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Written by Furthering on 2025-01-19 at 07:12

As someone who doesn't want to get Covid or any of the other viruses floating around, I mask indoors.

But I have to disagree with the people who say "masking is easy" as a way to try to convince (or judge) others.

Setting aside the social aspects of it, masking is not easy, physically, for everyone. And if you have any sensitivity issues (HSP/highly sensitive person here🙋‍♀️ ), it might be somewhere on the spectrum of tolerable from most to least.

I've tried different masks, but no matter which ones, the straps cut into my ears, even the over-the-head ones. At the end of a long journey, I'm in some sort of pain or discomfort.

They're terrible for dealing with a runny nose. And my nose runs when I come inside from the cold even when I am not sick. You either have to break the seal around your mask to use a tissue, or you have to hope that you can keep your runny nose contained. Not a great choice either way.

They also tend to contribute to dry eye. Then, if you wear glasses, use earplugs/noise-cancelling headphones, or need anything else around your face/head, the combination starts to feel oppressive.

If masking is easy for you, that's great. I don't think it's easy for many people, and some people may not even be aware of or be able to express why masking is difficult for them in a society where we are often supposed to ignore or at least stay quiet about physical discomfort -- this might be true even if the majority were still masking.

So, two things can be true. Masking is important in various situations and according to various factors, but it's not necessarily easy. For me, the risk and discomfort of disease outweighs the physical discomfort of the mask, but it isn't like while I'm wearing it that I'm not longing to rip it off at the soonest safe opportunity.

[#]MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #HSP #Neurodivergent

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Written by Another concerned scientist on 2025-01-19 at 07:55

@Furthering

The problem is that people are not willing to compromise in other ways. They do not want to meet outdoors. They do not want to chat in a video call. They do not want to wait until the weather is better and we can open the windows.

So they choose the virus. And they choose for me as well by not masking and nagging me about my mask.

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Toot

Written by Furthering on 2025-01-19 at 08:13

@ABScientist I hear you, and I'm sorry you've encountered such refusal.

I have drastically reduced my socializing. I do have people who are okay with being outside when the weather is nice, but winter can last more than half the year here, so we have a brief window.

On the other hand, I tend to have friends in other locations with whom I can only meet up with via video chat anyway, so it's already built into the rhythm of our friendship. It's not the same, but I am grateful for these long-distance relationships. Some of them don't even know that I am a regular masker otherwise.

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