Relapse! Coping, Symptoms and Tips.

[Carnation]

Yes poppy, the third space has definitely declined.
The meeting up for a coffee, visiting friends and family, meal out, chatting with neighbours in the street, going shopping with a friend, regular meet ups to play sports /activities.
The Internet has killed a lot of that. The lock downs changed our routines and fed us fear. Work becoming too demanding and tiring. Lack of funds, lack of time. Basically feeling too pooped to fit any extras in the day and the finger tapping on a mobile phone or Ipad taking the place of our socialising.
For one thing, its cheaper, it's also convenient and to certain extent safer. And you can basically do everything from home. But does it replace the warmth of human company, do you see the smile on a person's face or hear the laughter, the sounds of outside and the comfort of a human hand?

[Darksky]

I so agree. The human race is becoming more and more insular. To its detriment I fear.

Mr.D’s brother and his wife were kind enough to come to my mother’s funeral recently. We remarked how we only seem to meet up at funerals nowadays. When we were young we were constantly in each others houses. Although we did live in the same street.

Internet shopping has a lot to answer for. It’s quick and it’s easy and you can get whatever you want at the click of a button. I’m as guilty as the rest. But it’s certainly contributed to the death of the high street. When I think how vibrant and busy the town where I lived used to be. Now it’s betting shops, fast food shops, cash converters and charity shops. Even if you wanted to go into town, there’s nothing to go for, so you don’t bother and the cycle continues.

[Carnation]

I said the same at my mum's funeral darksky and the usual line of "we must keep in touch" became just words with no meaning. I've not heard or seen any of them for 7 years and it was only through a recent phone call I made to a distant cousin I found out that my mum's sister passed and that was 2 years ago.
It certainly puts everything into perspective in this world we live in today. Particularly families.

[fishman65]

I couldn't agree more, our family has another funeral coming up. My Mum's brother's wife, so I'll be rubbing shoulders with cousins again for the first time since January at my Dad's funeral. But outside of such gatherings we never see each other.

My brother lives just 4 miles from me, but hasn't set foot in this house since late 1999. That said I was at his house as recently as March.

The town that I grew up in now has a high street that sounds similar to yours Darksky. In 2017 a large shopping complex was built outside of the town with said high street, and killed it stone dead. They used to have an area with cafes and a fishing tackle shop. All boarded up now.

[Carnation]

You obviously missed my post fishman asking how you were feeling. It's OK, I'm used to being ignored. It happens on many of the threads, especially the gardening thread and even my own, lol.
I sometimes wonder if I should bother with humans, only kidding, am I? lol

[Lencoboy]

I so agree. The human race is becoming more and more insular. To its detriment I fear.

Mr.D’s brother and his wife were kind enough to come to my mother’s funeral recently. We remarked how we only seem to meet up at funerals nowadays. When we were young we were constantly in each others houses. Although we did live in the same street.

Internet shopping has a lot to answer for. It’s quick and it’s easy and you can get whatever you want at the click of a button. I’m as guilty as the rest. But it’s certainly contributed to the death of the high street. When I think how vibrant and busy the town where I lived used to be. Now it’s betting shops, fast food shops, cash converters and charity shops. Even if you wanted to go into town, there’s nothing to go for, so you don’t bother and the cycle continues.

Yes, I often wonder when and where a lot of things started to go wrong.

I agree the Internet obviously has a lot to answer for in terms of eroding the likes of the High Street and various other institutional mainstays, but my personal conviction is that much of it has been self-inflicted by us all, especially as most people will inevitably want to choose the easiest options of almost everything, plus of course you have admitted to being 'as guilty as all the rest' yourself in said context.

While I agree with Carnation that the recent pandemic exacerbated our sense of fearful-ness and uptight-ness without a doubt, I seem to recall sensing the onset of much of that during the latter half of the 2000s, and then continuing through the whole of the 2010s and the first half of the 2020s so far.

ISTR the period spanning from 2005 (especially post-7/7) through 2011 in particular having an air of excessive fear and hostility, with the GFC of course sandwiched in between, which obviously added to the general sense of doom and gloom even further, which I already mentioned in another thread fairly recently.

[Carnation]

While I agree with Carnation that the recent pandemic exacerbated our sense of
fearful-ness and uptight-ness without a doubt, I seem to recall sensing the onset of much of that during the latter
half of the 2000s, and then continuing through the whole of the 2010s and the first half of the 2020s so far

.

This is very true! The lock downs just put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.

[Lencoboy]

The town that I grew up in now has a high street that sounds similar to yours Darksky. In 2017 a large shopping complex was built outside of the town with said high street, and killed it stone dead. They used to have an area with cafes and a fishing tackle shop. All boarded up now.

Sadly it seems many councils just don't have a clue, and many of us members of the general public are just as guilty for allowing them to take us for mugs a lot of the time.

Especially as many of us are now increasingly lacking the motivation to vote in elections, (both local and national), which again seems to have become more apparent during the past 20-odd years or so.

[Lencoboy]

.

This is very true! The lock downs just put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.

Absolutely.

TBH, I had a feeling certain elements of society had already been gagging for some kind of 'lockdown' or major 'emergency' situation for several years prior to the first months of 2020, possibly going back some 20 years or so max.

The REAL 'cancel culture' brigade who love to make songs and dance over the slightest inkling of snow, frost, wind, rain, warm sunshine or any other trivial events, and come up with any old feeble excuse not to get off their bums.

While H & S and the like certainly has its place in in the grand scheme of things, I do feel that certain elements of society take advantage of it and abuse it on occasions, especially if there's some kind of personal agenda involved (e.g, chronic laziness).

[fishman65]

You obviously missed my post fishman asking how you were feeling. It's OK, I'm used to being ignored. It happens on many of the threads, especially the gardening thread and even my own, lol.
I sometimes wonder if I should bother with humans, only kidding, am I? lol

My sincere apologies Carnation. I had intended to reply to your post when I was called away to sort out domestic beef. Daughter was cooking her own dinner and there was the potential for further escalation. These things happen when there is permanent resentment within the household.

Regarding the gardening thread, I shall endeavour to rectify any perceived slight on my part.