Over the last few weeks, I've been writing, for myself, a memoir/diary of the Pandemic period. I realized that I was quickly forgetting what had happened - the order and type of restrictions, the political debates, how I'd lived my life. In 30, 40 years time I hope that I and any descendents find it interesting, as a snap-shot of this unusual time.
Anyway, that and the 'What is London Like Now' thread where a lot of people were talking about how London largely seems/feels normal, have got me thinking about the emotional or perhaps even more accurately 'affective state' of the Pandemic. In other words, as the title says, does it still 'feel' to you like you are in the Pandemic we were in from March 2020 - Spring 2021?
For me, I've got to say that it doesn't. I no longer feel trepidation about rising case numbers, concern when I hear of possibility of lockdowns, or any nervousness about visiting busy spaces. I no loger feel excitement when there's good news about vaccine numbers, or the anticipation that was associated with impoved cases or reduced regulations. I'm not sure exactly when that changed - I think for me perhaps during August, when (1) we'd had long enough without restrictions that it no longer felt odd to have them removed and (2) it became clear that the rise in cases we had in July hadn't fed into anyhting like the rise in deaths that previous preiods had shown. In my head I'd known since probably late February/early March that, unless there was a disaster, we were on our way out - you could see that in the vaccination numbers and the emerging evidence of their effectivity. But emotionally it probably took another 6 months for me to stop 'feeling' the Pandemic in that way.
What about you all? Are you still feeling it or have you emoitonally moved on? I suspect many people will have moved at different paces emotionally!
Anyway, that and the 'What is London Like Now' thread where a lot of people were talking about how London largely seems/feels normal, have got me thinking about the emotional or perhaps even more accurately 'affective state' of the Pandemic. In other words, as the title says, does it still 'feel' to you like you are in the Pandemic we were in from March 2020 - Spring 2021?
For me, I've got to say that it doesn't. I no longer feel trepidation about rising case numbers, concern when I hear of possibility of lockdowns, or any nervousness about visiting busy spaces. I no loger feel excitement when there's good news about vaccine numbers, or the anticipation that was associated with impoved cases or reduced regulations. I'm not sure exactly when that changed - I think for me perhaps during August, when (1) we'd had long enough without restrictions that it no longer felt odd to have them removed and (2) it became clear that the rise in cases we had in July hadn't fed into anyhting like the rise in deaths that previous preiods had shown. In my head I'd known since probably late February/early March that, unless there was a disaster, we were on our way out - you could see that in the vaccination numbers and the emerging evidence of their effectivity. But emotionally it probably took another 6 months for me to stop 'feeling' the Pandemic in that way.
What about you all? Are you still feeling it or have you emoitonally moved on? I suspect many people will have moved at different paces emotionally!