of the oven to read it.

The one thing that I really want to get back to is singing in a big choir, yet that is probably one of the potentially most risky things. This virus is spread more by aerosols than by germ laden surfaces.
I started going to a smallish supermarket last July, twice a week at times when it is not busy, and I enjoy seeing what I am buying and what is new. We are still keeping our online delivery for the bulky items, and from our independent butcher and greengrocer. I am avoiding crowded places and am certainly not ready to go to a pub or cinema. I was glad to get my hair cut and buy some new underwear last week. There are few cases in this area and I have had both vaccinations, so what’s the point of being ultra cautious now?

I don’t know anyone who’s still very anxious about the risks.*
All the adults in my immediate family have now had one or both AZ jabs, and are very grateful for them.

*Dh still wants our daily paper ‘cooked’ at 100 dg for 10 minutes in the oven before he reads it, though. If it were just me I don’t think I’d bother.

nanna8 all the information I have read about the AZ vaccine suggest that it is very effective and that there is little to choose between the effectiveness of any of the main vaccines now in use. There have been reports out this week reiterating that following the recent ONS surveys in the UK.

While the blood clotting issue is slightly unsettling, it is a problem being found with one of the other vaccines as well and the risks of it happening are many times lower that the chance of death or long term disability from getting COVID.

Everything is back to normal here and we only have to wear masks on public transport, doctor’s surgeries and airports but I still feel wary because they have mucked up the vaccine rollout big time. Also there seems to be more and more news coming out that the astra Zeneca vaccine isn’t very effective and that is the only one available to most of us lucky enough to have actually had it. Having said that we have had some great Probus dine outs at local restaurants in our local area, mostly with around 40-50 people attending.

Hi, no, I've got no idea what that Mimi is!
I was referring to a poster called Mimi22 who in the past few weeks has posted lots of links to Covid related articles; many of which have had dubious content

I think FC is referring to this Urms

youtu.be/a-x3sUpFJHo

Who is Mimi?

That's a good point Galaxy. Maybe some of us have learned new things about ourselves and our lifestyles during covid. I too will stick with online shopping, so much easier.
I will also be more careful about hygiene in general in public places.
I will also continue to walk for over 30 minutes every day.
Good things can come out of bad and I am not going to let fear overpower me. Life's too short, another thing I've learnt.

I wonder if it's not just about safety for some but also about re evaluating what they want to do and what's important. I cant imagine I will ever go back to supermarket shopping in store again for example.

I’m joyous that restrictions are lessening. I’ve been to the Trafford Centre twice this week, met friends in a pub garden for lunch on Tuesday and been to a wine bar with Himself since then, sitting in the sunshine, people watching. It’s busy in our town centre like many places but I feel quite safe (and it’s good for the economy!). Roll on 17 May.
?

I keenly want to reacquaint with each of my former lunching companions but I do want much less of the huggie greetings. Confess I'm nervous of this without seeming churlish or causing offence. Slight aside - my son was asked for £10 to enter a pub garden today. Thank heavens he didn't go in much as he fancied a pint.

Been out now for the first time with hubby for our anniversary. Went for a drive and. A walk and a cuppa outside not fabulously exciting but it’ll do for the moment!

Just come back from eating in the garden of one of our local pubs. Tables well spaced, staff masked, felt really safe. I could only get a 5.30 booking, was glad it wasn't later as it felt very chilly when we left at 7.30! Really glad that life is feeling a bit more normal now.

It upsets me to think that having lost a year of their lives to this covid stuff, some people will now lose even more time worrying about getting their lives back to normal.
Isn't the advice to get back on the horse and tackle fears head on?

Anxious people will always find something to worry about. if COVID wasn't around they would be worried about something else.

I’ve got used to living the way I do now and will find it difficult to live normally again. Or, as a friend said to me, I think I’ve probably been practicing for this for most of my life. Me too I think. I don’t know what I’d do without the internet though.

I know several people that have had a traumatic event when they were young, usually losing a parent or sibling, and they all seem to suffer from ocd at varying levels. Can’t help but feel that many young people will be affected by covid for the rest of their lives.

Good point- but the article is not really talking about people who are able to rationalise risk- but have long term OCD tendencies, etc, and will find it really difficult.

I think that the way to manage fear/anxiety around Covid is to look at local data and how it changes, and work out one’s own risk assessment.
According to the Zoe app, there are 82 people with active Covid in Northumberland where I live, and which has a population of roughly 300,000.
Roughly translated that means that I have a 1 in 3600 chance of bumping into anyone with Covid.
I’ve had my second vaccination today.
So although I’ll still comply with rules about social distancing & mask wearing, I’m not at all worried that I’ll become ill with Covid.

For me, it is not covid.

It is the realization of how fragile our daily balance is and the single point of weakness that breaks our society structures