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Being spoken to like rubbish for being exempt for wearing a mask
cupcake88
Member Posts: 723 Pioneering
Hi there every one I suffer with mental illnesses I rarely go out but this week I have been going to places local with my partner .
I do have a letter from my doctor bout how I don’t have to wear a mask as I don’t like my face covered In triggers my ptsd . But just going out today with out a mask has made me want to hide away again .
I was spoken to like absolutely crap when I went into my he butchers I was asked where my mask was by the lady behind the counter so I said I don’t have to wear one and I have a doctors letter she said don’t worry bout it and then began to speak bout me to another customer so I showed both of them the letter from my doctor , my blue badge and my pip letter they looked embarrassed and said sorry but every one is saying that and I said well some of us have genuine reasons .
it’s more stressful having to explain to people and get abuse from the public for not wearing one . It’s made me feel not so well today at all .
is any one else experiencing this ?
it’s more stressful having to explain to people and get abuse from the public for not wearing one . It’s made me feel not so well today at all .
is any one else experiencing this ?
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Replies
I was 'talked about' for wearing a mask back in the beginning of it all...some people just like to moan, you cant win..lol
I really struggle wearing one and am legally exempt, but to me it's just not worth all the confrontation. So I am forcing one on just for a quick shop once a week and getting it off the second I get out of the door, it's putting me in a worse state than before masks were mandatory but I'd rather that than the confrontation of not wearing one. There's no perfect solution here, it's just whichever you find to cause the least amount of consequences. I agree with the suggestion above about going to outdoor places where it won't be questioned and just letting your partner do the shopping.
One of my elderly relatives was having a rant about people not wearing masks last week. She's extremely vulnerable and has been shielding up until August. She now only feels comfortable going out if everyone wears a mask. I've tried explaining that some people are medically exempt, and not necessarily with any visible indication of why, but she just wouldn't have it and sadly that seems to be quite a common opinion.
As others say, the fact you have a 'right' just isn't worth upsetting yourself, and, equally important, upsetting everyone else. If you were immune suppressed from cancer treatment, or had breathing problems, you would correctly be in fear of death from people not wearing masks.
Can you do as others suggest, and avoid situations where you will terrify others and distress yourself? Or, as they do, just push yourself to wear the mask even though you dislike it? Or, if there's a physical difficulty with breathing, tailor your mask to suit, for instance, getting hold of a square of black silk to cover the mask, and be easy to breathe through, concealing the fact that the mask underneath had some bits cut out, to assist getting the air in.?
Bear in mind when people without symptoms were tested, many of them were shedding virus, and were found to be unknowingly infected. 70% of the infected people had no symptoms at all.
Any one of them could have been responsible for spreading a deadly disease, if they took the choice of insisting on mixing with the public while not wearing masks.
In South Korea, one woman who did observe all the masking and sanitising and social distancing rules, was still traced to be the source of an outbreak which infected 71 people, some seriously, some with potentially life long impairments, and three dead.
.The country had been covid free, with strict rules nobody breached. But a neighbour had been allowed back into the country after visiting u.s.a., then sent into her flat to isolate for 2 weeks. They had no contact. But authorities discovered the returning woman was asymptomatically infected. She got out of the lift on another floor, moments before the neighbour got in. Scientists are sure that the outbreak was caused by breathing some of the same air, remaining in that lift.
The fact shop staff wander the aisles without masks is astonishing. So is the practice of wearing masks as chin hammocks. One covidiot was interviewed after returning from a drunken party island holiday, happily declaring he was full of symptoms after rèturning, but he didn't care, because he is 'entitled ' to a holiday, and he is young so not at risk, and he hadn't passed it to his own grandparents, therefore he couldn't see any harm at all.
regards to visors I struggle with them also . I’m a caring person and most people will tell you who have read my previous posts will tell you I’m a kind person I would never want to cause hurt to any one . So I tell you what I’ll stay in doors and hide away so that other people can be safe considering I’m such a a** hole.
Sorry about some of the replies you have received too. Personally I am surprised at how dismissive some people are of mental disability on a disability forum. I can only assume that they believe that the importance of their physical condition somehow “trumps” that of somebody else’s mental condition. Remember we are all equal here...
my mental health nurse was telling me the other day to try my best to practice going out with my partner as that’s the only way forward to get better she said your exempt from wearing a mask for good reason and you have every right to still go places and if people want to be hostile then that’s there problem but easy said as done when you have a mental illness .
im not gonna say there are people out there who just don’t want to wear one because they are . But wearing a mask or my face being covered brings back horrific memories for my self and I feel that should be respected also . I’m disappointed by some of the responses in this thread and I have taken them personal but I respect your disabilities and concerns . But thank you so much for all the positive comments .
not in great detail But explaineds and I also have one with my name on with my mental illnesses And to be patient with me if I seem confused and panicked and my partners number on the back .
Could I just give a friendly reminder to be considerate of every user's feelings and convey your comment in a respectful way.
When writing on an online community like this it's important to remember that written language can come across in a disrespectful way, even if it's not intended. It's important to choose words carefully and think about how they might read to others.
I have removed part of your comment @newborn because I felt it was inappropriate.
I'm so sorry to hear about the horrible comments you received when you were out and about with your face mask @cupcake88. You don't deserve that in the slightest. This community is absolutely a place where we want you to feel welcome and as though it's a safe space from negative judgement. We respect and value all disabled people, regardless of the kind of impairment.
I hope things go better for you the next time you go out with the face mask, it sounds like it was an awful experience.
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