Ugh I had this big time. People kept telling me “it’s just a number”. If it helps, once it happens you’ll wonder what all the anxiety was about
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Absolute heap of a time, honestly one of the hardest years of my life (I’m not going to detail why here, but I have posted about it elsewhere). It’s going down as a 2 because there’s definitely room for things to get worse, but it’s been truly, truly awful on just about every level. Massive solidarity and hugs all round, I don’t think I would have made it through without being able to come to all of you and blow off steam, get advice, and generally shoot the breeze.
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Not been a great year but I’m still very privileged in my situation. So let’s say 6/10.
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Oh mate, that sounds absolutely awful. Hope you have a much better 2021.
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Such a weird one, truly all over the place.
The pandemic meant barely going out to socialise, but it also meant not having to get public transport or see colleagues I didn’t wanna see for most of the year, which was pretty good tbh. Am trying to save for a house deposit too so not being able to spend much has definitely helped for that, but it hasn’t been any fun.
At the start of the pandemic my dad’s partner/sister’s mum got diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, but she has been incredibly disciplined and fortunate and it looks like the chemo has very much done its job, which is fantastic. It’s just been frustrating not being able to see them - I think we’ve met up once this year. I really hope I can see them at Christmas.
One thing that came out of being indoors so much is that I absolutely need to leave the house everyday, even if it’s just for 20 minutes, for the sake of my mental health.
Fitness has been a weird one - I’m on track to hit 1000k run for the year, and I did some HIIT thing for 45 days that got my in v good shape but then stopped and now I’m very much where I was at the start of the year.
Feel very lucky to have the partner I have. Most of the lockdown has been very easy because of her.
Anyway big ramble. Dunno? 6/10? Hasn’t been much fun at all, but it could have been so, so much worse and I’m incredibly grateful for that.
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Really relied on this forum as my social group this year and you all came through pretty strong tbh. Thanks everyone! Sorry for my incessant bullshit!
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I’m gonna rank it about a 6/10.
Got engaged!
Went to Mexico!
My lovely niece was born!
Work promotion!
Haven’t been allowed to see my nephew for various reasons and therefore have fallen out with my brother and his fiance over it.
I’ve been so very miserable. A lot.
The goods are very good indeed! Well done!
Sorry about the family stuff
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I’m going to go with a 7.
Preface: family life for us can be pretty tough at times. As you’ll probably know, my eldest is autistic, and in her case she really struggles with any kind of family event / social event etc. She has also begun getting really anxious about sleep, especially when her routine is affected. So in a lot of ways, the impact of the pandemic on all the above has been a relief because we don’t have to worry about how we’re going to see all our friends/relatives and the impact of all that busyness on her wellbeing. Over the years we’ve become quite a tight ‘unit’ of four, and that’s put us in a stronger position to get through all of this.
So anyway:
+ the eldest started secondary school this September, and it’s been amazing for her. There’s a specialist resource base for her autism and as a result, the teachers and staff are really well-drilled as to what triggers her, what ‘good’ looks like for her, etc. (Her primary school tried their best, but it really shows us what we were missing and what a more informed approach looks like). She is top of her year for ‘housepoints’ and is delighted because she’s earned herself an Amazon voucher for her efforts.
+ I’ve switched to working from home permanently, which means I see my family much more. The youngest has been particularly appreciative of this.
+ I’ve appreciated living in Norfolk during the pandemic - there’s lots of space to socially distance. We had to cancel both our holidays, but holidaying from home was lovely and still felt like a break.
+ work has been successful - the pandemic has meant that we’ve had the money to provide temporary housing to anyone who needs it, and whilst there’s a long way to go we’ve made a big dint into the numbers of people sleeping rough in the city.
+ despite all the worries, my dad and father-in-law (who are both clinically vulnerable) have stayed in good health
- work has been incredibly stretching and there have been times where I’ve not coped so well. Feels like I’m just about hanging on for Christmas.
- obviously missing seeing people, going to gigs, going to the football (though that’s starting again this Saturday).
- general worries about the world, covid, brexit etc.
BTW I hope this doesn’t seem insensitive - I know that so many of you have had really difficult years. You’re a great bunch.
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Health has been an ongoing issue / worry
Mrs W was made redundant at the start of the year, and remained out of work for most of it.
Being the sole earner - when self-employed, during a time of financial turmoil - has caused me no end of stress
Had to sell my motorhome because of the actions of another person
Mrs W has started volunteering as a Samaritan, and has today started a position as a counsellor in a secondary school. This has done her mental health the world of good.
The lockdown / tier 3 stuff has brought Mrs W, the kids and I much closer together - something that I’m massively thankful for.
On balance, maybe a 3/10.
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Thanks! It was truly a great first half of the year and I really didn’t mind staying in so much either! 
It’s been a bit of a weird one, for sure. Though it’s been more anxious (obviously!), I’ve also - due to being furloughed - had more time and space to sort of address it and to think things through; so it peculiarly kind of levels out (note as well that I’m writing this while in a good mood - on another day I might be writing that it’s all totally horrible).
It’s made me think more about the future - I’d been thinking, if I had my contract at work renewed, I’d start looking to move out into somewhere on my own relatively near here. But now my job’s kind of up in the air for the moment (and with the time to think about it, I honestly don’t think it’s what I want to do for much longer) and so I’ve been applying for new jobs (with depressingly little success) and thinking about where I could possibly move to. These are obviously really minor problems, but it’s all annoyingly overwhelming to have no clue what the future’s going to look like (while turning 30 and feeling guilty / envious when comparing myself to friends my age who have their own things going on)
I dunno. I’ll say 2* π out of 10
Fuck knows.
Managed to get an amazing 3 months of travelling in at the start but then basically having me and my wife living in my old bedroom at my parents for a couple of months after all that freedom sent me a bit insane.
Work not being arseholes about me cutting my sabbatical short and getting earning again as soon as I was allowed was great
Moved into a lovely new place that we really like.
Most stable financially and life wise I’ve ever been.
It should be a 9 or a 10 but the pandem has proper wrecked my head and it currently feels like a 2 but it’s actually an 8 or something.
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Sorry to hear you’ve had such a bad year pal. Focusing on the positives, I’m glad to hear that your partner has the all clear and well done on the job. I hope things continue to pick up for you.
You are a great guy and one of the best people on DiS and that’s a pretty high bar. If you ever want to chat, PM or me or send me a message on Facebook or something.
Take care x
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The first 10 weeks of 2020 went better than I could possibly have imagined
then The Everything happened
Workwise, having to lead a big project that is 100% exposed to the worst economic aspects of the pandemic and try and keep it from falling apart every day for nearly 10 months has taken a heavy toll on me physically & mentally. Motivating people (and myself) through times of uncertainty is hard.
Add to that the fact that I have a TV who is a freelance artist & fashion designer whose income reduced to zero at a stroke back in March made it hard to balance the family budget & feed the kids at times
But, I think we’ve come through stronger on all fronts & I have an engaging and decently paid (if often harrowing) job and I’ve managed to keep the project from derailing. Also, no major health scares or problems in the family.
So, a shitty year compared to what could have and should have been but relatively speaking nowhere near as bad as a MASSIVE amount of people have it so I’m checking my privilege*
*though I do worry sometimes that I brush off or underestimate the impact of things on my physical and mental health by thanking my lucky stars that I’m not the worst impacted. Inability to travel/take a holiday has for instance hit me MUCH harder than I ever thought it would
I did get to eMeet one of my absolute heroes though and we have regular chats & emails which is tremendous. He’s 82 now, hope he hangs on in there for another decade at least.
Properly missing clubs, gigs, concerts and the energy of the crowd. Didn’t really realise until the middle of this year how much dancing is/was my main form of physical exercise
Also (and this isn’t exclusive to this year) I’ve been really missing having a creative outlet since this job took over and stopped me from having much time, effort & energy to give to my own music. Really looking forward to spending as much time as possible in the studio over my Christmas/New Year break
so, in sum;
probably a 3.5 out of 10 if I’m being honest
but an 8.5 on the ‘relatively speaking I have been so much luckier than so many people’ scale
caveat: there are still 3 and a half weeks of 2020 to go and anything could happen. One case that me and many close colleagues have been working hard on looks likely to fail & end in an execution today - irrespective of the 104 000 signatures we’ve delivered to the Iranian Embassy. Fucked up
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what a massive shitter of a year Ant. Sending love pal 
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a massive shit sandwich. 2 / 10.
Can’t complain, really.
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Mate. Had no idea you were going through all that.
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Even with not having found it too hard for the most part and being very lucky, it’s still an absolute 1/10 of a year. Feels like I’m existing rather than living.
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