Image of a distressed person with a face mask on

 

A lot has changed within the last year. Our lives have become so complicated but monotonous in the sense that, the repetitive patterns we’ve adapted so far, we’ve either preceded one or succeeded another.

Almost everyone has lived the same routine in different ways that became a part of what is called a quarantine culture.

We learnt new baking habits, watched online concerts and made Zoom our number one communication method.

One could not help but say, once upon a time we all had everything in common.

 

The pandemic has created a rather comfortable lifestyle for some. However, for others it has been a real-life struggle.

I spent 10 months at home which equates to 300 days of my life applying to 150+ jobs. That’s at least 1 job every other day.

Surely, nobody applies for jobs with the pain of being rejected? So when will employers encourage the notion of giving constructive feedback to applicants? Not as a mean to thank them for their time but to help them boost their opportunities in bettering themselves.

 

Unemployment: a snow-covered mountaintop

The number of job vacancies at the start of 2021 was 128,000 below its pre-pandemic level.

In addition to this, the number of young people in employment has fallen by 310,000.
Youth Unemployment rates have increased by 13,000.

Not everyone can effectively plan for their future by attending a course or doing voluntary work if ministers are on the urge of scrapping the £20-a-week uplift.

What then comes with the financial hit is the emotional combat that people face. It’s de-motivating in that aspect as it sets the value of young adults, to the bare minimum.

With the possibility of emotional disruptions, people find themselves build anxiety, depression and mental health disorders. Hence finding their utopia transition to dystopia.

 

Not so long ago I was in a similar situation. I left my makeup career due to the social pressures I was facing on Instagram. With government restrictions in effect too, it was impossible for beginners like me to find the niche in the market and generate income. 

When there isn’t much of a thought process involved, you can end up with something that is beyond you. Beyond you in so many ways that you soon abandon whatever it is that you love due to its inferior and unpromising nature.

Experiences of such result in individuals becoming disheartened and demoralised. The reason is they pick’n’mix jobs not out of interest, but due to being neglected and desperate for money.

 

Health is deteriorating

On the other hand, the current health system we have at the moment has been non-existent to the majority for over a year. A system which has failed us by fluctuating in its overall performance.

It would be a shame to blame the NHS for the long hospital appointment queues considering how exhausted they’ve become. Most couldn’t even retire due to the high demand for NHS staff whilst battling the Coronavirus.

Staff have experienced higher levels of fatigue as doctors have worked extra shifts too. They dismissed the breaks that they are entitled to which we all should thank them for.

 

Who do we hold accountable?

Almost 5 million people are currently waiting for hospital treatment.
More than 400,000 patients have seen their surgery delayed for at least a year.

As a patient who was diagnosed with a medical condition in October 2020 I am still waiting to be seen by my consultant.

Not being able to go to the GP for proper examination has become very daunting for patients. Especially for those who are finding it difficult to effectively address their concerns on the phone.

The state of the NHS is so worrying that GPs are now telling patients to go private. They are concerned that some people could die before they get treatment in Northern Ireland.

Last year, my uncle who was a cancer patient was denied his palliative treatment to continue from hospital.

Question to ask is how normal is it to ask people to put their lives on hold when they are suffering in pain or simply don’t have much time left?

 

It’s a two-way loss.

The lockdown which was created to save our lives and reduce death rates is no different to a blood-sucking leech.

Perhaps we were successful in achieving the much-needed reductions in high case figures and death rates in 2021. However, one can’t deny that the pandemic left us feeling hopeless about our social lives and has put our financial stability to decline.

Not to forget that, if you are lucky enough to survive the virus, there are other extenuating factors which you must overcome.

From an almost ineffective health system to a broken economy, the situation which we are facing and trying to escape from is not only a laborious but also an unbearable one.

 

Photo by Engin Akyurt from Unsplash

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