If lockdown is ruining your mental health, don't be afraid to criticize

[hollowone]

These revolting measures are destroying our lives no doubt.

Some of us were making progress in our social lives, our work lives and other areas, then everything got stamped-out!

Many people are in emotional distress right now, suffering from terrible loneliness (especially the single and those with few or no friends). Not only that having NO ONE TO TALK TO.

Not only that, voicing often being met with justifications to keep us imprisoned at home, cut-off from people we know, cut-off from source of support.

"Oh, you'll spread the virus to older people"
Simple;
-Vulnerable ppl. should have their shopping delivered; online or by friends, family or volunteers
-People who support older or vulnerable people should avoid pubs, cafe's, social gatherings (as they were BEFORE lockdown)
-If you have been to a setting with lots of people you don't know; either a) refrain from visiting an elderly relative for 2 weeks (do so online) or b) wear a mask if you do

That's how you protect the vulnerable.

Anyway, what about those of us who are SUFFERING from loneliness, depression (slowed-down), turning to too much drink and other diseases of dispair.

TALK ABOUT IT. Don't get side-tracked by people accusing you of being selfish for being distressed (disgusting social control). You're not being selfish for talking about how it's making you feel. If anything, there's people out there who will listen.You will get people telling you that you're horrible for not anal-****ing the restrictiond but truth is, there are people in your boat.

[firemonkey]

IMO it was necessary to have rules in place to try and minimise risk. Criticism should be aimed at the government over test and trace + the Cummings affair, and those utterly selfish people who thought breaking the rules was a good thing to do.

Those are the people who have made the situation worse than it should have been for those with mental health problems.

[Bogglebo]

I haven't spoken to anyone I know since last January. I am agoraphobic, but can go as far as my local supermarket. My only friend has been unable to travel to see me from Leicester because of Covid restrictions. I stick to all the rules even though I don't think they are proven to work. I have felt like I might as well be dead a few times over the last months. I can't bring myself to be angry at anyone that just wants to get on with living their life. I have felt loneliness as a real ache in my chest, something physical. So 'If lockdown is ruining your mental health, don't be afraid to criticize', I agree you should.

[gregarious_introvert]

^^^ I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling so much, Bogglebo - it is certainly unfortunate that your only friend lives in the affected areas of Leicester, which was actually mentioned in Parliament recently as being on Day 93 of lockdown (probably day 96 by now) with no end in sight, I don't think any local lockdown has lasted as long. I hope that you and your friend are able to have contact via Zoom / WhatsApp / Messenger / Facetime or whatever your preferred video messaging service might be; I know it isn't the same as actual personal contact, but it is at least contact.

I do think that the rules have been proven to work: the virus was much more under control during the period which began in late March and effectively ended in late June / early July, but since the rules were relaxed, so many people have been ignoring them, bending them or doing whatever they can to push them to their limits (plus, as Nanuq mentioned, the schools returning and without any proper distancing measures) that the situation has deteriorated, which ironically means that measures will have to be tightened and maintained for a longer period. None of this means that the Government is above criticism, there are measures which should have been introduced and haven't, the delay in acting at the beginning is inexplicable (although that cannot be changed now), the testing system is not working as it should (and it is widely agreed that it should not have been outsourced to private companies when the NHS could have administered it much more efficiently) and there seems to no long-term plan. In addition to this, there has been no reaction to the widespread breaches of the regulations, which indicate that people have "social distancing fatigue" and that something else is required - it's impossible to police the level of civil disobedience as it stands currently (at least, without drastic measures).

I'm lucky, in that I live in an area which isn't subject to special measures and that I can travel relatively freely (I did have to quarantine on returning from a trip to Switzerland and France and may have to quarantine when I return from Italy in a month's time), with the only restrictions being that visiting some countries is contrary to FCDO advice or that other countries are not currently admitting UK citizens; my friends are all relatively distant but also not subject to local special measures, so we are able to meet in a socially-distanced fashion (I don't have a support bubble) - the only thing I'm really missing is gigs and it was a strange summer with no festivals, but I feel as if I've suffered less than most, despite adhering strictly to the rules (and in the process, remaining Covid-free, so far).

Situations like yours are something which has been overlooked; when "support bubbles" were introduced, this was supposed to be something which would overcome loneliness, but there was no provision for those who were unable to form a bubble; there needs to be a longer-term strategy which includes more sustainable measures, better provision for the vulnerable and a phased recovery of the economy (as well as a better system of testing and tracing), but it is clear that this Government doesn't have the will or the competence to devise and action such a strategy. Ideally, greater international co-ordination is needed too - one of the issues is that different parts of the world are at different phases and as we live in such an international world, it isn't practical to close all borders completely. Nonetheless, if there were greater adherence to the regulations we have now, we wouldn't be seeing the increase in infections which we are currently.

[Dougella]

"Talking about how lock down affects mental health does not make you a covid denier." Owen Jones

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ifice-pandemic