Where to start...!? I've always had a few symptoms of anxiety but since the pandemic it's gone through the roof. My mum was going through chemo and I lost the plot with fears that she would catch covid and die. I'm still terrified I will pass it on to her. I cant blame it all on that though, some of it must be me... I've stopped wanting to go anywhere I dont have to go, i avoid busy situations and am much less sociable than I used to be. Ill see people in small numbers but wouldnt choose to go out to eat or on a night out anymore. I have a husband and kids...the kids are my saving grace! I go places for them so they dont miss out and they bring sunshine to any rainy day. My husband doesn't really get it. Theres been a bit of a drift on an emotional level, I think hes fed up of how I am now, and gets frustrated with me holding everyone back from "normal". I don't want to be this way but I feel like I'm stuck. I tried CBT which only really skirted around the issue because my therapist seemed to think my approach was sensible. I just feel like I've changed and maybe theres no way back now. I feel so lonely sometimes because being honest about how I feel just seems to make things worse.
How do I adjust to life after covid?
How do I adjust to life after covid?
Posted in:
Relationships & Marriage, Mental Health, Anxiety & Depression, Behaviour
4 Replies
I think your reaction is pretty normal. Most people I know are behaving like you (myself included) because we are either high risk ourselves or have a loved one that’s high risk.
My sister who is an oncologist is doing the same, because she needs to protect her patients.
Your actions are pretty normal, and nobody wants to be thinking what if I gave my son/cousin/grandparents/patients something that could kill them.
I think you might find it helpful to speak to people who are in similar situations. Just knowing you aren’t alone might help. But this is NOT you, this is a situation and this situation will pass.
We do get together with friends, but we do wear masks way more than is mandated, and I’m fine with that. I’m basically wearing a mask if I’ve left my house and only remove it to eat and drink, then straight back on. I can technically remove it while exercising but don’t.
I’m happy to support restaurants by doing a takeaway. Our favourite festival is about to happen so I’m only picking two performances with a vaccine mandate, and I’ll keep my mask on and I’ll RAT before I am around high risk people.
Living with covid (we aren’t post covid) to me, doesn’t mean getting on with life as it was before. It means doing as much as I can as safely as I can. But doing risk assessments.
It’s really hard when on one hand they’re telling us to lockdown and distance and home school and stay away from everyone. Now in what feels like the next breath we’ll all mostly be fine so just mingle and don’t even list close contacts. Things changed fast. You have to remember a big part of it at the start was trying to organise the health system and sort out what this is and how to protect the vulnerable. We have vaccines now, and the health system is coping. So the situation has changed, for most of us we can get on with life now. I’m a teacher and There was a time when I took my kids out of school and we stayed home so not to get it, but now I work with the public and they go to school and after school care and clubs (there have been positive cases in all four of those locations with us) we haven’t got it yet and it will be ok if/when we get it.
If you wash hands, sanitise, wear masks and take extra precautions around those like your mum (distance and sit outside where you can) that’s doing your best and you have no guilt to feel, you have to live your life.
I donthave much to say about the general anxiety except maybe if your therapist is not helpful to you, maybe try another one. One thing I wanted to say to hopefully put your mind at ease a little bit. I have cancer and going through treatment. I caught covid while not vaccinated (for medical reasons before anyone comes at me). I had a high temp for 2 days. A very very mild cough for 2 days. And a headache for 1 day. I know that it is not everyone's experience, but it is not a death sentence just because she has cancer.
I go to a kinesiologist for my anxiety. I've found it a thousand times more helpful then any psycholgist or counsellor that I've seen over the last 20 years. Could be worth looking into for yourself.