People open up about the darker effects of pandemic that no one really talks about

Coronavirus has already killed millions of people and continues to affect millions more. The deadly pandemic brought the world to a half and disrupted our lives as we know it. While the health implications of Coronavirus and the financial crisis that it led to are apparent, there are many more things that it has indirectly affected. People responded to a Reddit and shared the many unknown ways in which the virus has affected their lives.   

1) Babies found 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." - u/greyathena653. Many were taken aback by the revelation. One person wrote, "I was ready for destroyed lungs, and tasteless hells, not this level of what the f*ck?" Another added, "If you read up about the 1918 pandemic this sadly became a huge problem… hopefully it isn’t a foretelling of things to come."

2) Distorted reality

The serious mental health impact and the shifted routine perceptions. I still feel like going out of the house is a dream state and my house is reality. u/KaidenAlenko1992. 

3. Abandoned pets

Many have turned to pets to cope with being cooped up inside but the downside is that many are likely to abandon pets once the pandemic is over. "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," wrote u/OrneryConelover70. 

4. Do your Christmas shopping now

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. - u/5lytherin.

5. Children caring for vulnerable parents 

Children of vulnerable parents with disabilities or immune disorders who are disproportionately affected by long Coronavirus are now acting as carers for their parents, off the books, trying to care for their parents and go to school at the same time. Because of a lack of canvassing and the closure of charity shops in the U.K, children's charities lost millions over the pandemic -u/stesha83.

6. 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. - u/Oh-Oh-Ophelia. Another user added, "I feel as though half of my existence in the past 6 months has been trying to remember the word I was just about to say. Today a co-worker asked, "Is it Monday?" Someone else flatly answered, "It's Tuesday." Pre-Covid, we would have made fun of him at least a little bit, but now we're so used to wading through brain soup that we know it could be any of us forgetting what day of the week it is."

7. Unable to access medical treatment

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. - u/The_Gentle_Viking.

8. People have become rude

People have become NASTY as fu*k, for a variety of reasons - u/Femveratu. Another added, "I was just talking about this the other day. People are going insane and day by day it is getting worse."

9. Domestic violence has skyrocketed

911 dispatcher for a small town here," wrote u/EreeB2017. "The amount of domestic violence calls I have taken has sky-rocketed. It’s beginning to seriously drag me down and exhaust me. I also helped the local programs try to get food for families with kids. I broke down when I realized some kids only get food at school."

10.  Survivor's guilt

I haven’t heard a lot of people talk about it, but I had/still have survivor's guilt. The guy in recovery next to me passed away in the middle of the night. We had our Hospital dinner hours before and 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 goes 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.
A 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. -u/joecus90.

11. People neglecting 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 Coronavirus from other patients etc. u/cobra1927. 

12. Hearing-impaired people affected by masks

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, wrote u/muffinslinger.
Since then, I've run into a co-worker who is also hearing impaired but doesn't want to return to the 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

13. Mental health issues

Mental health. I work in mental health. It’s rough out there, wrote u/SnooDoodles8742. Another added, "Yep. I’m a therapist. A lot of us are not okay. Working harder than ever and hearing awful things all day. Check on your therapist friends."

14. Spare parts are hard to find

 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. - u/Futurewolf. 

15. Memory is messed up 

My memory is trashed. I clicked on a movie in our recent downloads and said, 'you wanna watch this?'. My hubby was freaked because apparently, we had watched this 2 days prior. He went through it with me scene by scene but I have no memory of it. I now frequently forget the door code at work. My mum is really going through some stress right now and I speak to her daily. Sometimes I forget the people she's talking about/entire conversations and I feel like an awful daughter. Never had a memory issue before. This isn't on purpose, it's only happened since I had Coronavirus (from which I was very ill for about a month, despite being 29 at the time, now 30) but my doctor's response is that nothing can be done because no one is researching the long term memory effects yet. So I am just in limbo. Managers give me jobs to do in work and before I finish one I forget the other thing and everyone thinks I am an idiot. Having 'covid fog' isn't a legit thing yet so most people just think I am an idiot. I have 2 degrees and I now struggle in a mediocre job (lost my previous job, where I had responsibility, to the pandemic). It sucks. - u/Kittenpants2007.