I feared air outside would lead to horrible death
WORRY about the coronavirus sparked panic attacks for Shirley Shaw- White, 70.
Cut off from friends and family, the former post room supervisor worried constantly about catching the virus.
Shirley, who lives near Loughborough, in Leicestershire, said: “I felt like if I opened my front door and breathed the air, I could die a horrible death.
“Everything that came into my home had to be bleached or disinfected.
“I scrubbed my hands so much the skin began to peel.
“I tried to leave my house, but on one occasion I saw someone coming towards me and I knew they would breathe near me, or contaminate me in another way and I had a panic attack.
“Before March, I was very confident and independent. I would go to my Leicestershire and Rutland Age UK group and really enjoy the company.
“But the 24/ 7 isolation and the continual news on radio and television and in the papers about Covid made me extremely anxious.
“Also, because I got out of the habit of walking a fair way, I now find I don’t have as much strength as I used to.”