Checking in. How has your anxiety level changed over the last couple weeks? What about your depression levels?
All of our mental health is suffering now because of COV-ID. Even the people who don’t normally suffer from anxiety or depression, are now being hit with that.
As if the pandemic itself wasn’t causing enough damage.
My anxiety comes in waves. Most days I feel fine. I’m grateful for the life I have and feel fortunate to live in the town I live in.
I can go for long walks and gets lots of fresh air, and still keep my distance.
I find my husband and I are speaking positively for the most part, starting many conversations with “when this is all over…”
But then I find myself thinking, “what if it never ends?”
That’s when my anxiety cycles out of control, and I cry myself to sleep.
- What would happen if social-distancing never ended?
- What would happen if we were never able to go back to work, to school, or on trips?
- What if our favourite stores never re-opened?
- What if we were restricted to the inside of the four walls we’re in?
Do you grab the brown paper bag and start hyperventilating?
Now what if you knew that it would all end tomorrow? You were allowed to travel, see people, go to sporting events and concerts, hit the gym, or simply, go back to work… how would you feel?
I know that it’s not practical or realistic to think this will all be over in a day, but when you think about it, I’m sure your anxiety settles, and your heartbeat returns to normal.
Right now, we’re caught somewhere in between those two places, and the unknown is scary. We know it won’t end tomorrow, we’re hoping it’s not indefinite.
How long can this possibly last? Once it’s over, will it come back again in cyclic waves?
The more I think about the future and what little I know about it, the more stress I feel. Honestly, it’s better to just take this one day at a time.
It might not end tomorrow, but we can focus on today and hope for the best.
Fear of Being High Risk
As a high risk person, I am scared.
To the selfish people out there, please stop. It might not matter to you if you catch the virus, but your actions are causing unnecessary harm to so many people.
It’s no different than drunk driving. You are not just putting yourself at risk, but you are harming anyone else in your path.
If you kill someone while drunk driving, you could be charged with murder. Actually even if you’re sober, you can still be charged.
Those who are sick and who refuse to quarantine, you, too, should be charged.
That is how serious COV-ID is. It’s not just the flu. If you have morals when it comes to murder, then you should have morals when it comes to spreading the coronavirus.
Don’t do it.