Face Masks

This is a HUGE problem for me. I am high functioning; no one except my immediate family and a couple of close friends even knows I live with autism and before the Loony Lockup I was able to function "normally" without any support. Being locked up was a disaster for my mental health and led to severe depression and anxiety. The mask thing has made me suicidal at times because I have a lot of sensory issues and cannot bear anything on my face; I can't snorkel or swim underwater and I cannot even wear sunglasses. I worry all the time about masks. Even seeing them on others makes me feel blind panic. I did try one on and had a severe panic attack within a minutes, so I went to Sainsburys and explained the problem. They gave me a sunflower lanyard and I downloaded one of those exemption badges. But I get bullied. I got on a bus because it was raining hard and the driver let me on no problem but 2 old ladies called me "virus" and "murderer" so I had to get off, walk home in the rain and I cried all day over it. I have been to Sainsburys once and it was OK because an assistant seeing the lanyard was really nice to me and helped me through the self service till quickly. No one said anything. But I am too frightened on the whole to shop. What really scares me and keeps me awake most nights is the fear that I won't be able to go out walking ( which I really need) without a muzzle and every time I read anything about masks I get terribly anxious; masks are ruining my life.

As the Loony Lockup eases, we are locked down harder than ever. It's very unfair. There needs to be more awareness of hidden disabilities. I do not look disabled at all and I guess a lot of others with autism don't. So I really sympathise.

This is a HUGE problem for me. I am high functioning; no one except my immediate family and a couple of close friends even knows I live with autism and before the Loony Lockup I was able to function "normally" without any support. Being locked up was a disaster for my mental health and led to severe depression and anxiety. The mask thing has made me suicidal at times because I have a lot of sensory issues and cannot bear anything on my face; I can't snorkel or swim underwater and I cannot even wear sunglasses. I worry all the time about masks. Even seeing them on others makes me feel blind panic. I did try one on and had a severe panic attack within a minutes, so I went to Sainsburys and explained the problem. They gave me a sunflower lanyard and I downloaded one of those exemption badges. But I get bullied. I got on a bus because it was raining hard and the driver let me on no problem but 2 old ladies called me "virus" and "murderer" so I had to get off, walk home in the rain and I cried all day over it. I have been to Sainsburys once and it was OK because an assistant seeing the lanyard was really nice to me and helped me through the self service till quickly. No one said anything. But I am too frightened on the whole to shop. What really scares me and keeps me awake most nights is the fear that I won't be able to go out walking ( which I really need) without a muzzle and every time I read anything about masks I get terribly anxious; masks are ruining my life.

As the Loony Lockup eases, we are locked down harder than ever. It's very unfair. There needs to be more awareness of hidden disabilities. I do not look disabled at all and I guess a lot of others with autism don't. So I really sympathise.