The Gamers Arms

Got an invitation for my first vaccine, booked for tomorrow.

I'm already an anxious mess at the prospect of having to go somewhere and interact with society again after a year of barely ever leaving the house. Literally, aside from a 200m round trip to the postbox the other week and putting the bins out every fortnight, I've not left the house since new year's. I think tomorrow is going to be panic attack central.

If it helps it's mostly quite regimented. Everyone is kept apart and it all seems to flow like you think it will.

Yeah, cheers, it'll be fine I'm sure. A friend has kindly offered to drive me there and back so I'm not having to go through the hassle of organising taxis or buses.

Wrathbone wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm

Got an invitation for my first vaccine, booked for tomorrow.

I'm already an anxious mess at the prospect of having to go somewhere and interact with society again after a year of barely ever leaving the house. Literally, aside from a 200m round trip to the postbox the other week and putting the bins out every fortnight, I've not left the house since new year's. I think tomorrow is going to be panic attack central.

It's easy-peasy mate, if it's anything like mine it's a conveyer belt system. Temperature at the door with a forehead monitor, jab + record card then out from a different door. Whole process took less time than putting on my coat to go there.Very professional.
And 48 hours on I've not so much as a sore arm.

Hatredsheart wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 3:33 pm

Wrathbone wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm

Got an invitation for my first vaccine, booked for tomorrow.

I'm already an anxious mess at the prospect of having to go somewhere and interact with society again after a year of barely ever leaving the house. Literally, aside from a 200m round trip to the postbox the other week and putting the bins out every fortnight, I've not left the house since new year's. I think tomorrow is going to be panic attack central.

It's easy-peasy mate, if it's anything like mine it's a conveyer belt system. Temperature at the door with a forehead monitor, jab + record card then out from a different door. Whole process took less time than putting on my coat to go there.Very professional.
And 48 hours on I've not so much as a sore arm.

Apart from anything else mate, it will be a good exercise in reassuring you that the world is still stocked with nice people. Go out, say hello to passers by, chat with the vaccination volunteers, enjoy some social interaction and use it as a springboard to break your hermit ways.

Wrathbone wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm

Got an invitation for my first vaccine, booked for tomorrow.

I'm already an anxious mess at the prospect of having to go somewhere and interact with society again after a year of barely ever leaving the house. Literally, aside from a 200m round trip to the postbox the other week and putting the bins out every fortnight, I've not left the house since new year's. I think tomorrow is going to be panic attack central.

Are you going to the centre at the university? It was a really slick operation when I had mine, with barely any human interaction.

Yep, the one at the uni. Everyone I know who’s been says it went very smoothly.

And for the record, you wouldn't be the first one to have anxiety about being out in public. I've spoken to dozens of people over the last year who have felt similar. Hell, when the first lockdown was eased and people flooded the town centre again, I had it myself; just this sudden worry about being in a crowded place where nobody was wearing a mask (this was in the open air, masks weren't mandatory).

I could claim to be an anxiety hipster, as I had it in public waaaay before covid. But yeah, there are a lot of people in the same boat now. Even going to the postbox the other week (a grand total of about 3 minutes outside) resulted in a panic attack before I made it back to the house, so returning to anything like normality is going to be a slow process.

All done, two panic attacks in the 30 minute queue but I’m back home and not dead yet, so I’ll count that as a win.

Is there any particular reason that you've barely been out of your house this year? Just anxiety about covid?

Pew-Pew wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 12:18 pm

Is there any particular reason that you've barely been out of your house this year? Just anxiety about covid?

See, to me the question is back to front. The way I see it is that during covid I’ve had barely any reason to leave the house.

I’m about as far from being an outdoorsman as it’s possible to get. I’m an indoorsman, so staying home wasn’t much of an issue. Of course the long term offshoot is that it makes going out a bigger deal than it needs to be.

Not even going out for a walk/exercise? Seeing friends from a distance? etc. I couldn't keep myself inside for that long, and I'm not particularly outdoorsy.

I have a treadmill for exercise. I really don’t enjoy walking out in public, especially by myself, which is nothing new (again, anxiety). I keep up with friends online and they’re all really supportive - several others also decided not to meet up until vaccinated. I recognise that it’s overly-cautious, but I find the simplicity of just staying home much easier to deal with than working around all the legal and social distancing measures. Honestly, if I had to go through the last year again, I don’t think there’s much I would do differently. Maybe I’d have got the treadmill earlier, as that’s been great.

Now that I’m vaccinated, I’m meeting up with a friend next week who’s also vaccinated for some drinks. The pay off will have been worth the wait.

Wrathbone wrote: ↑

Tue May 11, 2021 2:06 pm

Now that I’m vaccinated, I’m meeting up with a friend next week who’s also vaccinated for some drinks. The pay off will have been worth the wait.

That's only jab 1 of 2, though, right? And possibly for your friend as well?