Other Wearing a face covering is triggering memories of suffocation and I'm now scared to go to the shops.

[coxysmelons93]

HI you can get the card at Face covering exempt card

it is not a government-led card exception as these do not yet exist.

Thanks, I'll order one. The more protection I have in place the more confident I'll feel if I can't avoid going to the shops.

It's really awful that government and NHS have introduced nothing so far but I suppose it is early days. :)

 

[Mee]

Thanks, I'll order one. The more protection I have in place the more confident I'll feel if I can't avoid going to the shops.

It's really awful that government and NHS have introduced nothing so far but I suppose it is early days. :)

I think - though do not profess to know- that it’s not an oversight. I think it’s to encourage people who cannot or will not wear masks to shelter at home to protect the vulnerable from transmission from those out and about especially as the very strict shielding for those of us with very precarious health is set to become less strict at the beginning of august.



While I have empathy for your fear I also feel the need to where masks OR make other arrangements like sheltering in place / working from home / is necessary for fears to cease to impose risk on others.


It’s a horrid balance. My DH is not mask phobic but tells me on the few trips he has made for food shopping he is usually the only masked shopper and frequently has his 2 metres violated. My guess is many people will fraudulently say they have health issues to avoid wearing masks.

 

[coxysmelons93]

^If you're still about? - I'd strongly encourage you to stick around.

I don't know what's put you off again in this thread or this forum but there's a lot I think you'd get out of reading and writing about your experience here and in other threads.

And I think you'd be able to contribute your perspective and suggestions to others with ptsd too. That's a big part of being in this community. Sharing ideas, perspectives etc. You don't need to agree with it all. Leave or ignore what you don't like or align with and go with what you do. After all everyone's healing at a different pace.

^Being fragile and constantly triggered imo means you're primed to make progress. Identifying what the problem is and managing it is hard work and a big deal. Sharing your experiences here and throwing it into new threads that you create or reading up on others may be a way for you to learn much more about ptsd.

^There's no real need to retreat from this forum. There are many different threads that have nothing at all to do with the virus but are more on point with being judged, feeling down, coping with other people etc.

For sure if you want leave this thread for a while or even for ever but please reconsider leaving the forums.

You are NOT being judged here. If you think somebody is being too harsh there are options aside from leaving. You can report them or ignore them & move on.

There are many members here that fear being judged. That have had to put up with family, friends, co-workers and the general public disrespecting their choices. You are not alone in fearing being judged believe me.

Thanks.

I was only planning on leaving this thread, not the forum.

It's just the talk about the virus (in regards to masks not in general) that makes me want to leave as I'm hearing it constantly in the real world and every time I do it triggers that feeling of being weak and bad person and of my own trauma being less important than others- had a lot of belittlement of my own experiences and emotions in the past, especially from my mother who berated me for showing any emotions as a child and did not believe me about what happened, in fact she literally asked if I was 'making all this up'. Guess that's a trigger also, I don't know, I don't consider myself to have been abused as child just shitty parenting but it hits a nerve I suppose.

With pro-mask talk it's not just overt judgement, it's this implication that I get of being a bad person each time but that's obviously my own perception.

I still think I will close this particular thread once I figure out how but I will keep the account. I just need to take a break. Staff support at work have been in touch now and have even mentioned another course of EMDR (though how that can be done 'remotely' I have no idea), so that's given me some hope. Have also been assessed by another therapy service but I anticipate a huge wait to be honest. A lot of people I've spoken to at work also seem to think the visor is fine (some even said it was preferable). That's put my mind at ease a bit.

Thanks anyway :)

 

[Chris-duck]

You can ignore a thread by hitting ignore (on laptop it's up top of thread on right, kinda centre on my phone. Dunno about other devices). Can't close a thread though, only mods/admin can do that, but yeah, whack it on ignore and check out other areas of forum for now?

 

[coxysmelons93]

I think - though do not profess to know- that it’s not an oversight. I think it’s to encourage people who cannot or will not wear masks to shelter at home to protect the vulnerable from transmission from those out and about especially as the very strict shielding for those of us with very precarious health is set to become less strict at the beginning of august.


It’s a horrid balance. My DH is not mask phobic but tells me on the few trips he has made for food shopping he is usually the only masked shopper and frequently has his 2 metres violated. My guess is many people will fraudulently say they have health issues to avoid wearing masks.

That's great news for those who were shielding- I can't imagine what that must have been like.

I've noticed people ignored distancing too- especially when I'm running and I try to give them distance but they insist on walking 4 or 5 abreast and not moving :/

And, yes, unfortunately I think a lot of people will try that which is why there needs to be some kind of system in place like cards or letters from health professionals rather than self-certifying. This is the main reason I'm so scared of judgement because I feel like I cannot prove I'm not one of those people just bull-shiting to be difficult. :(

 

[Mee]

That's great news for those who were shielding- I can't imagine what that must have been like.

I've noticed people ignored distancing too- especially when I'm running and I try to give them distance but they insist on walking 4 or 5 abreast and not moving :/

And, yes, unfortunately I think a lot of people will try that which is why there needs to be some kind of system in place like cards or letters from health professionals rather than self-certifying. This is the main reason I'm so scared of judgement because I feel like I cannot prove I'm not one of those people just bull-shiting to be difficult. :(

Ironically - I am not coming out of shielding at the beginning of august. It’s not worth the risk if so many people - whether for justified reasons or otherwise, don’t take the measures needed . I have been out of my house once since March the 11th - On that occasion it was a trip to the dr for something he couldn’t do over the phone.


My therapist is also vulnerable and doesn’t feel able to risk going out when our restrictions lift.


I’m doing just fine do I am not complaining but I feel terrible for those who are really struggling in all different ways this is impacting mental health .

 

[coxysmelons93]

Ironically - I am not coming out of shielding at the beginning of august. It’s not worth the risk if so many people - whether for justified reasons or otherwise, don’t take the measures needed . I have been out of my house once since March the 11th - On that occasion it was a trip to the dr for something he couldn’t do over the phone.


My therapist is also vulnerable and doesn’t feel able to risk going out when our restrictions lift.


I’m doing just fine do I am not complaining but I feel terrible for those who are really struggling in all different ways this is impacting mental health .

Can your therapist do remote sessions e.g. over the phone?

Definitely agreed about mental health. Currently working in a Psychiatric unit I've seen just how devastating this has been to mental health- all beds full across the entire trust (that's about 7 or 8 different units) and more coming in every day. I don't work on the wards but I attend the meetings and every morning they're going through referrals and current patients deciding which ones they can discharge that day to get the others in which are being held in police cells with nowhere else to go but then the person we discharge often also has nowhere to go other than a homeless shelter- it's just heartbreaking. :(

You can ignore a thread by hitting ignore (on laptop it's up top of thread on right, kinda centre on my phone. Dunno about other devices). Can't close a thread though, only mods/admin can do that, but yeah, whack it on ignore and check out other areas of forum for now?

Thanks.

I'm a bit worried I would keep checking it anyway if I still had the account so if I still feel unable to cope tomorrow I might temporarily deactivate and then come back when I'm more stable. :)

 

[Mee]

Can your therapist do remote sessions e.g. over the phone?

Definitely agreed about mental health. Currently working in a Psychiatric unit I've seen just how devastating this has been to mental health- all beds full across the entire trust (that's about 7 or 8 different units) and more coming in every day. I don't work on the wards but I attend the meetings and every morning they're going through referrals and current patients deciding which ones they can discharge that day to get the others in which are being held in police cells with nowhere else to go but then the person we discharge often also has nowhere to go other than a homeless shelter- it's just heartbreaking. :(

Yes- I am having remote sessions. And my husband is working entirely from home.

Is that something your health trust supports- to minimise spread?

 

[coxysmelons93]

Yes- I am having remote sessions. And my husband is working entirely from home.

Is that something your health trust supports- to minimise spread?

You mean remote sessions? - Yes 90% are still remote.

If you mean the revolving door of patients, we have some systems in place to minimise spread- there's separate admissions wards where people are put when they first arrive and they can only be moved to the acute, PICU or secure wards once they've tested negative for COVID. Everyone is swabbed when they come in and isolated until the results are back (which is very challenging with patients who have psychosis or dementia for example and don't understand so there's a lot of seclusion used unfortunately). Staff working on admission wards also aren't allowed to go to other wards and vice versa. If any cases detected on other wards (which hasn't happened so far fingers crossed) that ward is locked down- no patients in or out for minimum 14 days). Staff are all regularly swabbed and temperature checked and there's also tracking and tracing if any test positive (only happend twice so far- since march- in my unit apparently). We also have uniforms which we need to change when leaving the building and wash at high temperatures every night I'm sure it's much more strict in physical health institutions also. They really do a lot to minimise spread and a lot of staff are working from home.

So far it's been contained very well only patient cases at my unit have been on the older adults ward and they didn't spread to the other wards. Each ward has it's own staff team and you can't hop about between wards- the only exception is if the alarms are pulled- for severe self-harm or aggression- which isn't often.

All very stressful nonetheless, lots of staff really struggling for various reasons.

:)

 

[Mee]

One of the things that amazed and horrified my mother when she arrived in UK in the sixties was that nurses wore their uniforms to and from hospitals!

Where she was brought up it was seen as a huge infection risk - to take things into patients or bring things out of hospital.

I have thought of that a bit over recent months ?

 

[coxysmelons93]

One of the things that amazed and horrified my mother when she arrived in UK in the sixties was that nurses wore their uniforms to and from hospitals!

Where she was brought up it was seen as a huge infection risk - to take things into patients or bring things out of hospital.

I have thought of that a bit over recent months ?

Haha, yes that definitely should have been all along not just with COVID. Mental health maybe not so risky and the uniforms can actually create a sort of distrust and divide between patients and staff for some patients but in physical health there should definitely always be changing of uniforms, the nurses could pick all kinds of things up and carry them :S

Same with hand washing and covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze, I'm really mesmerised that people need to be told to do this as though it was something they didn't think to do before, e.g. with colds and flu? Worrying really.

 

[coxysmelons93]

Going to deactivate for bit. Still don't feel safe today talking about any of it. Thanks everyone.