Why are some people more affected by Covid uncertainty than others?

[Rozellelily]

In the media I hear of all this talk about Covid uncertainty and people now having emotional issues due to the uncertainty.
Perhaps I’m being too cold, but I’ve always considered life not to be certain anyway.
Since when was tomorrow promised to be exactly the same as today anyway?
Sadly, life comes with challenges.

Of course, I completely understand having those emotions if people lost their job or mortgage, or are in fear of losing them, that would cause worry and stress, but I’m referring to people who are not in these situations.

Am I looking at it the wrong way?

 

[MNathaniel]

There might be a difference between the experience of people who didn’t already think of life as uncertain, versus those who already did.

So since you already thought of life as uncertain and were already reconciled to it as part of a past process, you don’t notice much difference now; whereas for others there might’ve been more of an illusion of stability and this is the present process bringing them to a similar place as you.

Hard to say but given that so many people are also unusually hysterical and unsettled for political reasons right now, it might be a matter of some people just being more ‘affected’ by things overall right now, and pointing at one thing at a time to say “that’s the reason”.

I just can’t really guess myself because I’m like you. My life was already so uncertain before covid, I haven’t noticed much difference (and was already reconciled to the uncertainty anyway; not because I’m better than others but just because I had a bit more time in that state, I think. I used to be plenty much of a mess, it’s more recent that I’m chill to roll with the punches, finally realized certainty and stability will never come and I have to live anyway, etc.)

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Some people just have the cross of anxiety over stuff like COVID. If you are fortunate to not have this cross, then thank God for sparing you and pray for the people who are struggling that they develop more trust in God and learn to be more calm.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

I suspect people are more fragile and less resilient today .

They’re also more stunned and outraged at natural phenomena (“wait, bad things happen? How dare bad things happen!”)

 

[Polak]

Of course, I completely understand having those emotions if people lost their job or mortgage, or are in fear of losing them

To be honest I think that is what most people are concerned about in relation to this. Imagine building up a business over time and now suddenly, because of these measures, everything could go down the drain, and you (and your family) lose everything you have worked for in the process? It’s a frightening thought.

 

[christofirst]

If I was only concerned with my own wellbeing, I might be slightly less concerned about covid, given my age and health. But since I care for my aged mother every day, and she is in the most vulnerable category, I am very concerned, and very careful. Also, my sister is a nurse, managing several medical offices. Covid is a big reality in her life, and therefore also in my life.

Thankfully, both my mom and I have income from pensions, so finances are not such a source of uncertainty for us, but I certainly do empathize with those who are struggling and worried now.

 

[BartholomewB]

Of course, I completely understand having those emotions if people lost their job or mortgage, or are in fear of losing them,

This is the root cause, I think. It seems to have reached the point that everybody knows somebody who has been badly hit in one way or another. They may know someone who lost an elderly parent who died of the infection, or they were lucky to survive a downsizing at their company, or their friends and relatives have had to take their kids out of fee-paying schools and send them to public schools instead, or they haven’t spent a single night away from home since last year, or …

Millions of people have suffered the consequences, either of the sickness itself or of the lockdown.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I suspect people are more fragile and less resilient today .

They’re also more stunned and outraged at natural phenomena (“wait, bad things happen ? How dare bad things happen!”)

Yeah, they’re not used to stuff like half their family dying young which used to be the natural order of the day back in my grandparents’ time.

Before WWII, healthy young people were frequently dying all the time in epidemics, from TB, and from infections that might set in from stuff like broken bones. It was tragic and I’m sure people were traumatized by it in some cases, but people understood it was part of life. People just can’t fathom how some epidemic could kill a lot of people in the developed world in this day and age.

 

[Peeps]

One reason why we are more affected is that the television media has not been shy to show us the most dreadful of the cases–the people who are on respirators for days and end up dying while their lungs fill up with gack and strangle them to death.

That’s the stuff of nightmares. No one wants to die like that, struck down by a virus that spares so many, but still takes its toll on random people, not just the old, obese, or immunocompromised, but (at least according to the journalists) on perfectly healthy people.

Also, there have been so many conflicting stories about COVID-19 and how it actually infects us–I get the feeling that we actually know little–to-nothing about COVID-19, and that’s frightening! At first, Dr. Fauci said, “Masks will just make it worse.” Then he said, “WEAR A MASK!” All along, we’ve heard that certain people seem to be at higher risks, but then we hear that EVERYONE is at risk. We watch states like mine shut down virtually everything and bankrupt families and businesses–but our positivity rate keeps going up and up and up–we want to blame Chicago/protests/Trump rallies/churches who refuse to shut down/kids playing sports/restaurants and bars–but there is virtually NO proof that any of these actually caused any of the thousands of cases and deaths!

And of course, worst of all is the politcizing of this virus. I am a scientific-minded person, a medical technologist who has worked in microbiology for over 30 years, married to a computer scientist–but I am totally convinced that if VP Biden and Sen. Harris win, that the virus will be gone by Christmas and the new Prez and VP will have the rootin-tootinest national holiday celebration in the history of the country, and everyone will praise him and her for curing COVID-19 unlike that dastardly Donald Trump. That’s how cynical I’ve become over the state of our politics.

Anyway, it’s all the unknowns. We can handle facts, but innuendoes, rumors, horror stories, blatant untruths, etc. are jarring and create uncertainty and FEAR!

 

[Peeps]

The other big reason why people are affected by COVID uncertainty is when they have children who are no longer going to “regular school.”

Since I work in a hospital, I have many co-workers who have had a horrific time with this. Their children are in school for 3 days, and then the school is shut down and everyone is told to go home and quarantine in their house for 14 days–can’t go outside, can’t go to the store, or any where.

How can Mom and Dad handle this if they both work!!!

Well, most of my co-workers are able to have Dad stay home and work from home, although not all–some of my co-workers have been forced to stay at home themselves with their small children, and that leaves us short-staffed when we were already short-staffed! But there’s nada we can do about it–we don’t want their kids to die, do we?

I’ve watched co-workers cry over the child-care disaster, especially the single moms or dads. Some have been forced to quit and go on unemployment because they have no one to take care of their kids.

And then there’s schooling. At one point, one of my co-workers gave up on “remote learning,” and told her children’s public school teachers that they were “done with school until COVID-19” is gone. Remote learning just does NOT work with all children!!

It’s a nightmare. I’m so grateful that I do not have school-aged children.

 

[Peeps]

One more comment–certain professions have been essentially destroyed in the U.S. by COVID-19.

My daughter is an entertainment professional who used to live and work in New York City. She usually had at least two shows at any given time, and made a very comfortable (but hardly generous) salary. And she loved it! She loves doing shows!

But that all ended with COVID-19. Just this week, it was announced that Broadway would not open until June 2021!

87,000 jobs were lost when Broadway shut down. And then there are all the off-Broadway theaters and all the music and dance venues, and the comedy bars, and bars where bands and singers would work–literally hundreds of thousands of entertainment professionals all over the country are OUT OF WORK and out of doing what they love.

To me, the lack of live entertainment is awful. I love hearing live music (classical, sacred, country, bluegrass, children’s theater, ec.).

Now it’s gone, and no predictions as to when it will come back.

My daughter is OK–she had an offer to teach at a university in the Midwest (thankfully she earned her MFA back in the early 2000s so that she would be able to teach), and she took the job–and LOVES IT! She currently is working in 3 online shows, and doing events (she’s very proficient on running events online)–and making a decent wage and loving every opportunity to work in the professsiona that she loves so much!

But others aren’t so versatile or lucky, and she has had at least 2 friends commit suicide from despair of ever working again.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It’s not just the US. Tourism professions in other countries that rely heavily on US tourists are also hurting.

Mountain Butorac who runs “The Catholic Traveler” had to start a Patreon in order to be able to support his family during this time when US tourists aren’t allowed to go to Rome. I joined, it seemed like a charitable thing to do for a fellow Catholic, and there are some nice benefits like seeing video tours he posts privately on Youtube. I understand a lot of other tour guides and tourism professionals also are hurting for work. 206 Tours took up a Gofundme to help their guides, many of whom weren’t all that well off even before COVID. I went to Mexico on pilgrimage, and our tour guide who was a very good guide was sleeping in his car rather than in the hotel.

And there’s all this theft in Italy because people can’t find work.

I also understand in Germany, a lot of people who had small or startup businesses are in dire straits, and moreover can’t get any government assistance because they are still too well-off to qualify for it due to owning a business, even if the business isn’t turning a profit.

 

[Polak]

Yeah, they’re not used to stuff like half their family dying

This isn’t happening now though, generally speaking. Sure, the media are quick to point out every case where a young healthy person has died, but the figures show that the overwhelming majority of deaths are older people (over 80) with some other health issue already.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t care about them, but the death rate hasn’t risen in the last few months (or risen only very slightly in some countries). I think that’s because there aren’t more cases now than there were before. It’s just that more people are just being tested every day now. In the UK around 1/4 million people are being tested daily. 4 months ago it wasn’t even close to that. I remember them talking about trying to reach a target of 100,000 tests per day back in May or June. Less cases were being recorded then because less people were tested.

I’m tired of seeing measures introduced that are going to ruin people’s livelihoods and cause mental illnesses in may cases, either thanks the ruined livelihoods or because people have been afraid to go outside for the past few months and have gone crazy.

Even a lot of older people have been coming out saying they don’t want these measures and how they’d rather be with their family and die of Covid, than die of loneliness. Imagine being a 90 year-old who may well be in the final weeks or months of their life anyway, and he or she can’t even spend that time with his/her family.

 

[Limoncello4021]

Just to add to the mix: an interesting recent survey found that U.S. Democrats were much more likely to be “terrified” of Covid than Republicans.
As others have stated, there are many reasons people may be scared or worried about Covid. I have not had 1 iota of a second being worried about it, but then again I have no underlying health issues and have not otherwise had it touch my life (much). Perhaps the strangest moment I’ve had is when I expressed on another forum that I hadn’t had any anxiety about Covid, I got literally attacked by several people who said I was flat out wrong not to be TERRIFIED of it. And they were democrats/liberals. That experience did say something interesting to me…

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I have a 90-year-old close family friend for whom I’m legal power of attorney in hospice for months now. No one has been able to see her but nurses.
Fortunately she is not lonely because she has dementia and is happy with just the nurses and aides paying attention to her.

I do feel bad for the people who have loved ones who are in their right minds in a facility, but the facilities have been working to promote visits by doing it outside, through a window, or on Facetime. They are also looking at opening up again soon for limited in-person visits inside.

The sad fact is that if you bring a virus into that facility you can kill a lot of people, and a lot of people in them have already died and a lot of disinfecting and so forth has had to go on. The elderly people in there who have not caught the virus yet are still at risk. So if somebody is “tired of it” then I’m sorry but that’s a cross that they just have to bear. We all have things we’re tired of and wish were different.

There seems to be a lot of foolish remarks about communicable disease being posted by Catholics on many forums these days and I have no interest in adding to the pile, so I’ll leave it at that and mute this thread, as I don’t want to encourage more such discussion.

 

[Polak]

Of course I respect your right to mute if you wish, but I find that to be an all too common response from those in favour of maximum restrictions and lockdowns against those who oppose them. It’s basically, we can’t talk about this anymore because you’re wrong and you even espousing the ideas you have, is too dangerous. There have been multiple figures (public ones) who have not been invited on any mainstream TV or radio programs, because they think the Covid restrictions are absurd. Meanwhile those promoting them are on all the time.

 

[TheLittleLady]

our positivity rate keeps going up and up and up–we want to blame Chicago/protests/Trump rallies/churches who refuse to shut down/kids playing sports/restaurants and bars–but there is virtually NO proof that any of these actually caused any of the thousands of cases and deaths!

There is 100% certainty that people catch COVID from other people. Places where there are people in close contact, like rallies and bars and churches, increase someone’s likelihood of being exposed to the virus.

Some places, like my Diocese, are very strict with Church attendance. only 40% capacity. Every other pew with spaces in the occupied pew marked off for 6 feet distance. Folks are escorted into Mass by ushers, they must wear a mask over nose and mouth. If someone removes their mask (except for consuming the Host), they are escorted out of the building by ushers. Distillery made alcohol spray goes on every pair of hands that come in. Bowing or waving at the sign of peace, no passing of offering baskets (there are boxes at the entrance). No nursery or cry room. No standing in the back.

All of these rules apply to our overflow space as well.

So far, there has not been one case of Covid in this hotspot state that is traced to any Catholic parish in the Diocese.

I know many people who have Covid, none of them are people who have maintained Social Distancing and masking. The people I know who do SD and PPE work in very public jobs, and have continued to be healthy.

If we catch it from people, the less on top of each other we are seems wiser.