We’ve been struggling to contain this virus for over 18 months at this point, but we still don’t have a lot of intel on some of the long-term or more frightening effects that COVID-19 has on people. Thankfully, u/dis_2much asked Reddit:
“What are some of the darker effects COVID-19 has had that we don’t talk about?”
And we were able to comb through to find some of the best answers.
1. Alone
Pediatrician here—we have had multiple babies and toddlers brought to the hospital by police for “found alone in the home with caregiver deceased.”
2. Mental health
The serious mental health impact and the shifted routine perceptions. I still feel like going out of the house is a dreamstate and my house is reality.
3. Pets
So many people have been getting pets that veterinarians cannot keep up. There is also a very real chance that animal shelters are going to be overloaded with abandoned pets once people stop working from home.
From my understanding, this is already beginning to happen (not sure about the overloaded part but at least the returning part). Not just from people who have died from covid and their pets being sent to shelters, but also people going back to work who can’t keep up with caring for an animal like they could while working from home. Part of this is due to animals having severe separation anxiety and poor training and there being a lack of animal trainers/behaviorists to help (and a lack of trainers/behaviorists who have seen problems on this scale and to this degree). Gonna be a shitshow for sure.
4. Christmas shortages
This Christmas is going to be a disaster. I work for a major dept store that carries toys and we’re expecting to be sold out of everything by like November.
Even regular clothes and stuff, we’re still waiting on some products to show up from factories that were supposed to arrive in like July.
We’ve basically had two years of crippled production across the board but because of shipping times, we’re only really just starting to see it.
Do your Christmas shopping now. Or yesterday.
5. Ideation
Having suicidal thoughts because it seems like it will never end.
6. Cognitive decline
Cognitive decline, even in those who aren’t infected. Lack of stimulation, excessive stress, etc. People’s attention spans and memories are shot. Their reasoning ability is dimmed. Self included.
7. Other illnesses
In my opinion the darker effect is definitely the people with other illnesses that couldn’t get treatment because of the lockdown rules. Many people couldn’t get life extending radiation treatment and are no longer around. Somehow I feel there could have been a better alternative to no treatment.
8. Jerks
People have become NASTY as f-ck, for a variety of reasons.
9. Drivers
And more aggressive drivers, too.
10. Domestic violence
911 dispatcher for a small town here.
The amount of domestic violence calls I have taken has sky rocketed. It’s beginning to seriously dragged me down and exhaust me.
I also helped the local programs try to get food to families with kids. I broke down when I realized some kids only get food at school.
11. One meal
I work as a school bus driver, and it has been an interesting experience thus far.
The pandemic closed things down in march, and lasted into summer, when a lot of kids would usually have summer school. I had been out of work since march when schools had closed their doors, and was eager for some kind of work to do.
Over the summer, many drivers including myself would come to work, get our bus ready, head to a school and pick up numerous coolers full of school grade lunches, and head into various neighborhoods, church parking lots, and apartment complexes to hand out these lunch kits to kids who were not able to get their meals from school because of the pandemic.
It pained me more than I had ever felt being a school bus driver when many of these kids would come up to the bus alone, and thank me for bringing them the one meal they would have for the day, before walking back home and often sharing what they had with siblings who were too young to come out.
I gave out extras to the kids I knew were taking care of others, and thankfully we never had a day where we ran out of lunches to give to them, but I will never forget the hardships I observed of these kids and how much extra perspective the pandemic gave me into their day to day lives.
12. Dental health
As a dental student, I see lots of people who neglected their teeth who otherwise might not have (regular cleanings, checkups, not returning for definitive treatment and having a temp crown on for 18 months…). This is partly the fault of dental offices canceling appointments indefinitely and never rescheduling the patients, but also partly patient fear of catching COVID from other patients etc.
13. Hemorrhoids
This is a bit embarrassing because I’m in my 20s, but lockdown made me develop hemorrhoids. It’s common among ppl who sit a lot for their work and because of lockdown I get less exercise, and here I am with fckn hemorrhoids on top of all the stress and chaos of the pandemic.
14. Survivor’s guilt
I haven’t heard a lot of people talk about it, but I had/still have survivors guilt. The guy in recovery next to me passed away in the middle of the night. We had our Hospital dinner hours before and it we had a great conversation. As just before we went to sleep he said “Hey, I really like you man, once we get outta here let’s get actual dinner.” I said “Absolutely, anything would be better than this stuff!”
Later that night, I heard his machine go off (we were blocked by curtains) and heard the nurses and doctors come in and wheel him out saying to get the defibrillator. I don’t remember much, but that has stuck with me mainly because I thought I was next. I figured I’d never see my wife, family, or friends ever again so I was trying my best to come to terms. I didn’t find the peace everyone says you find near death. Anyways, after 47 days 10 in the ICU, I was able to leave.
Year and a half later I’m here telling you all about my experience. I do still think of that man often, I don’t remember his name, I don’t know what he looked like, I just know our conversations helped us through.
15. Regression for kids
I know it’s been mentioned, but my high school students are woefully lacking in terms of behaviour and meeting social expectations. It’s like they have no idea how to function at school. This group has been affected by the pandemic since grade 8, which is when work habits tend to take form. This will take a few years to rebuild
16. Hearing-impaired
How much hearing-impaired people were affected. My mother, who wears hearing aids, also depends on reading lips especially in louder, busier areas (hearing aids can have trouble sorting through complex noise situations).
You can imagine what happened when everyone covered their mouths. Now she’s more isolated than ever.
Since then, I’ve ran into a co-worker who is also hearing impaired but doesn’t want to return to office because while she can read lips on zoom, she won’t be able to if we mask-up in person.
They were an invisible casualty of this pandemic
17. Shortages
I know everyone is commenting about PC parts, but parts of EVERYTHING are hard to come by. I work in supply chain and we are constantly battling shortages of electronic parts, plastic parts, metal, etc.
18. Companies
And now instead of 93% of everything we touch ultimately being owned by 10 conglomerates it will be 95%. Rinse and repeat every 5-10 years and it’s how we went from hundreds of independent companies making our stuff it’s now a dozen. During a recession or pandemic usually everyone gets hurt, but the last 20 years only the middle and lower classes get hurt, the upper classes actually continue to MAKE money.
19. Amputation
I’m a prosthetist and I’m not sure people are aware that amputation can happen post COVID.
I work in a small private clinic and we have about 15 patients who had various levels of amputation secondary to COVID. Would love to know the statistics.
20. Tinnitus
The guy that founded Texas Roadhouse killed himself due to extreme tinnitus brought on by COVID-19
Lead image: Unsplash