CoronaWatch 2019 - 2023

[Hirst]

You can't do anything personally to stop these people dying, so try not to worry about it for now. It's difficult to have an emotional connection to a load of numbers, it doesn't mean you're a bad person. People who live in warzones where the ultimate death toll can be in the millions will have to disconnect themselves in some way or they'll go nuts. I think I put "when will lockdown end" into Google about 300 times a day trying to figure out the latest theories, stare at a calendar, look at the restrictions all round the world and try to figure out if there's any way of just getting on a plane and being in a more "normal" place until it all goes away.

You should never feel guilty for wanting life to go back to normal. People are coping with this differently and personally I'm sick to death of the way it is portrayed on TV - happy families kicking a football round their garden, chipper folks baking cakes and giving themselves wacky haircuts. While I obviously understand the mentality of putting a brave face on it all, it makes it more difficult for people who don't live like that. There's very little about people lobbing bottles at the wall and swearing, or just staring at the ceiling until 4am. It is important to try to find something you enjoy doing though, to pass the time if nothing else. A watched pot never boils and all that.

It's completely acceptable to not enjoy lockdown one bit and I think a lot of how you enjoy it depends on what your home life is like generally. Some people love being at home, whereas others don't actually enjoy being there but use it as a means to an end. I'm not very outdoorsy, but I live with my folks and the main reason we all get on is that we don't actually see that much of each other in our regular lives. I'm always out at work and seeing friends most evenings, they're always driving out to garden centres on the weekend. Our relationship is a lot more strained than usual as we get fed up with each other and our habits. You get a lot of people in shared houses or small flats who don't use it as much more than a place to sleep as their life is based around being "out".

It is quite funny seeing all the sad sacks who don't go anywhere suddenly power-walking in lycra though (I think they don't know you are allowed to go out in normal clothes).

[Soundwave]

Thanks everyone, it's nice to read the responses & actually feel that although I mentally just shrug off the numbers it's not uncommon

I do find it changelling being in all the time, the change in routine & lack of social interaction with work colleagues...my only actual circle of friends is in work so being home with no other contact with anyone outside of immediate family by phone or doorstep delivery is probably compounding matters.

I do get out a few times a week for shop runs but that also seems to have a negative affect as I don't know how people where you are are like whn shopping but round here when you are in the queues waiting to go in the anount of people you hear moaning & similar to me, wishing it was all done & normality could resume is probably a good 80% of them

It's completely acceptable to not enjoy lockdown one bit and I think a lot of how you enjoy it depends on what your home life is like generally. Some people love being at home, whereas others don't actually enjoy being there but use it as a means to an end. I'm not very outdoorsy, but I live with my folks and the main reason we all get on is that we don't actually see that much of each other in our regular lives. I'm always out at work and seeing friends most evenings, they're always driving out to garden centres on the weekend. Our relationship is a lot more strained than usual as we get fed up with each other and our habits. You get a lot of people in shared houses or small flats who don't use it as much more than a place to sleep as their life is based around being "out".

You may have a point on how I'm not coping with being indoors.
as [MENTION=3144]Dogg Thang[/MENTION] mentioned earlier my main route of "escape" so to speak was the gym 3 times a week & a trip to my brothers one night, it was my me time & little break & escape from the home life that becomes a bit much for me.
I have my wife & daughter at home & I feel suffocated at times...my daughter is especially needy & clingy with me, literally a shadow at all times...she's 7 & she genuinely doesn't get on with her mum, they fight like mad so she comes to me always before she goes anywhere near her mum & being indoors at all times is causing extra friction between them & ultimately affecting me because I'm caught in the middle.

Also as strange as this may sound I have lost a lot of my TV time as well.
Basically we only have one TV in the house & I'm working from home so I don't get to see anything during the day, Chloe then occupies the TV until I put her to bed, by the time I come down wife has taken over the set & we are stuck watching stuff she wants.

I feel like it's a lot of little things that make me miss what we had.

I'm sorry for a rant but I definitely need to get this stuff off my chest as it's driving me mad & I needed an outlet.

Thanks again for listening guys.

Neil

[Dogg Thang]

We all need to listen to Chromeo’s advice right now - https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_IeOrg...=1647qeu5tdnlm

[Hirst]

The challenge for some people is being alone, but the challenge for others is not being as alone as they'd like. It's an interesting thought.

[vanpeebles]

Thanks everyone, it's nice to read the responses & actually feel that although I mentally just shrug off the numbers it's not uncommon

I do find it changelling being in all the time, the change in routine & lack of social interaction with work colleagues...my only actual circle of friends is in work so being home with no other contact with anyone outside of immediate family by phone or doorstep delivery is probably compounding matters.

I do get out a few times a week for shop runs but that also seems to have a negative affect as I don't know how people where you are are like whn shopping but round here when you are in the queues waiting to go in the anount of people you hear moaning & similar to me, wishing it was all done & normality could resume is probably a good 80% of them



You may have a point on how I'm not coping with being indoors.
as @Dogg Thang mentioned earlier my main route of "escape" so to speak was the gym 3 times a week & a trip to my brothers one night, it was my me time & little break & escape from the home life that becomes a bit much for me.
I have my wife & daughter at home & I feel suffocated at times...my daughter is especially needy & clingy with me, literally a shadow at all times...she's 7 & she genuinely doesn't get on with her mum, they fight like mad so she comes to me always before she goes anywhere near her mum & being indoors at all times is causing extra friction between them & ultimately affecting me because I'm caught in the middle.

Also as strange as this may sound I have lost a lot of my TV time as well.
Basically we only have one TV in the house & I'm working from home so I don't get to see anything during the day, Chloe then occupies the TV until I put her to bed, by the time I come down wife has taken over the set & we are stuck watching stuff she wants.

I feel like it's a lot of little things that make me miss what we had.

I'm sorry for a rant but I definitely need to get this stuff off my chest as it's driving me mad & I needed an outlet.

Thanks again for listening guys.

Neil
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Get her toys out, get the legoout. Enjoy time together, start building stuff in lego etc. Draw, paint etc.

[Dogg Thang]

Yep. That lack of alone time and anywhere to escape to is definitely a problem for me.

[vanpeebles]

Yep. That lack of alone time and anywhere to escape to is definitely a problem for me.

You can always lock the bathroom door if you need a wangle.

[Soundwave]

The challenge for some people is being alone, but the challenge for others is not being as alone as they'd like. It's an interesting thought.

I think as much as we all love being around family everyone needs some time to themselves & especially if that time is part of your weekly routine.
I said it before but I fully expect divorces to increase following this, little issues you can live with when you have access to time apart can become much bigger issues when you are stuck with the same person 24/7

Get her toys out, get the legoout. Enjoy time together, start building stuff in lego etc. Draw, paint etc.

Lol we do that, you want to see the Sylvanian village we built the other weekend
it's hard splitting my day between work & trying to give her attention, she hovers around me most of the day, then her mum shouts at her for bothering me & being "needy" & it makes it worse...it's a hard cycle at the moment

Yep. That lack of alone time and anywhere to escape to is definitely a problem for me.

It really is, as I said before my gym time was my me time, it was literally headphones on & shut off for 90 minutes while I lifted weights, it eased my stress & gave me a focus.
I have tried walking & getting out on my bike but neither give me the escape that I could achieve with the weights, but that may be more the situation we find ourselves in being the main culprit that I can't switch off like I do on any normal given weekend in the weights room.

I also find my gaming time has gone from maybe 3hrs a week to nothing, because of the routine change I used to have time when my wife would go for a bath after she'd been to the gym so I'd get an hour in then while I was on my own.
Now she's not training anymore she's not bathing of an evening & just in the morning, meaning I have no access to the TV for game time at all.

It's crazy little things that just seem to mount up now.

Neil

[MartyG]

I can see a whole bunch of people mingling around a mobile food van that keeps coming round on my CCTV right now who are from different households, along with the van driver who must be doing the same level of close contact on every stop.

Looks like a massive vector for spread to me - people really are dumb as rocks until it actually directly affects them - the dumbest thing of all is I know one of them has a 80 year old mother living with them.

[Hirst]

The weirdest thing for me is that a local chip shop which everybody says is awful and is always deserted has a big queue outside at about 6pm every day. By deserted I really mean it - you were lucky to see a single person inside and I always wondered how it made any money whatsoever. Now I see lines of up to 30 people every time! I can only think they're secretly selling drugs or something.

[Asura]

[charlesr]

In the last few days I've realosed that this is whole situation is turning me into an awful human being
I see the daily death tolls & it barely even registers anymore, I just go "oh ok" & then go back to wallowing in the misery of wondering when we'll all be let out of lockdown & can carry on like normal.

I fell myself doing it but just can't seem to muster a response to it at all anymore.

Neil

Don't watch the news. It never helps.

[charlesr]

I’m still baffled why people find it hard to stay in their own homes. This country is obsessed with home ownership and keeping up with the Joneses, and yet when people are told to stay in them, they can’t do it. Must be some real sad cases who only live for work, have zero hobbies are unable to amuse themselves at all.

Bunch of nutters in the US at the moment - not campaigning for free healthcare or money help during lockdown but instead they are campaigning to be allowed to go back to work in non-essential roles and keep corporate fat cats in pocket.

[charlesr]

I have found it somewhat amusing that people, like the guys I work with for example, who rarely go out socially, have no hobbies and don’t exercise and seem to spend all their spare time watching box sets and sport on TV while drinking are now desperate to get out of the house.

I’ve never seen so many people out walking round my way. And there’s a lot of families on very shiny bikes too. I just hope people keep it up.

I have a theory that it's because it's part of the rules. You can go out and do exercise daily. The Government has given you permission, so you need to bloody do it. If only this message was continued by the Government forever. If you are physically able, you can do exercise. It would sure take a load off the NHS.

[Hirst]

Some people have an utterly bizarre relationship with their jobs. I work for the council and have a relatively meaningless job on the computers that can be easily be done from home (we actually work on laptops from our work desks). After some arguments, the management let us do that, but it's only me and one other colleague who have done it (he comes in by public transport and was getting some abuse for being outside). The rest of them still turn up to an office to use their laptops - possibly out of fear of upsetting the management, but mostly just "I'd be bored" or "I don't think I'd get as much work done". Some of them live in houses with little kids and older folks and most get there by bus. Really I think they shouldn't be allowed to work from the office and you'd think a council would lead by example, but there you go.