Elderly parents won't stop making unnecessary trips to the supermarket!!!

onlyfoolsandparking

holidaycheat_66 said:

I see the op was going to use AliExpress!    I'm never ordering ANYTHING from China again! Nooooo!  Never! 

That might be harder to do than you think based on the fact China practically manufactures everything we use lol, but I admire your sentiment

[Deleted User]

holidaycheat_66 said:

I see the op was going to use AliExpress!    I'm never ordering ANYTHING from China again! Nooooo!  Never! 

Oh, why not?

The N95 mask vendor I was looking at will post it to you from France, Spain or Poland, as well as China.  Looks like about $4 a mask, compared to the £20! I saw on a UK site.

Fire_Fox

My parents are in their seventies and I do not consider them elderly, simply 'older adults'. Officially they are classed as 'early elderly' only.

You and your parents might read the National Police Chiefs Council document "What constitutes a reasonable excuse to leave the place where you live". This includes how often grocery shopping should be done and what you are expected to buy (luxuries v. essentials).

Many supermarkets are advising one adult per household/ trolley in the store. Have you considered completing a food inventory, and cooking new recipes to stave off boredom? Such meals could be given to 'highly vulnerable' or 'shielding' individuals or a struggling family in their local area if they are not actually wanted by your parents.

A properly balanced and very varied wholefood diet as per the official guidelines (cake & treats are very limited!), maintaining a healthy weight, regular physical activity/ exercise, not drinking more alcohol than recommended, not smoking, and limiting exposure to air/ traffic pollution will go a good way to mitigating against any milder health-related or age-related increased risk for all of you.

It would be well worth addressing your high levels of anxiety with your family doctor via a telephone consultation. Chronic anxiety is detrimental to your immune system. Conversely vitamin D3 from oily fish and moderate sunlight exposure is beneficial to your immmune system. A low dose beta blocker (prescription) can be very effective in relieving the symptoms, is non addictive and non drowsy.

HTH!

neilmcl

hb2 said:

OP, given your high anxiety, maybe going back to your own home would give you more peace of mind.

Given his anxiety, I think going back to his own home will probably give his parents more peace of mind 

suki1964

Your parents are not children, and seeing as you say they only have a few health niggles, we can assume they aren't losing their marbles and need caring for

It does sound however that you and your brother tend to sway to the WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO

My husband is the same, he stopped work as soon as Boris said too. I still work outside the home

My 82 year old mother who is in heart failure lives with us

I get nagged daily from my husband. Seriously nagged. If I mention a conversation in work its " why were you talking to him, I thought he was in a separate building", if I give someone a lift home " why did you have to take them, couldn't they find their own way", when I come in from work "have you washed your hands, go shower, put your clothes in the machine". When I go shopping " how many were in the shop, how long was the queue" "you know if you get this and bring it home, you will kill your Mother"

It goes on and on and on

Your parents, like myself have to make their own minds up and decide what it is they feel safe with. If you don't feel safe with their choices, that's your decision and you have the choice to leave

My mum is ok with my choices. I do my best to allay my husbands fears, shop once a week etc because unless I want a divorce its all I can do. But you do have a choice to move out and control your own life rather then getting stressed trying to control others

[Deleted User]

We spoke to my brother this evening.   He was very diplomatic!   He told me to stop spending all day reading about coronavirus (though today I learned it can make your heart explode!), and not to worry about our parents going to the supermarket.  But he also told them that going there once a week should be plenty enough!

My mother said to me that she'd got into 'Christmas' mentality of going shopping often to look for treats, and would now stop doing that!  

Regarding masks, he said that even if I could get hold of the right one, I wouldn't know how to fit it!

suki1964

Poster_586329 said:

We spoke to my brother this evening.   He was very diplomatic!   He told me to stop spending all day reading about coronavirus (though today I learned it can make your heart explode!), and not to worry about our parents going to the supermarket.  But he also told them that going there once a week should be plenty enough!

My mother said to me that she'd got into 'Christmas' mentality of going shopping often to look for treats, and would now stop doing that!  

Regarding masks, he said that even if I could get hold of the right one, I wouldn't know how to fit it!

Your brother sounds like he has some sense

Keep the 24 hr news off. All you are hearing about is Covid-19, as if nothing at all else is happening in the news

Thats feeding your anxiety

Watch the news once a day, if you have to even do that. As I said, thats all thats being reported anyways so its on repeat and repeat and repeat, Its not good for you. I remember 9/11, it was the same, we plugged into the horror of that and let it overwhelm us, forgot that life was still going on all around us

Whilst Im not wanting to underplay the seriousness of Covid-19, we all have to look after ourselves mentally as well as physically. Get out and enjoy the good weather. Read trashy novels, watch comedies on TV, find a hobby you can do at home, put the music on and dance, , sleep most of the day if that helps. Just admit to yourself your anxieties and accept them and learn how to manage them yourself without expecting others to change their behaviours 

wymondham

You can force them to do anything. Locally I see so many elderly people out and about walking and carrying on as normal - much more than younger people.

ess0two

neilmcl said:

hb2 said:

OP, given your high anxiety, maybe going back to your own home would give you more peace of mind.

Given his anxiety, I think going back to his own home will probably give his parents more peace of mind 

Yeah, can just imagine how his parents feel, probably glad see the back of him.

hb2

neilmcl said:

hb2 said:

OP, given your high anxiety, maybe going back to your own home would give you more peace of mind.

Given his anxiety, I think going back to his own home will probably give his parents more peace of mind 

I was being tactful, for once! 😁

I decided that I don't want to listen to coronavirus news at all, never mind 24/7. I registered on gov.uk for updates, so I get a whole host of these daily and I read the ones that will be relevant to me (don't need to know what is being said to schools, the haulage industry etc), including the daily broadcast. This is reported in a factual manner, with no scaremongering or emotional language.