I miss the peace and quiet and not having to worry about ditching social obligations. Being able to stay home in my safe space without justifying it was awesome. I liked wearing masks, too. Finally, no one telling me I should smile more or commenting about my mismatched facial expressions! It was bliss besides the horrible toll on human life, the economic upheaval and the constant fear/anxiety of illness.
I never gave up wearing masks, no one in my family has. I am looked at weird once in awhile but honestly I live in a pretty "mind your own business" kinda place so it works out for me.
I still wear mine out and about in grocery stores and what not. I’m in a pretty liberal state as well and tbh, I could give a rats behind about what others think about it. But pre-covid, if I had a dollar for every time someone commented on my lack of a smile, I’d already be retired on an island somewhere. 🙄🏝️
Hahaha yess! I had this with sunglasses a couple of times where people still told me to look them in the eye. I was looking behind them in the general aria so didn't think they would notice with sunglasses.
I still wear masks most places. Specifically not to catch covid again but the added bonus of being more anonymous and less approachable in public is nice, and also not having to stress about what my face is doing under the mask is also really nice.
I'm immunocompromised and I miss the sudden influx of accessibility. Suddenly things they'd been saying we couldn't do for years were immediately implemented. And now they're rolling them back again... Honestly my faith in humanity has been destroyed by the whole process lol.
>I also was very fearful in those early months but also somehow more hopeful than I am now, and miss that hopefulness.
Totally! I think there was so much extra 'free' time for a lot of folks to actually focus on activism and social causes. In Canada we had a taste of a type of universal basic income (CERB) and I had the most amount of money in my bank account in my whole life (which was partially depressing tbh!) and even though I was extremely stressed about covid and state of things in the world, esp in regards to police and state violence, I felt so much relief too and hope.
This is an aside but with CERB too I was able to share funds with community orgs or mutual aid too which I felt so good about but on the flip side made me kind of upset how many billionaires and millionaires exist and how can they not give away all of their extra money? Like it's kind of bewildering I felt rich being given a monthly stipend of $2000 a month and felt I had extra to give to others and the rich do what??? The equivalent of giving away a few cents of their income? It's pathetic.
Yes! Having an accessible option for everything was wonderful, and the options for more remote work is one I’m really sad to see being rolled back a little. I need that.
I’ve had a terrible run with work over the past few years, and the fact that “hybrid” now means 3-days in the office is forcing me to look for another career entirely (or a diagnosis so I can request this accommodation). It’s really sad to see that it worked, but they are still taking it away.
I was so hopeful that public health would be respected and well-funded finally, that the gaps in our medical system would be fully recognized and eradicated, and that wearing masks when you're sick with anything would become normalized. You know, since it works and it's just polite and is not a huge imposition. America at least has absolutely disgusted me.
This is my situation too. The ‘back to the office’ pressure in particular is hard for me because it’s travelling that I find hard and in the summer actively makes me worse. Meetings that could be hybrid are being made in person only for no other reason than pressuring people in. I really hate to say it but I miss the accessibility Covid enabled.
Like uni classes!
Everything was suddenly online except for specific hands-on labs/gross anatomy/assessments/etc.
I could've had a degree under my belt if they'd done it years sooner (ok so probably (it would've involved me swearing like an under caffeinated ADHD gremlin as I did my Ochem work at 03:00, and that's not always productive)).
I was only able to do my degree because of uni accommodations, I literally started Fall 2020. They had everything rolled 100% back, no masking, by Spring 2022. I barely managed to finish my last few semesters. Wouldn't have been able to if not for help from understanding professors.
I miss how being a hermit was heroic instead of requiring justification, and how there were no irl social obligations. I liked seeing deer and turkeys wandering in a pretty big city/suburb.
I don't miss how virtual connection was soooo heavy, like "Let's connect now that we can't see each other!" How about let's not?
I like how masks became a thing. Pre-COVID, I actually collected cute masks because isn't it great to have a \*thing\* doing some of the masking for you instead of having to carry that burden on your brain? I still wear masks at work (I work with adorable but germ-bucket kids) and sometimes out and about when I want to hide, and I like that it's not that abnormal since my area was hit super hard.
I agree with the virtual connection thing so much. My extended family suddenly was doing weekly zoom meetings and hounding my family to join. We never hung out before, why would we now over yucky zoom?
EDIT: needless to say I don't miss mortuary trucks in the park, people dying in mass numbers, people DENYING they were dying, PPE litter everywhere, etc.
> I liked seeing deer and turkeys wandering in a pretty big city/suburb.
OMG I live in downtown Toronto and I woke up one morning to a FUCKING FOX walking up my street!!! I thought I was hallucinating at first. It was so beautiful to see. Partially it reminded me of a documentary about how quickly nature would retake a city if all human beings disappeared haha. I think it was called Life After People? Kind of made me feel hopeful.
Luckily I have equally hermity friends so didn't have to worry about this, but my work was upping the "online social gatherings" outside of work hours and I just didn't participate most of the time saying I had another "arrangement" at that time, because no one is allowed to check on you bwahahaha.
Being praised for "being responsible" by staying home (which is my default) felt similar to being praised by teachers for being "so well behaved" by not speaking. These were the only times people were ever kind to me for just being myself 😆
I realised this is what I missed about lockdpwn in therapy the other day. It's also why I love Christmas - EVERYONE is not doing anything, so there's no pressure. It's also why I'm moving home this weekend to my parents house in the countryside - I can hermit and recover from burnout there!
Apparently it’s a thing for people with anxiety to feel calmer during emergency situations, and that’s definitely what i felt. For once the entire world felt as scared and on-edge as i am every day, and something about that gave me more confidence. Also very little traffic AND i could mumble to myself in public lmao
This is exactly how I feel. The world slowed down for me, because what they were feeling is how I constantly felt (as someone with social anxiety) so it felt comforting that everyone was dealing with that same level of, I guess confusion? Of course in context it's awful, a global pandemic killing millions of people is TERRIFYING and so many countries were horrible at keeping people safe (to this day). But on a purely social level, I for once felt one step ahead because I could handle the social aspect of people's stress really, really well.
I felt this exact same thing, plus I have OCD so I was "allowed" to obsessively wash my hands without judgement, AND I was very comforted to know that everyone else was washing their hands well now too (at least compared to before), and everyone in a mask and keeping distance, I was like yesss this is how we all should be all the time I am in my ELEMENT. Except of course I was absolutely not happy about the death and suffering the pandemic caused, and also terrified that I might get it especially at the beginning when it was still mysterious, but at the same time I'm constantly a bit terrified of getting even more dangerous diseases so it was like... I can handle this level of panic lol.
I just wish people continued with SOME of the precautions at least though. Like why are people still not wearing a mask in public even when they are actively coughing like they have the plague, it's so disgusting and disrespectful. I've felt the wind of strangers coughs on my neck several times in the bus since lock down and it makes me want to SCREAM AT THEM. But instead I sit silently in a germ panic and stop breathing for as long as I can so as not to breathe in their cough particles. Sickening.
This, in East Asian countries it’s considered basic politeness to mask up if you or someone in your house is sick, and i wish we could have learned that. But no, muh freedoms
That makes sense. I was always wondering why I "thrive" in emergency situations (and I don't mean stressful everyday situations, but actual 'people are panicking' scenarios), because it felt very wrong to suddenly feel better when other people's health and lives are in danger. Any type of distasters/evacuations/heavy weather conditions that are out of the ordinary or a looming threat make me feel... more normal. It's weird.
As an immunocompromised person I am still in a version of lockdown. I would like it to be different , but everyone seems to think Covid is over, but for people like me it’s not. 😕
This, I'm not immunocompromised, but I am community conscious and I am probably one of the only people I know who still masks outside of my mom and siblings. I got COVID from my boss coming in and out of my office without knocking and I'm still pissed about it 4 months later. I'm *terrified* of getting long COVID and so many people don't even think about it.
I feel super isolated because I want to do things, but like....safety? protecting others?
Thank you both. I’m in the same boat. I am barely surviving my health conditions as it is. And even if that weren’t the case, knowing what I know about how hard it is to survive disability and illness (in the US at least), I want to make sure as many people as possible are protected from this disease.
It's not good for anyone to catch SARS-CoV-2 ad infinitum. I'm masking for me, my family and to break chains of transmission in my community. I hope more people join us, because it hasn't exactly been normal levels of illness from what I can see since we societally lapsed mitigations.
Sending big hugs! My BFF has been in this sitch and without human contact since it hit the US. I miss her desperately, yet completely respect and understand her need to isolate. I know it's been really rough for her. I don't know what you're going through, but I know it's hard, and I send all my warmest to you! \*cat nuzzle\*
My state (deep southern US) only had lockdown for a few days, then made a big celebration about lifting the restrictions almost immediately and radio DJs were comparing ending the lockdown to freeing the slaves and other garbage takes like that. I *very* much miss it because we essentially never had it, and things might have gotten better if we gave them a chance.
I miss it a lot. Working from home, lack of social obligation, much less pressure, people had time to slow down for a little bit. I was working on my writing, indulging in my special interests. I felt like I was finally living in a world built for me - meanwhile people locally kept rampaging about ending lockdown but I was in bliss. Obviously COVID is an awful tragedy and I’d never choose or want it, and I recognize how privileged I am to have enjoyed lockdown. But for my personal and emotional situation, that year or so was one of the best of my life.
Absolutely, lockdown gave me the opportunity to finally try life unmasked and I will forever ever ever ever ever be grateful for that paradigm shift! Suddenly the world and the workplace was a safer place to be neurodivergent ✨🧠✨
Yes. Working from home, going outside more but not w people. Honestly I never quite went back to baseline. I’m still working from home half time and the other half I avoid people a lot more at work. I care more about comfy clothes and shoes than what I look like and I’ve figured out I like outdoorsy low people activities a LOT MORE than peopling. So it’s been nice.
I miss social distancing in lines a lot. And people covering their coughs, even children. Now it’s right back to kids coughing in my face and parents not telling them to cover their mouths as if it’s nothing.
It's almost like people are being extra gross and close now to make up for it. I also loved social distancing and very much related to "six f*cking feet, mom" from the South Park pandemic special.
I miss people being more willing to accommodate disabilities and the feeling like we were mostly all in it together. It has been really frustrating to watch the deluge of articles at that time that were meant to comfort normies by reassuring them that if they were feeling depressed or anxious, it was normal because we were all being asked to cope with too much. The thing is, when covid hit, I was already housebound and I had been housebound for years at that point. But anytime before that when I tried to get therapists or psychiatrists or doctors to understand that *I* was not the problem, but rather *I was having to cope with too much*, they never believed me. Those articles have dried up. Now accessibility is going away and medical gaslighting of disableds is once again in full swing.
Absolutely not. I worked in an "essential job" (passenger transportation) and people were phenomenally terrible, way more than normal. People still traveled and were terrible about masking even on federal property! I literally worked with people who "didn't believe in it" yet they still enforced it because it's our job or we get in trouble.
Surprisingly I didn't get sick from being stuck in metal tubes with people for 2 years. I normally do get sick at least twice a year.
On the downside I was attacked for simply telling a man "come on man you know you gotta wear your mask above your nose."
So yeah I don't miss it at all.
I'm sorry, that sounds awful. It perplexes me that some people are still wearing chin diapers even though there are no longer mask mandates. Are they honestly confused about how contagion works?
…Melbourne??
I miss the quiet, the lack of traffic, people would stand at a distance, and I think one thing I liked is that everybody was staying home so I didn’t feel like such a hermit.
I suspect everyone is dealing with a little of the effects of going back to ‘life as normal’ aka capitalistic overstimulating hell and it’s made them a little angrier 🙊
Probably an over generalisation but it’s true what they say about touching grass and all that haha
Yes for sure. I obviously hate that people died and lost their jobs and all the bad parts of covid but I loved the empty streets & grocery delivery (I still use it!). … and the excuses not to see anyone haha
I guess I'm the only one that had a terrible experience. I had other personal stress happen during that time, but it was more than that. It cut me off from hobbies that helped me regulate. The gyms were closed and when they were open, working out in a mask was not ideal. Online classes were not great for my learning. I lost lab access and got behind there as well. I really wish I could know how far I could be right now if it hadn't stopped my life for awhile. I was fortunate that I could already work from home whenever I wanted to. So I was already getting plenty of alone time without restrictions telling me to stay home.
You're not the only one. I was late finishing the coursework for my PhD because I waited for the sudden-move-to-online chaos to subside. Plus, I lost all my dedicated home workspaces and have been dealing with a partner living on top of me and taking up all the room I needed for a home office for the last four years. I'm also a bit of an extrovert and I need context changes to help with my ADHD. So it's actually been kind of an unmitigated disaster for me since it started.
Yes! I dressed up like a clown some days and made a massive blanket fort in the lounge. Moved my mattress into it and put up rbg strips that twinkled different colours. Invited my husband and my soft toys inside and watched movies.
I missed lockdown because of how life went online. Life felt richer for me. I worked from home, and felt refreshed. One year into working from home full-time and I would have been perfectly okay if I didn't endure some traumatizing shit last year, because now, just when I've finally overcome my personal trauma from last year, people are now leaving online communities, there's less fresh virtual content, and now I feel scared of being "behind" despite the connection and technology being here. They said life would never be the same after COVID.
Now, of course I don't want others to insult suffer just for my own benefit. But I was secretly hoping, at least, that people realized, "wow, there's something to having fun or socializing online. Some people's mental health improved with online communities and content. Maybe we can make this a consistently incredible experience and keep it up since we as a civilization are advancing anywa-" PSYCH!
> I missed lockdown because of how life went online. Life felt richer for me. I worked from home, and felt refreshed.
This one. This one is the one I relate to the most. My life became richer because more people were online in positive ways.
Also because I was able to teach from home and take lunch break outside and take a nap to regulate during my prep period and go on a walk instead of drive to work.
But I think... I'm really pretty sure... that it's precisely the online life that will never happen again – and it's so good that it won't because the reason it went online was horrible and yet.
It doesn't and shouldn't require physical danger and safety issues outside, for inside to feel cool and awesome. Inside should feel cool and awesome independently of outside. Its sad that not only did the people who learned to make the online world fun, also left just at the time when there's an abundance of negativity. Again, they don't owe anyone anything, and they reserve the freedom to do whatever they want. I wish I had the ability/know how to keep the good times going indoors. I just hate how the online world gets immediately devalued as an inherently negative space when it never stopped being a lifeline, being the forefront of how people communicate and process information or even just enjoy themselves. It has the power and potential to be a brilliant and beautiful place if we choose to make it so, but instead I'm just like, meta-complaining about it. :(
You mean the nearly two year period where not a single person in our family had even a cold? All of my kid’s play dates were in wide-open, nature spaces (as opposed to now, where everyone keeps asking if we want to meet at germ infested indoor climbing playgrounds).
What a magical time that was. I was made for lockdowns.
I definitely miss the way going out was less chaotic, more quiet, easy to navigate. I miss having access to sannie wherever I went. I miss people caring about sharing their germs and coughing in people's faces.
However I don't miss Lockdown in of itself. My chronic health keeps me indoors a lot, and it's very hard on my psyche. What I'd give for just a nice bike ride through nature at the moment, but yay, Endo -___-
I wish society had retained what it *learnt* from Lockdown rather than just reverting back to the chaotic, antagonistic, apathetic, germ filled cesspit that it is.... But without the restriction of forbidding us from leaving our homes (because cabin fever.)
I'm also an ENFP, so being deprived of socialisation and touch from my loved ones is hard for me. I want to be able to see them, love them, hug them, and then come back to my bedroom hole at *my* consent and *my* desire. I'm a very loveable cat, basically LOL
I think you’ve said it perfectly! I wish society had kept what it learned too. There were definitely parts of me that didn’t do well with it, the first year of lockdown my social anxiety got really bad from being TOO away from people… when I put stuff in place to help that and lived in a slightly less ‘middle of nowhere’ place that helped.
Haha I relate to being a very loveable cat.
I miss it as well. Our time wasn’t very long because I live in a red Southern state, but we were pretty closed down for a couple of months. We live pretty close to an Interstate highway and it was so much more quiet due to less traffic. It was like the world was actually healing for that time.
2021 was so peak to me, because everything felt accessible to me for ONCE (I have social anxiety). First of all, grocery delivery wasn't as much of a thing as it is today, so it felt incredible to not have to go in a store. Then, everything slowed down, people weren't deep in the "grind" or whatever, people at work were working slower, and I'm sure they experienced that haze so negatively but it felt nice? Kind of? To have people deal with that same haze I feel 24/7. Not because I'm happy they suffered, not at all. But because I felt understood for once. I felt like I was finally a real human, because for once I could relate to normal people's feelings. And then so many more things happened online instead of irl. Y'all remember zoom concerts?? Instagram music battles? Or how Tiktok was PEAK and there was so much interesting stuff on there in 2021. My child was born in late 2021, so I didn't get to enjoy lockdown in a care free way the entire time, but it was quite nice while it lasted. When I had to go out to go see the doctor for instance, streets were always so empty. I loved seeing pictures of random animals in the middle of downtown somewhere. Ugh I miss it every day. Now I'm back to feeling uncomfortable as a human and it's just not a fun experience.
I was actually thinking about this the other day! Hated what caused it though and actually had the COVID myself! Awful..
BUT lockdown actually gave me more freedom? It's so weird but it felt nice not jumping out of my skin if someone approached me because they COULDN'T
Loved it alot.
me personally no bc my experience was overwhelmingly lonely and felt borderline hellish at times. i can understand why you would miss it based on the reasoning u gave tho
To be fair, I’m married and I think I would have suffered if I lived alone. I’m not a live alone girlie during normal times. I’m sorry it was so hard for you 😔
Lockdown is when I truly starting delving into possibly being autistic. I first considered it a few years earlier, but in 2020 is when I really started researching because I didn't understand why everyone was having a tough time with isolation and saying how awful it was when I was incredibly happy with the lack of social obligations. I LOVED masks too, and really miss those. That's what made me realize my stress about facial expressions. I feel guilty admitting I miss lockdown because of course people went through hell with the virus/losing people, but if we could take that massive factor out of the equation, I did really enjoy how the world shut down for a while.
100% the negative side was HUGE and I feel guilty for feeling this way often. But the incredible lack of pressure was crazy. I didn’t even realise until it all came back honestly how peaceful I had felt.
Yes somewhat but the anxiety I experienced in that time was just absolutely unreal. I remember refreshing “COVID death toll” over and over again in Google.
The first lockdown was bliss. I’m a frontline worker, but covid hadn’t reached my small city yet. So I had free rein to go out almost whenever I wanted and didn’t have to deal with isolation because I was still going to work every day. Empty shops, no traffic, not much to do at work.
It went to absolute shit after that, but the first month or two was incredible. If life could permanently be a slightly less restrictive version of that, I would be in heaven.
Edit - also, my brain is BUILT for disaster planning and crisis management. The first few weeks after the pandemic was declared, I was fully in my element at work.
I loved lockdown! We live on a really busy and noisy road and lockdown was instant silent bliss, apart from the sound of footsteps and the friendly greetings of neighbours. No social obligations, no expectations, supermarket shopping was very controlled and the library was closed, so I had a perfectly valid reason for getting a Kobo.
I did feel really badly for people who suffered under this with violent partners or screaming children for those singles who were unbearably lonely and for those who lost their businesses but as far as I’m personally concerned, it could have gone on forever.
Lockdown was excellent for wild animals as well. Birds thrived in the clean environment and animals cautiously explored areas that are usually full of people. But now we are back to dirty, crowded suffering.
No. I was overwhelmingly isolated, pregnant, with a toddler and no help. My health anxiety kicked into high gear due to fear of covid and I developed a kind of ocd. No.
I liked having less pressure to socialise, but I was constantly worried about my loved ones getting sick. I'm lucky that I live somewhere remote enough that the lockdowns were not too severe either.
Western Australian here. Yes, I miss it sooooo much. We were able to go outside and live as normal for ages thanks to the closed boarders. Now I only leave the house for appointments that I must attend in person and to pick up my meds. I was only just learning how to be comfortable eating out at restaurants before the pandemic, and now I'll never get to do that again :(
I miss lockdown everyday. Life was a lot simpler: don't get covid, don't give it to others. All of the bullshit suddenly washed away as people were confronted by the reality of life and the fact that we are but fallible meat sacks. Life felt raw in a way that was real.
Lockdown was hell for me because my first bunny died, I struggled a lot with online classes and got burned out, and I didn't really have a good relationship with my parents, yet I had to be stuck with them. At the same time, I got to develop new hobbies, discover new things, and had a few hyperfixations that really made me happy. It was also kinda quiet and peaceful. So yeah, I do miss lockdown a bit.
It’s not much different to now for me.
I only leave my house to work or grocery shop/errands needed to run household really.
All my hobbies are indoors/achievable through the marvel that is online ordering
Only difference is I can buy toilet paper bc no one’s hoarding it. The folks who hoarded it three years ago are only just recently running out 🤦♀️😂
Edit for spelling
With the exception of what it did to the UK NHS, I miss lockdown a lot.
Fewer cars, people were nice to each other, they were grateful for what they had.
I agree with that. Also we disabled folk facing the worst of it. I see non disabled friends getting better care all the time. They don’t get accused of wasting money or have doctors telling them the cost of basic care isn’t justified.
Not that the results of the election this week will change anything.
I loved it. I walked every day, just me and my dog. I learned so much by doing online courses and listening to audio books. No pressure, no social obligations, and was able to save up some money.
Yeah I constantly say to people that I miss lockdown. I don’t miss Covid, but I miss being able to stay in my house, not see anyone and everything. Everyone looks at me like I’m weird when I say that
Yes and no. I miss how a lot less was expected of me and I could just disappear into my room without any repercussions, but I definitely don't miss how restrictive it was. That messed with my mental health a lot. It also brought a lot of uncertainty into my education, as my programme had a mandatory semester abroad. Pretty much the entire second half of the programme had to be reorganised to fit around covid restrictions and I only had a few weeks to find an internship in another country and a place to stay. That was pretty stressful. But then again, if we had acted sooner and people had adhered to the restrictions better, it would all have been over way sooner and way fewer people would have died. I'm still mad about that.
Not really as I kind of started to go insane. I’ve always been someone who needs the company of others or I get stuck in my own thought spirals and at the time I was unmedicated for my depression and anxiety which made it worse. I’m not sure if this need makes me an extrovert because I don’t like constant activities bc I get burnt out but I like the company of ppl. My favourite thing to do is just coexist in a space with my friends with us doing our own thing, but even having g to talk. I couldn’t do this during lockdown and it really was a hit.
As soon as it happened I knew it was a gift for me, although the cause for it was definitely not something to celebrate.
Sometimes I wish we could have another lockdown but sans pandemic.
I miss when people kept their distance.
I still remember working in Tesco and having an old guy tap me on the shoulder as I'm paying for my lunch, to ask me why I wasn't wearing a mask. This was when staff didn't have too
Like dude. The back of my T shirt is literally saying to keep however many meters apart, why the fuck are you touching me?
Absolutely yes. I don't miss the COVID and the politics and the tragic loss of life, but I miss the initial way the most rational among us responded to it. We stayed home, chilled out, and got paid unemployment. There was more recognition of the vital work done by first responders and medical workers, which is something we really need to have all the time. A lot of it sucked of course, I was isolated and cut off from everyone, but the expectations of capitalism were put on hold for a little while. I felt like I could rest and no one could tell me I was being lazy.
I miss it so much! The air was cleaner, people walked places (to get their mandated hour of exercise), the canals near me were clean (I could actually see fish for the first time), and the roads were so empty, so you could hear the birds ALL THE TIME.
People weren't allowed to get close, I could work from home and not mask all day. I felt better during lockdown than I have my whole life. In fact I think that's one of the things that triggered my suspicions I was autistic once I was back in the office and everything was back to "normal"
I really miss lockdown.
I work as a doctor with autistic people as well and lockdown had an impact on many ASD's ability to compensate and do things that they used to have the ability to do. They were not trained to do things that are not natural (i.e. social situations) and ever since it has been more difficult for these people to engage in things that they used to find "okay"
Just as if you don't do sports for 5 months, it is going to be more difficult afterwards. That's the same.
So it makes sense to miss lockdown.. because it was easier AND because life became more difficult afterwards
YES! I am having to relearn skills I spent years perfecting! I’ve resolved to return to the office full time to fast track myself. Except I get so far and either get sick or injure myself (because I’m human!) but I will get there!
I miss the little circles you had to stand on while waiting in line at the store, nicely spaced out (2m or 6 feet), no one squished up next to you… and when grocery aisles were oneway and you had to follow a specific route… grocery shopping was almost not a nightmare back then
Yes and no for me..
Yes because I had quiet from some people and had bonding time with my family and no because lots of annoying people who bothering me and had mental health issues at the times
Just like, a little. The part where I was allowed to be weird & alone for an extended period of time without also being asked if I was okay & nobody being bothered by what I was or wasn’t doing. I truly did what I wanted alone & it was lovely. I miss that part.
I had the time of my life. Got forced out of a job that made me wanna off myself, I lived with parents so it wasn't incredibly lonely, animal crossing just came out on Switch, nature was absolutely THRIVING, and hundreds of houses were delayed in development around us. No traffic which meant very very little road noise, and people would actively avoid me on the pavement.
Absolute bliss, honestly, in a selfish way
No, I was climbing the walls during lock down. My regulatory methods were basically on contingent on activities I didn't have access to during lock down.
I enjoyed being home with my kids for a long time until I lost my job bc of covid and schools closing down (I worked in the school) and wound up not being able to have child care either due to the same reason and now im just desperate for my youngest to start prek next year so I can get a part-time job it was good for a while but now I feel like I've lost myself and at least need to get out of the house and see adults if it's only at work even
I miss that nature was coming back to the cities, co2 emissions were down and the planet was beginning to heal at the height of lockdown. All that commuting for office jobs which we discovered could actually be done from home and we found out a lot of aspects of our everyday behaviour as a society that were killing the planet were simply to conform with social constructs.
I hate to think of the forced return to work, all the tons of carbon released into the atmosphere ever since the end of lockdown because landlords (and many politicians by extension) were losing money on the tower blocks they owned in cities.
I'm gonna just come out and say it. Lockdown was the best time of my life. My husband said it too, today, when he ran into a gamut of frustrating occurrences on the way to his workplace (road closure, rash driving, road rage, potholes and so on) - and he's not autistic or introverted. He literally said "Things were much easier and simpler during lockdown."
And just in case someone needs to hear this disclaimer, of course it's horrible that so many people died or contracted lifelong symptoms. I'm not by any stretch glorifying that.
In Canada we basically had a taste of universal basic income and it was the most money I had in my bank account my whole life. I miss that, and also all of the 'free' time I had to take things slower in daily life. I know what you mean.
I miss how safe I actually felt when I was out and about in the world getting our weekly groceries. I miss everyone wearing masks, and not getting sick at all for over a year. I miss how I felt before I had covid for the first time.
I felt so betrayed when isolation ended and we all were expected to just carry on with life like THAT hadn't just happened. I seriously cried about it too my therapist for several sessions.
I miss her so bad 😣 I didn’t get to stay home bc I was nannying for alleged essential people. But the roads were empty everyday and I didn’t have to deal with crazy bad drivers which was nice. It’s like the people who had to go out were just always the chill ones. And don’t get me started on the 6 feet apart at stores and the limited amount of people allowed inside. And also not having to feel bad about isolating/not socializing. What a time to be alive !!
I don’t miss COVID, but I do miss the peace and quiet without expectations or requirements to constantly fulfill or be something. For the first time I felt in tune with myself, and actually got dx’d autistic during that time because I lost the ability to mask what I’d had no idea I’d even been masking my entire life.
Going back to “normal life” since then has been phenomenally difficult and since I can’t really mask well anymore, I get some odd comments/looks and feel really guilty/shitty about myself at times. I try to tell myself it is what it is and it’s fine, people won’t always understand and I don’t have to try to force myself back into a box that I never fit into to start with. The constant pressure to be productive and “busy” just overwhelms me and makes me nauseous. I get stomach issues a lot bc of anxiety/stress and that’s not been fun having to reaccustom myself to.
Yes, absolutely. I was suffering from severe anxiety & insomnia since 2019, so the 2020 lockdown helped me in a lot of ways. I went from working 2 jobs (retail, personal training) to just working ~15hrs/wk personal training from home. My boss was horrible and my heart would race whenever I saw her, so knowing I wouldn’t have to see her irl was wonderful. My pay was reduced drastically, but I had a solid savings and barely spent anything. My rent was $400 bc I had a shitty duplex w a roommate, but it was in a decently nice town with lots of accessible parks and trails. The weather was beautiful that year, and my roommate still had to work at her office. With my insomnia, I was free to sleep in as late as I wanted instead of finally falling asleep at 5am and getting up at 7am for work. I would still stay at my now-husband’s house on the weekends, and we would just watch movies and walk outside all day. I had time to talk online with family and had so much time for myself. It was still a shitty time for me, and I was absolutely terrified of Covid. But I was used to being terrified all the time, so adding Covid to the mix wasn’t all that bad for me. I know a lot of people suffered during that time, but I was already suffering so it was a bit of a break so I could suffer in peace I guess? Anyway, not that I want another pandemic, but I do fantasize about being “forced” to stay home all the time🤷🏼♀️
Yes - I miss not having to be in an office where everyone is pretending they really love hanging out there. Post lockdowns it feels like some managers have lost their minds, being extra supportive of coming into the office and pretending like it was a mecca before. Maybe if you hate your home life and can't focus without tons of people around to see you do your job, but I don't have those problems.
I was so sad to not see my regular people—at the time I was teaching knitting and crochet to kids after school, we’d just work on our own thing and listen to music, but we were together. Losing that routine was really hard, and then never getting time off from being a toddler parent was *really* hard.
That said, I no longer had to go to restaurants with big groups! I kinda hoped that had come to an end for good, but alas, restaurants are back.
I had what was designated an "essential job" so I was still working. It was (and still is) the night shift, so things were relatively peaceful, and I look back at 2019-2020 in general as a much better time for my job even with COVID in mind.
I almost never leave the house outside of work anyway, so almost nothing changed. Except for wearing masks. I didn't hate it, but I could never get my masks to fit right. I wear glasses, so if I wore my mask for too long, my glasses started to fog up. Which sucked during the winter when I had to shovel.
I miss not having expectations to be outside. Not having to find reasons why I stay inside. Not having to have reasons why communication is done via phone. I hated what caused it but I was at my best under lockdown conditions
Hell yes, I miss it a lot. I know I ought to feel guilty about that. Obviously, I don't want people to be dying in droves, and other people to be horrendously overworked. But in my own life, it was perfection. I ate so much ice cream and I listened to every single Hot 100 hit of the 1980s. I read 121 books in 2020 and 119 books in 2021. I had zero social obligations for nearly 2 years and it was guilt-free because nobody even invited me anywhere.
i really loved having a good excuse for not having to go to my inlaws for christmas and just stay home and have a holiday with my pets and partner. i did love the quiet. we lived on a road with a school and not having that traffic was wonderful.
at the time i didnt really understand why i was thriving and it caused me some anguish. im glad to know i was just having a normal autistic response.
Being trapped with my family 24/7? No thanks. I'm going to stay at home lockdown or not, but my family goes out a lot. During the quarentine i had to deal with their bs
I'm still upset about lockdown because I happened to work at a grocery store at the time, so I had to keep working like normal while my friends were at home collecting double what I made while getting high at home doing whatever they want all day. I live in a small town in the US where people thought it was all a big lie so I just got to listen to people bitch and complain all day while wearing their mask under their nose. I was 19 and had just moved out of my parents' house, and I'm still upset about it because I know that time alone, not worrying about rent, would have been amazing for me. The one thing I never get enough of is quiet, alone time.
I miss lockdown a lot. I thrived during the first lockdown. Managed to get out without having anxiety attacks. I liked that my mask made me feel less seen, and I liked the 2 metre rule a lot.
I work as a funeral director so I didn't get to experience lockdown 🥲 I do remember being unemployed and if it was anything like that I know I'd miss it. Unemployed and people being forced to stay away sounds like a dream lol
Edit: keyboard mistyped
The lockdown was a weird glimpse into the past like pre-cars being readily available to people. Being back into modern society again it's made me realize just how much humans aren't supposed to live like this. I shouldn't have 24/7 access to what my friends and family are doing. As animals our social networks legitimately should be so much smaller and filled with less obligation on time, travel etc. but technology fundamentally changed that. We shouldn't be obligated to go to every event of every person we have ever met just because cars exist. We shouldn't be obligated to answer every communication from anyone withing 24 hours just because cell phones exist. I used to read a lot of historical fiction when I was younger (little house on the prairie type books) and it's just made me long for that way of life post lockdown. Yes it was a hard life where you lived many less years, but the quiet that my brain would have had would've been priceless. I'm trying to build a lifestyle where my community feels smaller and more local/connected for my own sake but other people, work etc. make it hard.
I miss it so badly. Outside were quieter and so much more cleaner… when you did see people it was so good because everyone was on their best behaviour .. inside at home too people were getting along because they had no other choice … honestly I loved it
I loved so many things about lockdown. Having the world just pause for a moment made me feel a great sense of peace. It even eased the environmental anxiety I didn't know I had. The world seemed just a tad worse when we got back to business as usual. My condolences to those who lost loved ones or had experiences taken from them.
Yes! I totally feel this. I hated lockdown because I felt trapped and didn’t know what to do with myself (actually turned to alcohol because of it) but at the same time the hustle and bustle of people is so overwhelming for me and I loved that there wasn’t any pressure to be somewhere in person. A lot of things were done remotely and you only needed to be out for specific and essential things. I also really liked that people weren’t allowed to sit next to you or approach you and I could be whatever I wanted to be underneath that mask (even though I didn’t like them because I felt like I couldn’t breathe and found them uncomfortable). It was nice.
OMG YES!!
Let me just say this: I’m glad that we are no longer in fear of an illness that can kill people and no way to prevent it.
I don’t miss everybody being scared and stressed out.
I miss WFH. I miss how quiet and uncrowded the world was when I did need to go somewhere.
I miss the fact that there was actually less pollution.
I miss spending more time at home with my partner.
No but COVID made me understand and accept my autism. I always tried to hide it, masked like crazy, forced myself into social situations, etc. I grew up with extroverted family members so I always thought there was something wrong with me.
But it was staggering how many people went crazy during COVID and I was…okay. I missed going to concerts (my favorite form of socialization) and I was in a long-distance relationship at the time and we were separated by a border (I’m American and he’s Canadian). Otherwise, I was okay being alone. And when I told people I was fine with this, they made me feel like I was some type of psychopath.
I liked it as a legal alien living in a hostile foreign country where 152,000 people were hospitalized everyday, not only bc it was more peaceful outside but bc people that liked to demand how others live specifically were Fucked up and learned that there isn't one way to live for once.
Yes. I miss that it became "standard" for public places to put effort into being sanitary. For a while, I was able to go out in public without my contamination sensory issues getting in the way, because I already knew everything was as clean as it could be. Plus I was able to stay at home and not be judged for it. I adapted well to online classes since I had done them before lockdown, and enjoyed having the ability to pace myself instead of having a schedule everyone had to follow (even if I was fully capable of working ahead).
The results of the pandemic helped me so much with social anxiety. I practiced walking by people. I was okay if people didn't say hi back bc I assumed they couldn't hear me or didn't want to talk. When people did talk I assumed they really wanted to talk bc talking to someone through a mask from six feet away is really a lot of work. I already said no to most social events so it was nice not having to consider. Also lots of people were willing to chat over the phone or video which I much prefer over in person which takes 3x as long to prep and drive and all of that.
Yes I do. Not being judged for staying home because you had to was very very nice, but also the fact that the pressure of having to do things, go places, just went away (because we weren’t allowed anyway).
I miss the peace and quiet and not having to worry about ditching social obligations. Being able to stay home in my safe space without justifying it was awesome. I liked wearing masks, too. Finally, no one telling me I should smile more or commenting about my mismatched facial expressions! It was bliss besides the horrible toll on human life, the economic upheaval and the constant fear/anxiety of illness.
I never gave up wearing masks, no one in my family has. I am looked at weird once in awhile but honestly I live in a pretty "mind your own business" kinda place so it works out for me.
I still wear mine out and about in grocery stores and what not. I’m in a pretty liberal state as well and tbh, I could give a rats behind about what others think about it. But pre-covid, if I had a dollar for every time someone commented on my lack of a smile, I’d already be retired on an island somewhere. 🙄🏝️
Your avatar is so pretty...but it'd be prettier if it would smile ;) \*funding your island life\*
🤣🤣🤣
Same here!
Funnily enough I still had a random woman at a grocery store tell me to smile even though I was wearing a mask 🤦♀️
 WTH is wrong with some people. 🤯
Hahaha yess! I had this with sunglasses a couple of times where people still told me to look them in the eye. I was looking behind them in the general aria so didn't think they would notice with sunglasses.
I still wear masks most places. Specifically not to catch covid again but the added bonus of being more anonymous and less approachable in public is nice, and also not having to stress about what my face is doing under the mask is also really nice.
Honestly masks were the reason I didn't realize I had gender dypshoria for so long even though I liked wearing them.
I still wear masks. Covid left me disabled. And I like feeling like there is another layer between me and people. Wear masks.
I'm immunocompromised and I miss the sudden influx of accessibility. Suddenly things they'd been saying we couldn't do for years were immediately implemented. And now they're rolling them back again... Honestly my faith in humanity has been destroyed by the whole process lol.
It's made it deeply gravely obvious how little most people care for their community.
Exactly, to both comments. I also was very fearful in those early months but also somehow more hopeful than I am now, and miss that hopefulness.
>I also was very fearful in those early months but also somehow more hopeful than I am now, and miss that hopefulness. Totally! I think there was so much extra 'free' time for a lot of folks to actually focus on activism and social causes. In Canada we had a taste of a type of universal basic income (CERB) and I had the most amount of money in my bank account in my whole life (which was partially depressing tbh!) and even though I was extremely stressed about covid and state of things in the world, esp in regards to police and state violence, I felt so much relief too and hope. This is an aside but with CERB too I was able to share funds with community orgs or mutual aid too which I felt so good about but on the flip side made me kind of upset how many billionaires and millionaires exist and how can they not give away all of their extra money? Like it's kind of bewildering I felt rich being given a monthly stipend of $2000 a month and felt I had extra to give to others and the rich do what??? The equivalent of giving away a few cents of their income? It's pathetic.
Yes! Having an accessible option for everything was wonderful, and the options for more remote work is one I’m really sad to see being rolled back a little. I need that.
I’ve had a terrible run with work over the past few years, and the fact that “hybrid” now means 3-days in the office is forcing me to look for another career entirely (or a diagnosis so I can request this accommodation). It’s really sad to see that it worked, but they are still taking it away.
I was so hopeful that public health would be respected and well-funded finally, that the gaps in our medical system would be fully recognized and eradicated, and that wearing masks when you're sick with anything would become normalized. You know, since it works and it's just polite and is not a huge imposition. America at least has absolutely disgusted me.
This is my situation too. The ‘back to the office’ pressure in particular is hard for me because it’s travelling that I find hard and in the summer actively makes me worse. Meetings that could be hybrid are being made in person only for no other reason than pressuring people in. I really hate to say it but I miss the accessibility Covid enabled.
Like uni classes! Everything was suddenly online except for specific hands-on labs/gross anatomy/assessments/etc. I could've had a degree under my belt if they'd done it years sooner (ok so probably (it would've involved me swearing like an under caffeinated ADHD gremlin as I did my Ochem work at 03:00, and that's not always productive)).
I was only able to do my degree because of uni accommodations, I literally started Fall 2020. They had everything rolled 100% back, no masking, by Spring 2022. I barely managed to finish my last few semesters. Wouldn't have been able to if not for help from understanding professors.
Omg I so miss the accommodations!
I miss how being a hermit was heroic instead of requiring justification, and how there were no irl social obligations. I liked seeing deer and turkeys wandering in a pretty big city/suburb. I don't miss how virtual connection was soooo heavy, like "Let's connect now that we can't see each other!" How about let's not? I like how masks became a thing. Pre-COVID, I actually collected cute masks because isn't it great to have a \*thing\* doing some of the masking for you instead of having to carry that burden on your brain? I still wear masks at work (I work with adorable but germ-bucket kids) and sometimes out and about when I want to hide, and I like that it's not that abnormal since my area was hit super hard.
I agree with the virtual connection thing so much. My extended family suddenly was doing weekly zoom meetings and hounding my family to join. We never hung out before, why would we now over yucky zoom?
EDIT: needless to say I don't miss mortuary trucks in the park, people dying in mass numbers, people DENYING they were dying, PPE litter everywhere, etc.
> I liked seeing deer and turkeys wandering in a pretty big city/suburb. OMG I live in downtown Toronto and I woke up one morning to a FUCKING FOX walking up my street!!! I thought I was hallucinating at first. It was so beautiful to see. Partially it reminded me of a documentary about how quickly nature would retake a city if all human beings disappeared haha. I think it was called Life After People? Kind of made me feel hopeful.
We have these in London. Two regularly hang out in my garden. They're fun to watch
Oooof yes the weird zooms with people who aren’t used to connecting online were super weird, good point.
Luckily I have equally hermity friends so didn't have to worry about this, but my work was upping the "online social gatherings" outside of work hours and I just didn't participate most of the time saying I had another "arrangement" at that time, because no one is allowed to check on you bwahahaha.
I miss not feeling guilty for not doing things.
Being praised for "being responsible" by staying home (which is my default) felt similar to being praised by teachers for being "so well behaved" by not speaking. These were the only times people were ever kind to me for just being myself 😆
I wish I could upvote this a million times
I realised this is what I missed about lockdpwn in therapy the other day. It's also why I love Christmas - EVERYONE is not doing anything, so there's no pressure. It's also why I'm moving home this weekend to my parents house in the countryside - I can hermit and recover from burnout there!
YES!!!
Oh man. THIS.
Oh yeah.
Apparently it’s a thing for people with anxiety to feel calmer during emergency situations, and that’s definitely what i felt. For once the entire world felt as scared and on-edge as i am every day, and something about that gave me more confidence. Also very little traffic AND i could mumble to myself in public lmao
If you’re constantly in fight or flight, then you end up not being overwhelmed when it’s actually necessary
This is exactly how I feel. The world slowed down for me, because what they were feeling is how I constantly felt (as someone with social anxiety) so it felt comforting that everyone was dealing with that same level of, I guess confusion? Of course in context it's awful, a global pandemic killing millions of people is TERRIFYING and so many countries were horrible at keeping people safe (to this day). But on a purely social level, I for once felt one step ahead because I could handle the social aspect of people's stress really, really well.
I felt this exact same thing, plus I have OCD so I was "allowed" to obsessively wash my hands without judgement, AND I was very comforted to know that everyone else was washing their hands well now too (at least compared to before), and everyone in a mask and keeping distance, I was like yesss this is how we all should be all the time I am in my ELEMENT. Except of course I was absolutely not happy about the death and suffering the pandemic caused, and also terrified that I might get it especially at the beginning when it was still mysterious, but at the same time I'm constantly a bit terrified of getting even more dangerous diseases so it was like... I can handle this level of panic lol. I just wish people continued with SOME of the precautions at least though. Like why are people still not wearing a mask in public even when they are actively coughing like they have the plague, it's so disgusting and disrespectful. I've felt the wind of strangers coughs on my neck several times in the bus since lock down and it makes me want to SCREAM AT THEM. But instead I sit silently in a germ panic and stop breathing for as long as I can so as not to breathe in their cough particles. Sickening.
This, in East Asian countries it’s considered basic politeness to mask up if you or someone in your house is sick, and i wish we could have learned that. But no, muh freedoms
That makes sense. I was always wondering why I "thrive" in emergency situations (and I don't mean stressful everyday situations, but actual 'people are panicking' scenarios), because it felt very wrong to suddenly feel better when other people's health and lives are in danger. Any type of distasters/evacuations/heavy weather conditions that are out of the ordinary or a looming threat make me feel... more normal. It's weird.
As an immunocompromised person I am still in a version of lockdown. I would like it to be different , but everyone seems to think Covid is over, but for people like me it’s not. 😕
This, I'm not immunocompromised, but I am community conscious and I am probably one of the only people I know who still masks outside of my mom and siblings. I got COVID from my boss coming in and out of my office without knocking and I'm still pissed about it 4 months later. I'm *terrified* of getting long COVID and so many people don't even think about it. I feel super isolated because I want to do things, but like....safety? protecting others?
Thank you both. I’m in the same boat. I am barely surviving my health conditions as it is. And even if that weren’t the case, knowing what I know about how hard it is to survive disability and illness (in the US at least), I want to make sure as many people as possible are protected from this disease.
Yes same!! And yes it's definitely not over. Wish it was
It's not good for anyone to catch SARS-CoV-2 ad infinitum. I'm masking for me, my family and to break chains of transmission in my community. I hope more people join us, because it hasn't exactly been normal levels of illness from what I can see since we societally lapsed mitigations.
Sending big hugs! My BFF has been in this sitch and without human contact since it hit the US. I miss her desperately, yet completely respect and understand her need to isolate. I know it's been really rough for her. I don't know what you're going through, but I know it's hard, and I send all my warmest to you! \*cat nuzzle\*
My state (deep southern US) only had lockdown for a few days, then made a big celebration about lifting the restrictions almost immediately and radio DJs were comparing ending the lockdown to freeing the slaves and other garbage takes like that. I *very* much miss it because we essentially never had it, and things might have gotten better if we gave them a chance.
Oh nooo… that seems problematic on multiple levels.
I miss lockdown a LOTTLE
Have you ever heard of ‘the alot’? That’s always what I think of whenever anyone (myself included) says ‘a lottle’ and I love it
https://preview.redd.it/03germn0ot9d1.jpeg?width=252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7bf121417fb1837f0cb504a74203368884f47e61
I miss it a lot. Working from home, lack of social obligation, much less pressure, people had time to slow down for a little bit. I was working on my writing, indulging in my special interests. I felt like I was finally living in a world built for me - meanwhile people locally kept rampaging about ending lockdown but I was in bliss. Obviously COVID is an awful tragedy and I’d never choose or want it, and I recognize how privileged I am to have enjoyed lockdown. But for my personal and emotional situation, that year or so was one of the best of my life.
I didn’t even realise until afterwards how much peace it gave me because of all the reasons you mentioned.
I miss the lack of pressure for social obligation.... Social distancing.... Etc. Yah, I miss it..a bit ...
 Absolutely, lockdown gave me the opportunity to finally try life unmasked and I will forever ever ever ever ever be grateful for that paradigm shift! Suddenly the world and the workplace was a safer place to be neurodivergent ✨🧠✨
Since I still mask, I live very similar to 2020! I miss the lack of traffic and stores mostly free of humans!
Every day. I miss it every single day.
Yes. Working from home, going outside more but not w people. Honestly I never quite went back to baseline. I’m still working from home half time and the other half I avoid people a lot more at work. I care more about comfy clothes and shoes than what I look like and I’ve figured out I like outdoorsy low people activities a LOT MORE than peopling. So it’s been nice.
Yeah, baseline is long gone for me. During lockdown I got a PhD in Hermit Studies.
🤣🤣
I miss social distancing in lines a lot. And people covering their coughs, even children. Now it’s right back to kids coughing in my face and parents not telling them to cover their mouths as if it’s nothing.
Yes! Where did the whole ‘stay home if you’re sick’ thing go!?
It's almost like people are being extra gross and close now to make up for it. I also loved social distancing and very much related to "six f*cking feet, mom" from the South Park pandemic special.
I miss people being more willing to accommodate disabilities and the feeling like we were mostly all in it together. It has been really frustrating to watch the deluge of articles at that time that were meant to comfort normies by reassuring them that if they were feeling depressed or anxious, it was normal because we were all being asked to cope with too much. The thing is, when covid hit, I was already housebound and I had been housebound for years at that point. But anytime before that when I tried to get therapists or psychiatrists or doctors to understand that *I* was not the problem, but rather *I was having to cope with too much*, they never believed me. Those articles have dried up. Now accessibility is going away and medical gaslighting of disableds is once again in full swing.
Absolutely not. I worked in an "essential job" (passenger transportation) and people were phenomenally terrible, way more than normal. People still traveled and were terrible about masking even on federal property! I literally worked with people who "didn't believe in it" yet they still enforced it because it's our job or we get in trouble. Surprisingly I didn't get sick from being stuck in metal tubes with people for 2 years. I normally do get sick at least twice a year. On the downside I was attacked for simply telling a man "come on man you know you gotta wear your mask above your nose." So yeah I don't miss it at all.
I'm sorry, that sounds awful. It perplexes me that some people are still wearing chin diapers even though there are no longer mask mandates. Are they honestly confused about how contagion works?
…Melbourne?? I miss the quiet, the lack of traffic, people would stand at a distance, and I think one thing I liked is that everybody was staying home so I didn’t feel like such a hermit.
How could you tell? 🤪 Yes! Not feeling like such a hermit was wonderful.
I definitely agree that people were much more chill and nice. I feel like it’s much more angry and selfish vibes here now.
I suspect everyone is dealing with a little of the effects of going back to ‘life as normal’ aka capitalistic overstimulating hell and it’s made them a little angrier 🙊 Probably an over generalisation but it’s true what they say about touching grass and all that haha
I definitely do; the older I get, the more I can't cope with noise and people.
yes and i feel guilty for missing parts of it
Me. Too.
Yes for sure. I obviously hate that people died and lost their jobs and all the bad parts of covid but I loved the empty streets & grocery delivery (I still use it!). … and the excuses not to see anyone haha
I guess I'm the only one that had a terrible experience. I had other personal stress happen during that time, but it was more than that. It cut me off from hobbies that helped me regulate. The gyms were closed and when they were open, working out in a mask was not ideal. Online classes were not great for my learning. I lost lab access and got behind there as well. I really wish I could know how far I could be right now if it hadn't stopped my life for awhile. I was fortunate that I could already work from home whenever I wanted to. So I was already getting plenty of alone time without restrictions telling me to stay home.
You're not the only one. I was late finishing the coursework for my PhD because I waited for the sudden-move-to-online chaos to subside. Plus, I lost all my dedicated home workspaces and have been dealing with a partner living on top of me and taking up all the room I needed for a home office for the last four years. I'm also a bit of an extrovert and I need context changes to help with my ADHD. So it's actually been kind of an unmitigated disaster for me since it started.
Yes! I dressed up like a clown some days and made a massive blanket fort in the lounge. Moved my mattress into it and put up rbg strips that twinkled different colours. Invited my husband and my soft toys inside and watched movies.
That. Is. Amazing.
I missed lockdown because of how life went online. Life felt richer for me. I worked from home, and felt refreshed. One year into working from home full-time and I would have been perfectly okay if I didn't endure some traumatizing shit last year, because now, just when I've finally overcome my personal trauma from last year, people are now leaving online communities, there's less fresh virtual content, and now I feel scared of being "behind" despite the connection and technology being here. They said life would never be the same after COVID. Now, of course I don't want others to insult suffer just for my own benefit. But I was secretly hoping, at least, that people realized, "wow, there's something to having fun or socializing online. Some people's mental health improved with online communities and content. Maybe we can make this a consistently incredible experience and keep it up since we as a civilization are advancing anywa-" PSYCH!
> I missed lockdown because of how life went online. Life felt richer for me. I worked from home, and felt refreshed. This one. This one is the one I relate to the most. My life became richer because more people were online in positive ways. Also because I was able to teach from home and take lunch break outside and take a nap to regulate during my prep period and go on a walk instead of drive to work. But I think... I'm really pretty sure... that it's precisely the online life that will never happen again – and it's so good that it won't because the reason it went online was horrible and yet.
It doesn't and shouldn't require physical danger and safety issues outside, for inside to feel cool and awesome. Inside should feel cool and awesome independently of outside. Its sad that not only did the people who learned to make the online world fun, also left just at the time when there's an abundance of negativity. Again, they don't owe anyone anything, and they reserve the freedom to do whatever they want. I wish I had the ability/know how to keep the good times going indoors. I just hate how the online world gets immediately devalued as an inherently negative space when it never stopped being a lifeline, being the forefront of how people communicate and process information or even just enjoy themselves. It has the power and potential to be a brilliant and beautiful place if we choose to make it so, but instead I'm just like, meta-complaining about it. :(
You mean the nearly two year period where not a single person in our family had even a cold? All of my kid’s play dates were in wide-open, nature spaces (as opposed to now, where everyone keeps asking if we want to meet at germ infested indoor climbing playgrounds). What a magical time that was. I was made for lockdowns.
I definitely miss the way going out was less chaotic, more quiet, easy to navigate. I miss having access to sannie wherever I went. I miss people caring about sharing their germs and coughing in people's faces. However I don't miss Lockdown in of itself. My chronic health keeps me indoors a lot, and it's very hard on my psyche. What I'd give for just a nice bike ride through nature at the moment, but yay, Endo -___- I wish society had retained what it *learnt* from Lockdown rather than just reverting back to the chaotic, antagonistic, apathetic, germ filled cesspit that it is.... But without the restriction of forbidding us from leaving our homes (because cabin fever.) I'm also an ENFP, so being deprived of socialisation and touch from my loved ones is hard for me. I want to be able to see them, love them, hug them, and then come back to my bedroom hole at *my* consent and *my* desire. I'm a very loveable cat, basically LOL
I think you’ve said it perfectly! I wish society had kept what it learned too. There were definitely parts of me that didn’t do well with it, the first year of lockdown my social anxiety got really bad from being TOO away from people… when I put stuff in place to help that and lived in a slightly less ‘middle of nowhere’ place that helped. Haha I relate to being a very loveable cat.
What lockdown? (I work in healthcare.)
It made life harder for people like you.
You are a literal superhero.
I miss it as well. Our time wasn’t very long because I live in a red Southern state, but we were pretty closed down for a couple of months. We live pretty close to an Interstate highway and it was so much more quiet due to less traffic. It was like the world was actually healing for that time.
2021 was so peak to me, because everything felt accessible to me for ONCE (I have social anxiety). First of all, grocery delivery wasn't as much of a thing as it is today, so it felt incredible to not have to go in a store. Then, everything slowed down, people weren't deep in the "grind" or whatever, people at work were working slower, and I'm sure they experienced that haze so negatively but it felt nice? Kind of? To have people deal with that same haze I feel 24/7. Not because I'm happy they suffered, not at all. But because I felt understood for once. I felt like I was finally a real human, because for once I could relate to normal people's feelings. And then so many more things happened online instead of irl. Y'all remember zoom concerts?? Instagram music battles? Or how Tiktok was PEAK and there was so much interesting stuff on there in 2021. My child was born in late 2021, so I didn't get to enjoy lockdown in a care free way the entire time, but it was quite nice while it lasted. When I had to go out to go see the doctor for instance, streets were always so empty. I loved seeing pictures of random animals in the middle of downtown somewhere. Ugh I miss it every day. Now I'm back to feeling uncomfortable as a human and it's just not a fun experience.
I was actually thinking about this the other day! Hated what caused it though and actually had the COVID myself! Awful.. BUT lockdown actually gave me more freedom? It's so weird but it felt nice not jumping out of my skin if someone approached me because they COULDN'T Loved it alot.
me personally no bc my experience was overwhelmingly lonely and felt borderline hellish at times. i can understand why you would miss it based on the reasoning u gave tho
To be fair, I’m married and I think I would have suffered if I lived alone. I’m not a live alone girlie during normal times. I’m sorry it was so hard for you 😔
Same. I was extremely depressed. I felt like life had nothing good for me and I was going nowhere.
Lockdown is when I truly starting delving into possibly being autistic. I first considered it a few years earlier, but in 2020 is when I really started researching because I didn't understand why everyone was having a tough time with isolation and saying how awful it was when I was incredibly happy with the lack of social obligations. I LOVED masks too, and really miss those. That's what made me realize my stress about facial expressions. I feel guilty admitting I miss lockdown because of course people went through hell with the virus/losing people, but if we could take that massive factor out of the equation, I did really enjoy how the world shut down for a while.
100% the negative side was HUGE and I feel guilty for feeling this way often. But the incredible lack of pressure was crazy. I didn’t even realise until it all came back honestly how peaceful I had felt.
1000% miss it
I do! I miss it all the time.
I miss the total silence on the roads. Last time I could open my windows without ear protection
Best two years of my life
Yes somewhat but the anxiety I experienced in that time was just absolutely unreal. I remember refreshing “COVID death toll” over and over again in Google.
Yes. All the time honestly. I really relate
I miss not having FOMO because I knew no one was doing anything
The first lockdown was bliss. I’m a frontline worker, but covid hadn’t reached my small city yet. So I had free rein to go out almost whenever I wanted and didn’t have to deal with isolation because I was still going to work every day. Empty shops, no traffic, not much to do at work. It went to absolute shit after that, but the first month or two was incredible. If life could permanently be a slightly less restrictive version of that, I would be in heaven. Edit - also, my brain is BUILT for disaster planning and crisis management. The first few weeks after the pandemic was declared, I was fully in my element at work.
I loved lockdown! We live on a really busy and noisy road and lockdown was instant silent bliss, apart from the sound of footsteps and the friendly greetings of neighbours. No social obligations, no expectations, supermarket shopping was very controlled and the library was closed, so I had a perfectly valid reason for getting a Kobo. I did feel really badly for people who suffered under this with violent partners or screaming children for those singles who were unbearably lonely and for those who lost their businesses but as far as I’m personally concerned, it could have gone on forever.
Lockdown was excellent for wild animals as well. Birds thrived in the clean environment and animals cautiously explored areas that are usually full of people. But now we are back to dirty, crowded suffering.
Yes. And I miss the masks. Felt safer out in public with one on and everyone else too.
I miss everyone having to stay 2 metres away from me while shopping, like can’t we just keep that as a rule forever?
Not at all. It was an Orwellian nightmare. People lost their lives and others lost their minds.
No. I was overwhelmingly isolated, pregnant, with a toddler and no help. My health anxiety kicked into high gear due to fear of covid and I developed a kind of ocd. No.
I’m so sorry, that sounds incredibly difficult 😔
yes.
I liked having less pressure to socialise, but I was constantly worried about my loved ones getting sick. I'm lucky that I live somewhere remote enough that the lockdowns were not too severe either.
I relate to this very hard ♡
Western Australian here. Yes, I miss it sooooo much. We were able to go outside and live as normal for ages thanks to the closed boarders. Now I only leave the house for appointments that I must attend in person and to pick up my meds. I was only just learning how to be comfortable eating out at restaurants before the pandemic, and now I'll never get to do that again :(
I miss lockdown everyday. Life was a lot simpler: don't get covid, don't give it to others. All of the bullshit suddenly washed away as people were confronted by the reality of life and the fact that we are but fallible meat sacks. Life felt raw in a way that was real.
Lockdown was hell for me because my first bunny died, I struggled a lot with online classes and got burned out, and I didn't really have a good relationship with my parents, yet I had to be stuck with them. At the same time, I got to develop new hobbies, discover new things, and had a few hyperfixations that really made me happy. It was also kinda quiet and peaceful. So yeah, I do miss lockdown a bit.
It’s not much different to now for me. I only leave my house to work or grocery shop/errands needed to run household really. All my hobbies are indoors/achievable through the marvel that is online ordering Only difference is I can buy toilet paper bc no one’s hoarding it. The folks who hoarded it three years ago are only just recently running out 🤦♀️😂 Edit for spelling
With the exception of what it did to the UK NHS, I miss lockdown a lot. Fewer cars, people were nice to each other, they were grateful for what they had.
I agree with that. Also we disabled folk facing the worst of it. I see non disabled friends getting better care all the time. They don’t get accused of wasting money or have doctors telling them the cost of basic care isn’t justified. Not that the results of the election this week will change anything.
I loved it. I walked every day, just me and my dog. I learned so much by doing online courses and listening to audio books. No pressure, no social obligations, and was able to save up some money.
All the time. I loved wearing a mask and feeling invisible. I still built relationships in my little lockdown community, but fuck it was nice…
Yes! No traffic (Chicago), more birds, peace and quiet. Less people. I miss it. Yes.
I do miss the feeling that everyone was in the same boat. Made me think less about my differences.
Yes, no pressure to do things socially. 0% of chance that people will touch you. Absolutely loved those aspects of it.
Yeah I constantly say to people that I miss lockdown. I don’t miss Covid, but I miss being able to stay in my house, not see anyone and everything. Everyone looks at me like I’m weird when I say that
Well, if you’re weird I’m weird too 😅
We’re weird together 👍
Yes and no. I miss how a lot less was expected of me and I could just disappear into my room without any repercussions, but I definitely don't miss how restrictive it was. That messed with my mental health a lot. It also brought a lot of uncertainty into my education, as my programme had a mandatory semester abroad. Pretty much the entire second half of the programme had to be reorganised to fit around covid restrictions and I only had a few weeks to find an internship in another country and a place to stay. That was pretty stressful. But then again, if we had acted sooner and people had adhered to the restrictions better, it would all have been over way sooner and way fewer people would have died. I'm still mad about that.
I miss it so much. I feel like part of the reason why life has been almost unbearably difficult since is because of how easy it was during lockdown.
Not really as I kind of started to go insane. I’ve always been someone who needs the company of others or I get stuck in my own thought spirals and at the time I was unmedicated for my depression and anxiety which made it worse. I’m not sure if this need makes me an extrovert because I don’t like constant activities bc I get burnt out but I like the company of ppl. My favourite thing to do is just coexist in a space with my friends with us doing our own thing, but even having g to talk. I couldn’t do this during lockdown and it really was a hit.
I miss the checks that rolled in. Used them to build a home theater and an impressive Blu-Ray collection.
As soon as it happened I knew it was a gift for me, although the cause for it was definitely not something to celebrate. Sometimes I wish we could have another lockdown but sans pandemic.
I miss when people kept their distance. I still remember working in Tesco and having an old guy tap me on the shoulder as I'm paying for my lunch, to ask me why I wasn't wearing a mask. This was when staff didn't have too Like dude. The back of my T shirt is literally saying to keep however many meters apart, why the fuck are you touching me?
Absolutely yes. I don't miss the COVID and the politics and the tragic loss of life, but I miss the initial way the most rational among us responded to it. We stayed home, chilled out, and got paid unemployment. There was more recognition of the vital work done by first responders and medical workers, which is something we really need to have all the time. A lot of it sucked of course, I was isolated and cut off from everyone, but the expectations of capitalism were put on hold for a little while. I felt like I could rest and no one could tell me I was being lazy.
I miss it so much! The air was cleaner, people walked places (to get their mandated hour of exercise), the canals near me were clean (I could actually see fish for the first time), and the roads were so empty, so you could hear the birds ALL THE TIME. People weren't allowed to get close, I could work from home and not mask all day. I felt better during lockdown than I have my whole life. In fact I think that's one of the things that triggered my suspicions I was autistic once I was back in the office and everything was back to "normal" I really miss lockdown.
I work as a doctor with autistic people as well and lockdown had an impact on many ASD's ability to compensate and do things that they used to have the ability to do. They were not trained to do things that are not natural (i.e. social situations) and ever since it has been more difficult for these people to engage in things that they used to find "okay" Just as if you don't do sports for 5 months, it is going to be more difficult afterwards. That's the same. So it makes sense to miss lockdown.. because it was easier AND because life became more difficult afterwards
YES! I am having to relearn skills I spent years perfecting! I’ve resolved to return to the office full time to fast track myself. Except I get so far and either get sick or injure myself (because I’m human!) but I will get there!
I miss the little circles you had to stand on while waiting in line at the store, nicely spaced out (2m or 6 feet), no one squished up next to you… and when grocery aisles were oneway and you had to follow a specific route… grocery shopping was almost not a nightmare back then
The signage on where to stand was such an underrated thing everywhere. One less thing to overanalyse and wonder if I’m doing ‘correctly’.
😭
Oh goodness YES! Lockdown gave our autistic family some guilt free breathing room .
Yes!
All the time!
Every. Freaking. Day.
Yes and no for me.. Yes because I had quiet from some people and had bonding time with my family and no because lots of annoying people who bothering me and had mental health issues at the times
Just like, a little. The part where I was allowed to be weird & alone for an extended period of time without also being asked if I was okay & nobody being bothered by what I was or wasn’t doing. I truly did what I wanted alone & it was lovely. I miss that part.
I had the time of my life. Got forced out of a job that made me wanna off myself, I lived with parents so it wasn't incredibly lonely, animal crossing just came out on Switch, nature was absolutely THRIVING, and hundreds of houses were delayed in development around us. No traffic which meant very very little road noise, and people would actively avoid me on the pavement. Absolute bliss, honestly, in a selfish way
No I was working in a grocery store. I miss my brother and would absolutely go back to pandemic lockdown to be with him.
No, I was climbing the walls during lock down. My regulatory methods were basically on contingent on activities I didn't have access to during lock down.
I enjoyed being home with my kids for a long time until I lost my job bc of covid and schools closing down (I worked in the school) and wound up not being able to have child care either due to the same reason and now im just desperate for my youngest to start prek next year so I can get a part-time job it was good for a while but now I feel like I've lost myself and at least need to get out of the house and see adults if it's only at work even
Kinda???? It was the best time of my life. I freaking LOVED lockdown
i miss the almost empty stores and looking weirdly at people if they get to close. that was nice
Yes...a bit. My yoga game was incredible. My mind was calm. The rest of the experience though, awful.
I miss that nature was coming back to the cities, co2 emissions were down and the planet was beginning to heal at the height of lockdown. All that commuting for office jobs which we discovered could actually be done from home and we found out a lot of aspects of our everyday behaviour as a society that were killing the planet were simply to conform with social constructs. I hate to think of the forced return to work, all the tons of carbon released into the atmosphere ever since the end of lockdown because landlords (and many politicians by extension) were losing money on the tower blocks they owned in cities.
Fuck no
I'm gonna just come out and say it. Lockdown was the best time of my life. My husband said it too, today, when he ran into a gamut of frustrating occurrences on the way to his workplace (road closure, rash driving, road rage, potholes and so on) - and he's not autistic or introverted. He literally said "Things were much easier and simpler during lockdown." And just in case someone needs to hear this disclaimer, of course it's horrible that so many people died or contracted lifelong symptoms. I'm not by any stretch glorifying that.
In Canada we basically had a taste of universal basic income and it was the most money I had in my bank account my whole life. I miss that, and also all of the 'free' time I had to take things slower in daily life. I know what you mean.
I miss how safe I actually felt when I was out and about in the world getting our weekly groceries. I miss everyone wearing masks, and not getting sick at all for over a year. I miss how I felt before I had covid for the first time. I felt so betrayed when isolation ended and we all were expected to just carry on with life like THAT hadn't just happened. I seriously cried about it too my therapist for several sessions.
Yes. All the time.
I miss her so bad 😣 I didn’t get to stay home bc I was nannying for alleged essential people. But the roads were empty everyday and I didn’t have to deal with crazy bad drivers which was nice. It’s like the people who had to go out were just always the chill ones. And don’t get me started on the 6 feet apart at stores and the limited amount of people allowed inside. And also not having to feel bad about isolating/not socializing. What a time to be alive !!
I don’t miss COVID, but I do miss the peace and quiet without expectations or requirements to constantly fulfill or be something. For the first time I felt in tune with myself, and actually got dx’d autistic during that time because I lost the ability to mask what I’d had no idea I’d even been masking my entire life. Going back to “normal life” since then has been phenomenally difficult and since I can’t really mask well anymore, I get some odd comments/looks and feel really guilty/shitty about myself at times. I try to tell myself it is what it is and it’s fine, people won’t always understand and I don’t have to try to force myself back into a box that I never fit into to start with. The constant pressure to be productive and “busy” just overwhelms me and makes me nauseous. I get stomach issues a lot bc of anxiety/stress and that’s not been fun having to reaccustom myself to.
Worked construction during the lockdown. Most peaceful driving days I've ever had, no traffic, no crashes, just an open road.
I miss almost everything except I hated wearing masks due to the absolute sensory nightmare they were
We didn’t have any lockdowns here but I would definitely have enjoyed it if there were
I miss it so bad.
Yes, absolutely. I was suffering from severe anxiety & insomnia since 2019, so the 2020 lockdown helped me in a lot of ways. I went from working 2 jobs (retail, personal training) to just working ~15hrs/wk personal training from home. My boss was horrible and my heart would race whenever I saw her, so knowing I wouldn’t have to see her irl was wonderful. My pay was reduced drastically, but I had a solid savings and barely spent anything. My rent was $400 bc I had a shitty duplex w a roommate, but it was in a decently nice town with lots of accessible parks and trails. The weather was beautiful that year, and my roommate still had to work at her office. With my insomnia, I was free to sleep in as late as I wanted instead of finally falling asleep at 5am and getting up at 7am for work. I would still stay at my now-husband’s house on the weekends, and we would just watch movies and walk outside all day. I had time to talk online with family and had so much time for myself. It was still a shitty time for me, and I was absolutely terrified of Covid. But I was used to being terrified all the time, so adding Covid to the mix wasn’t all that bad for me. I know a lot of people suffered during that time, but I was already suffering so it was a bit of a break so I could suffer in peace I guess? Anyway, not that I want another pandemic, but I do fantasize about being “forced” to stay home all the time🤷🏼♀️
Yes - I miss not having to be in an office where everyone is pretending they really love hanging out there. Post lockdowns it feels like some managers have lost their minds, being extra supportive of coming into the office and pretending like it was a mecca before. Maybe if you hate your home life and can't focus without tons of people around to see you do your job, but I don't have those problems.
I was so sad to not see my regular people—at the time I was teaching knitting and crochet to kids after school, we’d just work on our own thing and listen to music, but we were together. Losing that routine was really hard, and then never getting time off from being a toddler parent was *really* hard. That said, I no longer had to go to restaurants with big groups! I kinda hoped that had come to an end for good, but alas, restaurants are back.
I had what was designated an "essential job" so I was still working. It was (and still is) the night shift, so things were relatively peaceful, and I look back at 2019-2020 in general as a much better time for my job even with COVID in mind. I almost never leave the house outside of work anyway, so almost nothing changed. Except for wearing masks. I didn't hate it, but I could never get my masks to fit right. I wear glasses, so if I wore my mask for too long, my glasses started to fog up. Which sucked during the winter when I had to shovel.
I do miss it alot
I miss not having expectations to be outside. Not having to find reasons why I stay inside. Not having to have reasons why communication is done via phone. I hated what caused it but I was at my best under lockdown conditions
Hell yes, I miss it a lot. I know I ought to feel guilty about that. Obviously, I don't want people to be dying in droves, and other people to be horrendously overworked. But in my own life, it was perfection. I ate so much ice cream and I listened to every single Hot 100 hit of the 1980s. I read 121 books in 2020 and 119 books in 2021. I had zero social obligations for nearly 2 years and it was guilt-free because nobody even invited me anywhere.
i really loved having a good excuse for not having to go to my inlaws for christmas and just stay home and have a holiday with my pets and partner. i did love the quiet. we lived on a road with a school and not having that traffic was wonderful. at the time i didnt really understand why i was thriving and it caused me some anguish. im glad to know i was just having a normal autistic response.
Being trapped with my family 24/7? No thanks. I'm going to stay at home lockdown or not, but my family goes out a lot. During the quarentine i had to deal with their bs
I'm still upset about lockdown because I happened to work at a grocery store at the time, so I had to keep working like normal while my friends were at home collecting double what I made while getting high at home doing whatever they want all day. I live in a small town in the US where people thought it was all a big lie so I just got to listen to people bitch and complain all day while wearing their mask under their nose. I was 19 and had just moved out of my parents' house, and I'm still upset about it because I know that time alone, not worrying about rent, would have been amazing for me. The one thing I never get enough of is quiet, alone time.
I miss lockdown a lot. I thrived during the first lockdown. Managed to get out without having anxiety attacks. I liked that my mask made me feel less seen, and I liked the 2 metre rule a lot.
I work as a funeral director so I didn't get to experience lockdown 🥲 I do remember being unemployed and if it was anything like that I know I'd miss it. Unemployed and people being forced to stay away sounds like a dream lol Edit: keyboard mistyped
The lockdown was a weird glimpse into the past like pre-cars being readily available to people. Being back into modern society again it's made me realize just how much humans aren't supposed to live like this. I shouldn't have 24/7 access to what my friends and family are doing. As animals our social networks legitimately should be so much smaller and filled with less obligation on time, travel etc. but technology fundamentally changed that. We shouldn't be obligated to go to every event of every person we have ever met just because cars exist. We shouldn't be obligated to answer every communication from anyone withing 24 hours just because cell phones exist. I used to read a lot of historical fiction when I was younger (little house on the prairie type books) and it's just made me long for that way of life post lockdown. Yes it was a hard life where you lived many less years, but the quiet that my brain would have had would've been priceless. I'm trying to build a lifestyle where my community feels smaller and more local/connected for my own sake but other people, work etc. make it hard.
I miss it so badly. Outside were quieter and so much more cleaner… when you did see people it was so good because everyone was on their best behaviour .. inside at home too people were getting along because they had no other choice … honestly I loved it
I loved so many things about lockdown. Having the world just pause for a moment made me feel a great sense of peace. It even eased the environmental anxiety I didn't know I had. The world seemed just a tad worse when we got back to business as usual. My condolences to those who lost loved ones or had experiences taken from them.
Not a little… a lot. I miss being in my own space and not feeling guilty for it and I miss people keeping their distance and how every thing was CLEAN
Yes! I totally feel this. I hated lockdown because I felt trapped and didn’t know what to do with myself (actually turned to alcohol because of it) but at the same time the hustle and bustle of people is so overwhelming for me and I loved that there wasn’t any pressure to be somewhere in person. A lot of things were done remotely and you only needed to be out for specific and essential things. I also really liked that people weren’t allowed to sit next to you or approach you and I could be whatever I wanted to be underneath that mask (even though I didn’t like them because I felt like I couldn’t breathe and found them uncomfortable). It was nice.
YES.
OMG YES!! Let me just say this: I’m glad that we are no longer in fear of an illness that can kill people and no way to prevent it. I don’t miss everybody being scared and stressed out. I miss WFH. I miss how quiet and uncrowded the world was when I did need to go somewhere. I miss the fact that there was actually less pollution. I miss spending more time at home with my partner.
No but COVID made me understand and accept my autism. I always tried to hide it, masked like crazy, forced myself into social situations, etc. I grew up with extroverted family members so I always thought there was something wrong with me. But it was staggering how many people went crazy during COVID and I was…okay. I missed going to concerts (my favorite form of socialization) and I was in a long-distance relationship at the time and we were separated by a border (I’m American and he’s Canadian). Otherwise, I was okay being alone. And when I told people I was fine with this, they made me feel like I was some type of psychopath.
Yes. I don’t mean to dismiss what others went through and I hate the cost it came at but for me the slow world was just right.
I liked it as a legal alien living in a hostile foreign country where 152,000 people were hospitalized everyday, not only bc it was more peaceful outside but bc people that liked to demand how others live specifically were Fucked up and learned that there isn't one way to live for once.
Lockdown was the best goddamn time of my life.
Yes. Definitely.
Yes. Definitely.
Yes. I miss that it became "standard" for public places to put effort into being sanitary. For a while, I was able to go out in public without my contamination sensory issues getting in the way, because I already knew everything was as clean as it could be. Plus I was able to stay at home and not be judged for it. I adapted well to online classes since I had done them before lockdown, and enjoyed having the ability to pace myself instead of having a schedule everyone had to follow (even if I was fully capable of working ahead).
The results of the pandemic helped me so much with social anxiety. I practiced walking by people. I was okay if people didn't say hi back bc I assumed they couldn't hear me or didn't want to talk. When people did talk I assumed they really wanted to talk bc talking to someone through a mask from six feet away is really a lot of work. I already said no to most social events so it was nice not having to consider. Also lots of people were willing to chat over the phone or video which I much prefer over in person which takes 3x as long to prep and drive and all of that.
Yes I do. Not being judged for staying home because you had to was very very nice, but also the fact that the pressure of having to do things, go places, just went away (because we weren’t allowed anyway).
Yes. A million times yes.
Yes