Politics of fear and its side effects

But you have no idea about this woman. In the same way she knew nothing about your husband. I know a couple of people with severe health anxiety and obviously covid becomes included in that, she may have had health anxiety rather than covid if you see what I mean. I am sure there will be mental health repercussions from the pandemic of course but it was a long queue and no one else behaved like that.

I agree, Monica. Some of my normally stable friends seem to be making strange lifestyle changes. I never query but simply comply with their wishes. Interesting (if sometimes a little sad) indeed.

I think galaxy has a fair point. I'm sorry it has upset your husband though. People do seem to be a bit more confrontational on the whole though at the moment, I have found. Though my husband spoke to someone in the butchers yesterday for going in through the wrong door and told him to use the correct entrance which is most unlike him...so there may be a thread about that (there were clear arrows and directions, why would people want to go in the wrong way?) Maybe we are all a bit confused about what we do and have to do? I think people are very much fuelled by adrenaline in uncommon situations too

I totally agree. There’s some very timid souls about. The SAGE modellers with their ‘worst case scenarios’ have a lot to answer for in my opinion. And as yet they’ve been way off. I don’t listen to Whitt’s, Vallance and Ferguson any more they are all too extreme. Bet Sturgeon and Drakeford regret their extreme measures now. If not them then their hospitality and sports industries certainly will. It’s madness.

I said a very aggressive for gods sake to the man who rammed my trolley as if we were playing dodgems yesterday

Monica
I think you might be aware of my opinions on this behaviour from some of my comments.
I despair of the damage that has been caused to some people which may possibly never be reversed.
The politics of fear are alive and well in the U.K, but they’re not working on me and mine.

From my viewpoint it is the opposite of politics of fear. It's lack of effective leadership.

We all have to make our own choices because our leaders don't have a safe response to a potentially deadly situation. I'm stricter than a lot of people I know. Some don't like it. I don't care. I'm responsible for trying to maintain my own health and I'm not being pushed into lowering the standards I'm comfortable with by others.

I don't know what to say but it's Christmas and we're all in misery - Ellen Griswold

Yes very distressing for your husband if he thought he'd triggered her actions.

For future, to reduce potential stress for him could he wear a visor if it's medically possible.

I think the woman from the queue had mental health problems long before covid. In a different, non covid, universe she would probably have still have been triggered; just not by fear of covid.

I think there is a debate to be had about 'fear tactics meant to scare us'. It's a meaningless assertion as it stands.

There's a lot of it about !

Sorry your husband was distressed M0nica , we do not know what was going on with the lady in question.

I do think that Omicron has pulled the rug from under folks feet especially those already feeling worried with health anxiety.

Fact, a country wide mental health charity has a big rise in number of people seeking help and support.

Over the course of the pandemic I’ve seen it suggested several times that the government have deliberately tried to scare the population in order to achieve compliance with their instructions. It was recently suggested that SAGE have been told to prepare only the worst case scenario, hence last week we were told there could be 6000 deaths a day this winter. The problem is that people no longer believe these forecasts.

Whitty et al have been excellent with their doomsday predictions but at no time told the nation what is safe to do. i.e. you don't need to wear a mask whilst walking down the street!

Why was he distressed?

He did what he wanted to do, not wear a mask and got his jab. She didn’t speak to him unkindly or attack him. She didn’t feel safe and left.

She was the one who was distressed by his action. and ended up not getting her jab.

Why so judgemental of her? She was the one who suffered.

Poor lady clearly has a mental health problem - this pandemic must be torture for her. And it must have been very distressing for your OH.

I do not think this is "politics of fear" - it is just 0one poor woman who is unwell. There are many others with mental health problems who have been unable to cope during this pandemic. Would that there were the proper mental health services to help these people, pandemic or not. Our mental health services are pitiful.

I agree Luckygirl that the lady in question has got a big problem. Whether or not she has mental health problems or has just been scared witless by government and SAGE predictions it’s hard to know. I just know that the government set out to scare us in the beginning in order to achieve compliance with lockdown.

I just think 'There's always one!' in whatever situation, regardless of Covid, or (alleged) fear mongering, there's somebody who gets hysterical or overreacts. So just ignore them - and never let them upset you.

Don’t you think that if people you loved had died of Covid or suffered severe long term effects, you might be justified in being scared and anxious.

We have had both in our family. Am I anxious about my son and his wife who have now tested positive? Yes, I am. Terrified that it will be serious. Because I know how serious it can be.

I don’t need a Government to frighten me.

M0nica my DH was waiting for me to pick him up from hospital and went to the ground floor café while he waited.
He slipped his mask down to drink his coffee and a woman on the next table started glaring at him and pointing to her mask, shaking her head quite aggressively.
He wasn't sure how to drink his coffee through a mask so he ignored her.

Riverwalk

Yes very distressing for your husband if he thought he'd triggered her actions.

For future, to reduce potential stress for him could he wear a visor if it's medically possible.

I didn't go to the hairdressers for over a year because they were wearing visors but tipping them back to be able to see according to a friend!
They weren't wearing masks last time either so I cancelled my appointment this week.

I'm not terrified, just exercising caution.

Let me be clear I am not criticising the lady concerned, and I appreciate that she too may have health problems, but what concerns me is that the politics of fear, which has been used in such a heavy-handed way over the last few years, is affecting some people's mental health so severely, that even the sight of someone not in a mask - there was about 15 feet and two people between him and her and they were outside, is capable of generating such an extreme panic reaction in someone.

When the pandemic goes, it is highly unlikely that this lady will start going about her normal life as if nothing had happened, she is probably going to continue to be anxious going anywhere and restricting her life because she is over sensitised to every danger, no matter how small, that might affect her.

20 years from now we will be hearing of people who will not have left their houses for 20 years since the first lockdown started because of the fear of what could happen to them if they did.

Riverside visors are worse than useless, they give no protection against COVID because the virus floats in the air and will just float behind the visor and offer no protection to others as the virus will just float out round the open sides. This is why it is made clear that a mask must be a close fit to the face, so that any breath, in or out, is filtered through the material it is made of.

Woodmouse

Whitty et al have been excellent with their doomsday predictions but at no time told the nation what is safe to do. i.e. you don't need to wear a mask whilst walking down the street!

It’s ok to wear a mask down the street if it makes that person feel safe, especially if it’s crowded, as I found in the summer months. What isn’t ok is for people to not continue giving space and continuously shuffling right up to me as if they are going to lose their place in the queue. One lady was politely told , as she nudged my back, to please go back as keeping distance is still important, we need more Gov information on TV, re precautions that we still need to take.