A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
I'll be honest, the lockdowns were awesome for me. "Now you bitches get to see how I live."
And the mad increase of online ordering, no contact pickup, and how people aren't crawling up your ass in line at the grocery store anymore? I could not have hoped for better.
Gods do I miss social distance lines
I miss having free time without the impending pressure to do things.
I'm health wise OK but my wife isn't for the rest of her life so I have to take precautions everywhere. I don't mind because I really don't like dealing with people anyway.
I do grocery pickup and go inside the store maybe four or five times a year now.
I haven't been to the inside of a restaurant in over three years, we use patios and sidewalk tables outdoors.
I specifically only ever use gas stations where you pay at the pump.
I haven't been to a mall or indoor space with people in years now.
I order everything else to my door.
I really don't miss dealing with people and now find it completely weird and disorienting to deal with people in public now.
now find it completely weird and disorienting to deal with people in public now.
This is what I've been hearing (and experienced). And that it's not a preference, it's more that the nervous system has struggled to recalibrate; or there was not enough opportunity for it to do so and that has led to a feedback loop
😌 It truly was the good old days when we just had a global pandemic to worry about.
Yeah it was certainly a net positive for some. Of course this post isn't a criticism of those that enjoyed it, or were unaffected by it. But there is a sort of lost generation group, so to speak, too. That includes younger people who feel maladroit or disconnected in a way that they tie to that period. People who already struggled to socialize and the period made it worse enough that they never recovered
I'm in this post and I don't like it. I used to be social as hell, now I'm almost a hermit.
Small rant incoming:
I'm actually still stuck inside more than in the Pandemic. Essential worker so I still went outside daily until i never got my energy back after having covid for the 5th? time.
About 3 years of doctors not really knowing how to treat it and encouraging me to keep trying what i could each day, which led to me basically destroying my body, until i got one of my countries leading experts who immediately told me to take bed rest the second i feel tired.
Since my immune system is basically gone i got a bunch of other illnesses some of which will probably never go away since the meds only alleviate the symptoms.
Upside is that I've been trialing a bunch of expirimental treatments for the specialised clinic that is opening soon, some of which had small but immediate effects. So at least those that will get diagnosed in the future don't need to wait as long hopefully.
I'm glad to hear you live in a country where you can get more specialized support! I hope the new treatments pan out
I got ME/CFS (closely related to long COVID) that first started in early 2020, so this is very relatable. As everyone was going back to normal I was getting worse. Do you mind if I ask what had a good effect? The only thing I've found that helps (other than rest and pacing) is nicotine patches for the brain fog.
Currently seeing some decent effects from low dose naltrexon, although it seems to shift my energy more than it increases it. The further I'm from having taken my daily (evening) dose the better i feel, but in the mornings I'm extra tired and can't really focus my eyesight.
But it's hard to separate the side effects from the multiple other treatments I'm building the dosages for.
I miss the pandemic. Socially isolating meant I got to spend more time with my kids and extended family than I had in decades due to limited sports and other activities. And even work, while it didn't stop (luckily), provided more valance - especialy more than now.
It’s amazing to see a perspective from such a different place on the spectrum. Spending more time with the kids is fine but watching them stagnate with little social life was really hard. I think it’s highly dependent on their age. Under 3: pure bonus for the kid because the parents are home more. 3-5: terrible for the kid because this is the time they’re supposed to be developing socialization with friends at preschool/school. 5-10: bummer but they got through it. My son got hit right in the 3-5 period. His social skills and life have still not fully cleared the cloud this put over him. Daughter was in the 5-10 and was able to get something out of remote school and limited access to her friends. Son got a raw deal.
It was also just physically so trying. You know how your day just goes differently when the kids are sick and don’t go to school? You have to attend to them the whole day through to make sure they are okay and not just stagnating on the couch and you can’t necessarily leave the house or do errands etc during the day like you normally would. It was like that, but for over a year, with lots of added stresses involved from the pandemic itself.
A scarring time. My job gave me something to focus on from home. But my wife, who is a full time parent, says she has never recovered.
During the pandemic I moved to the country, stopped using social media, and got a remote working job. I think the people who used to know me assume I'm dead.
I’m not placing trust in anyone who sold us out to corporations and fascists a second time
I've had bad anxiety my entire life, but I never felt like I really had social anxiety before the pandemic. Now I have a hard time talking to pretty much anyone unless they talk to me first.
.........hi.
...and that's enough social interaction for today.
COVerts?
I think a lot of people were waiting to see the results of the election. And COVID is still very real - immunocompromised people (e.g. elderly) will need to start taking vaccines twice rather than once per year due to recent mutations (except... hrm, I dunno if RFK will "allow* such, but at least that was the most recent guidance), plus everyone could get long COVID every time they get it despite the vaccine.
The pandemic changed our world, and it's nowhere close to being over.
Also, inflation, so less disposable income to "go out" with.
There's no "over". Coronavirus is here to stay now, just like the flu. Thankfully it has become a lot more benign as it has mutated, and we know a lot more about it and have vaccines now, so it's pretty manageable.
Introverts? Really I had a pretty good time
When talking about people with ASD that's called unmasking and is one of the main goals of therapy.
I was never really social to begin with, so I just resumed being my normal introverted self.
Social Long-Covid?
I know a person that had been in hospital most of their life so basically a 20 year covid-type of situation but for their own health. They are 24 now, and trying to socialize still even when they didn't learn as a child-teen. I'm trying to help him but don't know what to do since he's such a unique case
My socializing during the pandemic was more or less the same as before or after the pandemic. I am very sensitive to sound, a introvert, a huge nerd and don't care for most of the topics "normal" people talk about like sport. I have no reason to go outside, I don't like to be at places with many people and I don't any knowledge in topic that can be used for smalltalk.
Due to this the biggest part of my social bubble is located all over the world and we communicate purely online. It was called lockdown but for me it was just a normal Tuesday.
I am quite similar and it turns out I'm on the autistic spectrum. I was excited to discover this as it explained sooo much about myself. Just my 2 cents
I wouldn't necessarily blame your niche interests or anything else like that. There's lots of people this applies to who just forgot how to socialize. I would put myself in that category. I like sports and many other popular things, and I used to be reasonably easy to talk to but ever since covid I'm considerably more awkward in social situations.
Someone I haven't seen in two years will ask what I've been up to and my mind just goes blank. It's not that I've been sitting at home doing nothing the whole time but for some reason none of the things I could talk about come to me in the moment. It's a strange thing to feel yourself being socially inept in a way that you didn't used to be. I've gotten better but it's still weird a lot of the time.
Lockdown was a blast! I was paid to do what I always wanted; stay home and do whatever I felt like and not worry about other people.
Now that it's over, I haven't been able to keep a steady job. I've lost all the support I built up for myself in social situations.
Partial returners seems like a good name for it.
Oh hey it's me
Some lost their ability to regulate from everybody else being critically stupid, some see everybody still being dumb about it and aren't gonna play such a transparently stupid game. Some got long covid, the worst outcome of all, the thing you wear a mask to stop.
Multiple causes.
In my particular case, it is called "working parent"
Yeah lockdown was living my best life. At least I managed to get a fully remote job with a small company several states away.