Anxiety in a Post-Covid World
by Dr. Liz Matheis, published in https://differentdream.com/
Anxiety in a post-Covid world is the latest new reality in over a year of new realities. Clinical psychologist Liz Mathies is here today with 3 strategies to tame your anxiety as you and your family begins the process of re-entry.
Hooray, hooray! The end of the pandemic is coming!
Wait. Is it a hooray?
In one breath, you may feel relieved that life is returning to normal. But in the same breath you wonder what is normal 14 months after a pandemic that suddenly and drastically changed our lives.
Fourteen months ago, anxiety about a virus that we had never seen before entered our lives. Before we knew it, it was deemed a global pandemic. I remember where I was exactly and who I was with when I first heard that news. It was mind blowing and overwhelming.
This virus was far more than just a flu. Our anxiety became intense and constant as it created fierce symptoms and many didn’t survive.
For many of us, that anxiety has actually not yet settled. We carry a residual level of worry. We’ve adopted functional rituals such as disinfecting surfaces, washing doorknobs, washing our hands and wearing masks. We ask questions such as: “Does that restaurant have outdoor seating? Are those tables too close? Did that person just touch the door handle? Are my kids safe to go to school? What if I’m carrying the virus and pass it on to my parents/elderly relatives?” The list goes on and on.