It’s been more than a year of social distancing, mask wearing, and avoiding crowded areas for the sake of your health, as well as the well-being of those around you! You may now be hearing things like “I’m so excited everything is going back to normal!” or “Want to get lunch, I haven’t seen you since COVID started!” And while these might have been phrases you were desperate to hear mere months ago, they suddenly aren’t sitting well. Maybe you’ve been asking yourself… why do I feel this way? It could be some good ol’ post-COVID anxiety.
With numbers of vaccinated people going up and new infection rates going down, you may feel that logically… “I shouldn’t feel anxious.” Au contraire! Post-COVID anxiety is real.
The human body is an adaptive and ever-changing system. Over the last year and change, we’ve inadvertently taught our fight or flight system some new warning signs to be vigilant of. It has learned that restaurants are a very high-risk place. It has learned that other people should be at least six feet away from you. It has learned that you should sanitize your hands often and make sure you have a mask on hand at all times.
Now, this information needs to be slowly unlearned.
Right now you may be becoming aware of and battling automatic behaviors and thoughts, and trust me… you aren’t alone. How many times have you recently found yourself watching a television show or movie with a bunch of people together and think “why is no one wearing masks?!” I’m pretty sure we’ve all had that moment (or moments). Now, you have to allow yourself the time and gentleness to lower your guard and retrain your internal alert system. It took time for mask-wearing and other precautions to become part of natural habit, the same goes for returning to “normal.”
With that being said, how do you begin to decrease post-COVID anxiety?
Again, allow yourself time and understanding. Know that from time to time, you may find yourself back in hyper-aware mode. Old habits die hard, right? Normalize both your anxiety as well as any setbacks you may experience. You aren’t alone in your journey into post-COVID life. 
Begin confronting your fears!
Although you may not be ready to ditch the mask or attend a big party yet, try to start challenging yourself. If you’ve avoided going out to restaurants during COVID, maybe try ordering takeout from your favorite one but eating it in an outdoor public space. If you find yourself having anxious thoughts, notice where your thoughts are going. Are they realistic? Possible? What’s the more likely outcome? By identifying and analyzing anxious thoughts, it can become slightly easier to challenge and shift them.
Post-COVID anxiety can be all the way from uncomfortable to debilitating.
But there’s good news!
Even though your body can learn to become afraid of COVID, you can also help it to learn that it does not need to be afraid of it any longer. At least not in the same capacity. A good strategy to remind you that you aren’t alone in this is to talk to others. It’s highly likely that in the midst of talking to a friend, coworker, family member or partner about these fears and anxiety, you’ll find that they are too. While you had to isolate yourself from the rest of the world for over a year, remember that the rest of the world did too.
No one was excluded from this experience.
So while you may have felt alone, you had company in your loneliness whether you realized it or not! All over the world. But if you still find yourself needing some extra support or ways to work through post-COVID anxiety, therapy can help. After all, your therapists experienced all of this right along with you. We get it, and we want to help get yourself back to your strong and confident self.
Ready to Slow Down and Start Therapy in St. Pete?
Beginning the journey to your best self is easier than most of the things we’re all doing right now! Therapy does not have to wait. You can get the mental health support you need with a skilled therapist in St. Pete or with online therapy in Florida. To begin, just follow these simple steps:
- Contact us to request an appointment
- Meet with one of our experienced therapists.
- Get support & begin your journey toward mental wellness & connection today!
Other Mental Health and Wellness Services at ME-Therapy
At ME-Therapy, we believe in the importance of mental, emotional & physical wellbeing. Our therapists want to help your mind but also want to feed your soul. This means we take a holistic approach to mental health. In order to do this, we offer a wide range of mental health services in our St. Petersburg office and online including therapy for women, therapy for men, trauma therapy, and holistic, spiritual therapy. For couples and relationships, we want you to know that our relationship therapists are here for you ALL. In addition to marriage counseling, we provide sex therapy, affair recovery counseling, and poly-friendly kink-aware therapy.
