Has the pandemic changed us forever? Has our ability to interact with others been changed forever by lockdowns and social distancing. The media and government have made us fear each other. Social distancing rules and infection rates on the news every day. Social fear has become very common since the lockdowns.
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/mental-health-and-social-change-in-the-time-of-covid-19
Media campaigns that tell us to stay at home and save lives. If we don’t stick to the rules we could be risking our own lives and others. Of course anything reckless that puts others in danger is anti social. By the same token though we are all anxious when entering shops whether masked or not. If you cough or sneeze then you must have covid. What happened to good old hayfever or the common cold.
Save the NHS and clap for carers
Having a sister that works for the NHS as a nurse I have nothing but respect for our NHS. The pandemic put the NHS and our medical professionals up on a very high pedestal that they are now in danger or falling from. The backlog of operations and medical treatment. The fact that it takes two weeks of calling everyday to get a phone consultation with the doctor let alone an appointment is now causing negative attention. In light of this pressure that is baring down on the NHS. What of their mental health? when PTSD among the emergency service personnel is already at an all time high?
Has the pandemic changed us forever?
Rising numbers in PTSD cases and generalized anxiety disorders are causing a new pandemic. That of the mind. Communication has become less personal. Phone or computer based. It seems as though the old saying ” attack is their only line of defense” is now the normal. Many are on the defensive when out in public in case they are being judged or worse attacked. Tending to attack first as a line of defense. Almost as if everyone has put a wall up around them.
Fear has cost us dearly in so many ways. Fearful of the future, each other and for our health both physical and mental. What really seems frightening is the speed at which one word “covid” has changed so many lives forever in such a short space of time. Some have changed the course of their lives just through changing their job. Having the lockdown to either take new study or self reflection. Many lost so much. Others were put in a dangerous position through domestic violence. Marriages and relationships broke down. Business’s lost and the country’s economy will take years to recover.
The last 18 months has proved something. Most of society is easily lead. We were all pushed into situations that made our lives difficult over something we knew very little about. Only what we were told. It’s not what we were told that really caused the issues. Conspiracy theories and what we are not told. Times like this tend to show people up for who they really are. For some it has brought the very best out in them and the rest it’s the complete opposite. We are so used to just doing as we please when we please. All that changed.