Missing the peace and quiet of lockdown. Wishing there was a pause button

Hello

I aslo loved locked down. i learne alot from it my mental health improved because i didnt have to deal with trival matters toxic relationship. so now i do everything on my terms and when i want and stopped pleasing people or family. i though doing things and making myself ill mentally and physically would mean love, affection but its dosent and i think i was suffering from burn out. 

I had family member died of covid and i had time to grieve by my self and  how i would, which isnt normal for other people. because people cant accept me or my autism. 

thanks 

Autism is a special club. Who the heck wants to be " normal " ?  Blah..

Hi - I understand what you mean though I personally don’t see being withdrawn and needing alone time etc. as restrictions. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to not be autistic ie would it be easier? The world is not designed for people like us. But I want to feel positive about being autistic and I like a lot of my autistic traits :) 

Maybe you felt comfortable in lockdown because it brought everyone else down to your level.
i.e Everybody was suddenly faced with the same restrictions as a Person with ASD. ( Withdrawn etc )
I said to my Mum at the time that " Lock-down " was normal for me, it just let the rest of the country know what it feels like.

Robert124 said:

I disliked using the hand cleaners in shops and other places because I only like using my own hand sanitizers. 

Me too - during that time I avoided those and was carrying hand wipes in my bag which I put in the bin after. 

I knew they were clean and hadn't been touched by anyone else, so it was a lot less anxiety for me. X

I made a point of having a small pocket-sized bottle of hand sanitiser in my handbag, to avoid using the ones in shops. Some years previously, I had discovered there were some hand sanitisers that resulted in dermatitis, hence me preferring to use my own.

I suffered a bad foot injury in January 2021, the GPs and A&E waiting rooms were wonderful, the seats were all socially distanced and so few people, no queues.

I disliked using the hand cleaners in shops and other places because I only like using my own hand sanitizers. 

Lockdown was perfect on so many levels. Towns were quiet and empty. When people went out most wore masks meaning people didn't get ill as much. People no longer made small talk, result! Family get togethers were a thing of the past. There weren't giant qeues at the GP surgery...... What a beautiful time it was. I'd love to see that again, without the death and misery of course.

Good times, people keeping away from me, no one expecting me to shake hands or trying to make small talk with me, plenty of space in the shops because the number of people in the shop was limited.  I was on universal credit the whole time, the extra £20 per week was very very welcome, kept me from starving and allowed me to pay all my bills.

Not all good, it took me a year to get used to face masks, my glasses kept getting steamed up.  I hated the long long queues outside the supermarket ( in the rain or in the burning sun).

You never know but you might be onto something. 

I was conducting experiments with slowing down, and speeding up passage of time in my 'virtual reality'. I suspended them until I come up with safety mechanism to avoid getting stranded there forever. For the time being I'm too busy working, but I'll definitely go back to that, because improving my imagination is my special interest.

The current Prime Minister almost always, when discussing Covid, reveals his priorities: 99 times out of 100, he always mentions the ill-effects of the virus on the economy first...and eventually mentions its effect on human lives. That's a telling personal hierarchy of his concerns, I think.

Bodhisattva- neil said:

maybe we will get another lockdown

Somehow, I very much doubt it. 

While some may beg to differ, I feel the UK government is even less concerned about the health and welfare of people, and more concerned about the state of the economy. Besides, I think those of us who preferred lockdown are very much in the minority.

I really liked the periods of lockdown, I miss them too. I didn’t have to come up excuses for staying in. 
 Was listening to radio four last week, and the  news broadcaster reported that there was a new covid strain of concern spreading across the USA. 
Apparently it’s extremely contagious, it’s too early to comment on the severity. 
maybe we will get another lockdown if and  when it arrives here in the UK.

Sporadic Sparkly said:

I'd had a taste of freedom, and I resented the fact that it had been taken away from me.

Completely.  Isn't it ironic that in times of such restrictions we actually felt more free.

You're not alone. One of my favorite daydreams is imagining I have the ability to stop time and then I can just exist and relax for a while without the world constantly moving around me

When the first lockdown happened, which I tend to refer to as the 'proper lockdown' I remember feeling as though much of the pressure I feel had just instantly ebbed away. I felt more content and happier than I had done in years. I loved the fact that there was minimal traffic on the roads, and that I could open my windows and hear the sounds of birds chirping, without the sound of heavy traffic in the distance. The social distancing meant that I could venture outdoors without worrying about coming into close contact with large crowds of people, and people in general.

I remember that some of my friends and relations found it hard to grasp why I wasn't feeling as frustrated as they were. My response was to point out that the way they were feeling probably wasn't that dis-similar to how I had felt for more than four decades. For want of a better way of phrasing it, I kind of felt like a caged animal that had been freed. 

As time went on and restrictions were lifted, the more depressed I began to feel. I'd had a taste of freedom, and I resented the fact that it had been taken away from me.

Obviously, I had sympathy for those who had lost loved ones as a result of the pandemic. The fact that people couldn't visit loved ones in hospital, weddings that had to be cancelled, etc.

I too miss the peace. The closest I get now for walks is before 930 on a Sunday and on the recent bank holidays. Years ago in Iceland one day a week, I think it was Thursday, there was no TV. It would be lovely if we could even have the odd day like the lockdown.

It was most suitable. Apart from my quiet places for walking started getting busier with more litter. Other people I know felt relief too. It gave a snapshot into a world which coukd be different for the better. What's sad is that people were too keen to "get back to normal" instead of enjoying the peace. To me, it WAS normal. I was fortunate to have a good lockdown and am grateful for small things anyway. I wasnt fussed i couldnt go out and buy ***. Executive demands were easier when WFH and less people expectation.

What's normal for one person isn't for another. But as usual, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

You're too kind, Luna, as always. 

I think you summed it up really well, Simon hall of mirrors, never thought of it like that before.

But I like it :)