This year marks five years since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, and while we couldn’t have predicted what would have happened in the years following, it’s fair to say that the ripples of those days can still be felt now.

It can be difficult to reflect on, especially when many of us lost loved ones or even got dangerously ill ourselves, but as we are now supposed to be living in a post-pandemic ‘new normal’, some of us can’t help but notice that actually, there was no full return to normal.

So, when user true-initiative-3103 asked on Reddit: “What is something that still hasn’t returned to normal since the pandemic?”, a lot of people had their say. 

With 4.4k upvotes, user Howdysf’s comment was a popular one, simply saying: “Grocery prices”. Ouch. So true. Long gone are the days of cheap bottles of olive oil.

Wealthyadder read my mind when they said: “Manners in public. I’ve witnessed some astonishingly bad behaviour in public that I don’t recall pre Covid.”

Listen, I hate to agree, but it’s chaos out there. In fact, another Reddit user asked just a year ago if people have gotten ruder since Covid and a lot of people agreed with them. Grim.

Meanwhile, WhimsicalChuckler pointed out that there has been a mental health epidemic since Covid, saying: “The pandemic had a significant effect on people’s mental health, and many are still dealing with heightened anxiety, burnout, or feelings of loneliness.”

This is true. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the pandemic triggered a 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

Jamieep79 said: ”Perception of past time. Something could have happened 1 or 5 years ago and it all feels the same.”

This is a real phenomenon. Dr Karan Rajan explained it saying: “Your brain measures time in experiences.

“Imagine you did the same thing every single day ― very little new moments and experiences here. Your brain has no time stamps to cling onto, so it collapses all of these identical days, weeks, months, and years into single moments.”

Hopefully the memories we make over the coming years help us get to grips with the passing of time.

What a strange 5 years it’s been.

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.