Sorry to hear that, hope you de-stress soon, I know about venting, I do that if things build up too much once in a blue moon and I get very embarrassed afterwards.

 

Take it easy, and don't worry about it...!

 

Thanks for this.

 

I realised that what I've found the most difficult is being prompted into a state of anxiety because I am someone who has worked through a lot of very difficult circumstances in my life and am normally very calm - so to be made anxious by something out of my control unsettles me, and for me, the masks are a manifestation of that.

 

It's my demon to fight, though.

 

Re the lies and things - part of that was my work getting to me. It wasn't lies per se (some of it in the media was of course) but it is frustrating that one thing that is stopping the NHS from getting through the backlog is people being afraid to come in because the initial covid messaging has people still overestimating the risk.

I think when I see that kind of thing every day as part of my work it definitely gives the impression that more people were actively misinformed all along - whether or not that was the case.

 

There's just so much uncertainty which throws me back into the anxiety-loop (yay)

'Everyone is equally at risk, staying in for ANY reason is the most important thing, young people mixing is killing granny and grandad (where are they magically getting it from?), all older people are 100% sticking to the rules and being victimized by evil young people who are infecting them despite their best efforts' etc. The old one about the death rate being 1 in 10 which was absolutely incorrect and was never corrected. Told to actively not wear masks for first 3 months before thet became absolutely mandatory. One vaccine being enough to get new freedoms and priority vaccinated people ONLY being allowed to access tgem while people who let them go ahead weren't allowed even though the reason they didn't was that they were at less risk in the first place.

 

Any concern whatsoever about the harms done by lockdowns being shouted down and pushed under the rug to the extent even now that articles on the topic talk about 'covid harms' when they mean lockdown harms.

 

And so on and so forth.

You are absolutely right.

I realised that what I've found the most difficult is being prompted into a state of anxiety because I am someone who has worked through a lot of very difficult circumstances in my life and am normally very calm - so to be made anxious by something out of my control unsettles me, and for me, the masks are a manifestation of that.

 

It's my demon to fight, though.

 

Re the lies and things - part of that was my work getting to me. It wasn't lies per se (some of it in the media was of course) but it is frustrating that one thing that is stopping the NHS from getting through the backlog is people being afraid to come in because the initial covid messaging has people still overestimating the risk.

I think when I see that kind of thing every day as part of my work it definitely gives the impression that more people were actively misinformed all along - whether or not that was the case.

 

There's just so much uncertainty which throws me back into the anxiety-loop (yay)

 

I see where you are coming from, I feel like I've noticed this a lot. Those usually quite calm became very stressed and anxious about the pandemic and those who suffer from daily chronic anxiety and often feel like they have no control over their lives - saw the world falling apart around them and this counter-intuitively engendered a slightly calmer and less anxious outlook for them as they were comforted from the companionship that 'everyone is in the same boat' and how 'nobody has control'.

 

There is certainly a lot of misinformation about the pandemic, but that has become increasingly a part of life for all news in the late 2010s and early 2020s so far.. algorithms are amplifying misinformation, they seek to maximise engagement and draw on the strongest human emotions such as fear and anger. Therefore the biggest lies are amplified (by users through confirmation bias - which is a positive feedback loop) and even the media is complicit in this as they attempt to hold on to what is a dwindling readership and viewership - Gen Z don't buy newspapers or watch TV. Social media is driving us ALL apart and polarising society, it makes it more and more difficult to find out the truth.. but it is still possible.

 

Re: Covid-19- the IFR was around 0.5% (skewed to disproportionately affect those over 70 and with underlying health issues such as obesity) when it was nascent in the human population (late 2019/early 2020), but it had incredibly high transmissibility and left unchecked could have burnt through the UK population in a matter of a few weeks and 0.5% of ~45 million adults is 225K which is a lot of deaths in a short space of time and would have inevitably lead to more deaths as the NHS collapsed under the strain of very rapid admissions. The risk was overplayed by the media/social media but it's a complicated discussion point with many factors to consider, I don't think there was anything sinister about this but others would disagree.. ultimately it was an awful period and there will be many consequences for years (perhaps decades) to come right across society.

 

Hope you feel less anxious soon. My advice on this generally hasn't changed, don't spend too much time watching the news or scrolling for news updates. Find trusted sources, follow them, and share with friends & family.

 

Finally - I'd say we should remember to be more patient with each other. It's been a tough time for us all and it's often easy to forget that the person you are arguing with is just as anxious or worried as yourself.

I see where you are coming from, I feel like I've noticed this a lot. Those usually quite calm became very stressed and anxious about the pandemic and those who suffer from daily chronic anxiety and often feel like they have no control over their lives - saw the world falling apart around them and this counter-intuitively engendered a slightly calmer and less anxious outlook for them as they were comforted from the companionship that 'everyone is in the same boat' and how 'nobody has control'.

 

There is certainly a lot of misinformation about the pandemic, but that has become increasingly a part of life for all news in the late 2010s and early 2020s so far.. algorithms are amplifying misinformation, they seek to maximise engagement and draw on the strongest human emotions such as fear and anger. Therefore the biggest lies are amplified (by users through confirmation bias - which is a positive feedback loop) and even the media is complicit in this as they attempt to hold on to what is a dwindling readership and viewership - Gen Z don't buy newspapers or watch TV. Social media is driving us ALL apart and polarising society, it makes it more and more difficult to find out the truth.. but it is still possible.

 

Re: Covid-19- the IFR was around 0.5% (skewed to disproportionately affect those over 70 and with underlying health issues such as obesity) when it was nascent in the human population (late 2019/early 2020), but it had incredibly high transmissibility and left unchecked could have burnt through the UK population in a matter of a few weeks and 0.5% of ~45 million adults is 225K which is a lot of deaths in a short space of time and would have inevitably lead to more deaths as the NHS collapsed under the strain of very rapid admissions. The risk was overplayed by the media/social media but it's a complicated discussion point with many factors to consider, I don't think there was anything sinister about this but others would disagree.. ultimately it was an awful period and there will be many consequences for years (perhaps decades) to come right across society.

 

Hope you feel less anxious soon. My advice on this generally hasn't changed, don't spend too much time watching the news or scrolling for news updates. Find trusted sources, follow them, and share with friends & family.

 

Finally - I'd say we should remember to be more patient with each other. It's been a tough time for us all and it's often easy to forget that the person you are arguing with is just as anxious or worried as yourself.

 

This made a lot of sense & was oddly uplifting. Thanks.

The school where I am working has put a year group back on to online learning tomorrow because of the number of staff absences.

I’ve tested positive for seven days now, had to go home from work last Monday and was bed-ridden Tuesday. Alright now but still positive so not going into work. Camden has it now as well. :drama:

Now that free LFT tests have ended, some schools still have test kits in stock. They have been told by the Department for Education not to give them out and to bin them when they reach their expiry date.

Now that free LFT tests have ended, some schools still have test kits in stock. They have been told by the Department for Education not to give them out and to bin them when they reach their expiry date.

 

One can only assume Tories want everyone to catch Covid as soon as possible or they want to start making cash from selling them as soon as possible. There can be no other reasons that spring to mind...other than sheer stupidity.

All about the £££.

So after 2.5 years of avoiding it I unfortunately tested positive three weeks ago. I had a ROUGH time and spent the first 10 days vomiting for hours every morning and being completely bed bound.

 

I've made alot of improvements however I've started to develop obvious symptoms of POTS which is now scaring the shit out of me. Did anyone else have issues with their heart rate when recovering from their infection? It's either POTS or Long Covid....and I don't want either. :(

sorry to hear that it sounds nasty and an experience I've also avoided for 2 and a half years (so far), hope you pick up soon! Higher heart rates can also be related to stress/anxiety, I got myself into a right old mess 5 weeks ago obsessively measuring my blood pressure/heart rate so I went to the doctor who measured it and it was normal (for me) for the first time! He said home kits are not as accurate, and repeat readings are not helpful as they need a good gap in time for the veins to return to normal after the pressure squeeze. Sometimes I stand up fast and get a dizzy spell after sitting for a while, and I have to stop, breathe slowly out, hold it and pause, and that seems to sort it.

 

 

So ONS revealed today that 2.3 million people in the UK now have Long Covid (up from 2 million in September) which is about 3.5% of the population. That number will continue to rise throughout the winter.

 

Where are the measures in place to control the spread? Where are the trials and treatments for Long Covid? People are literally being disabled and nothing seems to be going on to prevent this. I was infected at the start of July and still can't live independently. I joined a Facebook group and found a Reddit sub where thousands of people are literally bed bound with chronic fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, headaches, light and noise sensitivity, body aches, weakness, numbness, loss of smell and taste, poor vision, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, heart palpitations, chest pains, unable to swallow, hair falling out.....the list goes on and on.

 

It makes me sick that a government can allow people to get sick like this. I know there's a huge element of personal responsibility but where are the air filtration systems in schools and workplaces? Mask mandates? Remote working options? Awareness about Long Covid (not just the acute infection) and funding towards proper clinics to help people?

 

I am terrified of catching it again. I am lucky enough to be a 'mild' case (touch wood) but I have a friend in England who has been bed bound since June and a friend in Greece who has spent 2 years unable to use his phone for more than a few minutes before feeling sick and having to sleep. He was so bad at one point he couldn't even walk or talk - and he was a healthy 22 year old who went to the gym every week and was studying sports medicine.

So sorry to hear about your long Covid, shadow2009. And horrible to hear about your friends getting it so badly. I know of a couple of people who have. It's just never talked about anymore at Government level.

I don't know anyone with long covid surprisingly given how widespread it apparently is, (or at least with any major symptoms). Hopefully diagnostics and treatments will be continually improving over time...

I mean, it shouldn't be anyone's personal responsibility for getting sick. f***ing hell. Government should be investing more in health to protect against stages of the disease like this that we don't know enough about and controls to keep spread down among society would be welcomed.

 

there's got to be a middle way between the insanity that's going on over here where cities are locked down on a few cases, hang the economic consequences, and pretending that it doesn't exist and was defeated as apparently British media and the establishment seem to be pretending is the case.

Covid was slowly swept under the rug this year but it's resurfacing again, so many people I know here in Berlin are starting to catch it and going to quarantine. I'm terrified to do a test but I had it not so long ago and I don't feel the usual symptoms from the 2 times I had it in the past so maybe it will be ok.

 

Doesn't help that they scrapped the free tests in Berlin, at least in most places I've tried.

Edited October 7, 20222 yr by כן

I got it a few days ago, after avoiding it for nearly two and a half years. I actually felt OK at first, but the last few days have been a bit worse - I've had various symptoms come and go, but my throat is particularly bad right now, it's really painful and woke me up at night.

 

To those that have had it - is this normal? When did symptoms start to fade and when did you feel confident doing things again? I can WFH at my job but only to an extent as it is student facing, my work have said to take all the time I need and I definitely don't want to infect people, but they say you can still test positive weeks after getting it and there's various different guidelines since the isolation rules were dropped so I feel like I'm on my own here.

 

Definitely feels like another wave is coming and yet if there's any government that's not going to give a damn about it, it's this one, sigh :(

I got it a few days ago, after avoiding it for nearly two and a half years. I actually felt OK at first, but the last few days have been a bit worse - I've had various symptoms come and go, but my throat is particularly bad right now, it's really painful and woke me up at night.

 

To those that have had it - is this normal? When did symptoms start to fade and when did you feel confident doing things again? I can WFH at my job but only to an extent as it is student facing, my work have said to take all the time I need and I definitely don't want to infect people, but they say you can still test positive weeks after getting it and there's various different guidelines since the isolation rules were dropped so I feel like I'm on my own here.

 

Definitely feels like another wave is coming and yet if there's any government that's not going to give a damn about it, it's this one, sigh :(

 

It's perfectly normal - my throat was the thing that affected me the most when I had it in the summer. I was lucky in that I felt mostly fine, I wouldn't have even known I had covid had I not tested as I put the throat down to being at football matches and gigs the weekend before! Main thing is to take 5-7 days out if you have symptoms, but covid is so random as I was with people when I had symptoms and none of them got it!

 

Definitely another wave coming, but this will happen for the rest of our lives. Main positive is it's happening now rather than Nov/Dec. Main thing for me this winter would be to ensure everyone who is eligible for a vaccine takes one. Will be a bumpy winter, but I think if anyone is expecting the government to support this winter, it's not gonna happen with the ERG in charge.

I got it a few days ago, after avoiding it for nearly two and a half years. I actually felt OK at first, but the last few days have been a bit worse - I've had various symptoms come and go, but my throat is particularly bad right now, it's really painful and woke me up at night.

 

To those that have had it - is this normal? When did symptoms start to fade and when did you feel confident doing things again? I can WFH at my job but only to an extent as it is student facing, my work have said to take all the time I need and I definitely don't want to infect people, but they say you can still test positive weeks after getting it and there's various different guidelines since the isolation rules were dropped so I feel like I'm on my own here.

 

Definitely feels like another wave is coming and yet if there's any government that's not going to give a damn about it, it's this one, sigh :(

 

You're no longer infectious after 10 days but you can still test positive for up to 28 days. I didn't stop testing positive until Day 12 or something.

 

My initial infection was rough for a few weeks and I didn't feel 'normal' again until maybe a month later, but then as soon as I got back to normal and started a new job and moving flat I overdid it and ended up triggering Long Covid. You REALLY have to slow it down and peace yourself. Long Covid is mostly triggered by people doing too much too soon. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, stress, the gym, running, jogging, anything that is going to push your body.

 

it's better safe than sorry. Take as long as you need to just rest and look after yourself.

They have the new Omricon booster available to book here at a vaccination centre and so I’m off to get the BioNTech BA4/5 booster tomorrow morning. Hopefully that will give me a healthy boost against what’s going to be circulating this winter because y’all are right. It’s still violently out there and it’s still causing real damage to people who end up with Long Covid even if the majority take a less severe path than in early variants, you still have a risk of new nastier variants when there’s a lot of it circulating and a lot of it circulating means more people with life altering after effects