Overcoming Lockdown Anxiety
Anxiety UK has called it ‘post-lockdown anxiety’. As vaccines continue to roll out across the globe, and one by one, the cases of coronavirus drop, we find ourselves slowly lifting the restrictions. Hugging family, dining indoors, relaxing mask rules: bit by bit, we begin to ‘return to normal’.
But being in lockdown for over a year has left many having to suddenly face social situations that we’ve become accustomed to undertaking at a distance. Loneliness, compounded with concern about the people around us, has heightened our anxiety and made it difficult to adjust to going back to the way things were before.
Nicky Lidbetter, CEO of Anxiety of UK, has said that ‘’If you've been inside for a long time, it can feel very strange to go outside. You can lose your confidence to do things you haven't had to do in a while," and it’s hard to disagree. But how do we overcome this anxiety, about getting back out, whilst the fear of infection still lingers?
Start by taking one small step at a time. Whether it’s a short drive in the car, just to somewhere quiet or to see how far you can go, physically getting out of the house - even in a small, isolated space like the car - is a part of getting back to normal. Don’t pressure yourself too much, however: we’ve all gone through this together, and you don’t have to feel like you must get back to normal immediately. By taking it slowly, and focusing on not over-exerting yourself, you can get back to ‘normality’ at your own pace.
If you’re worried about returning to work, or going to the shops, or seeing people - address these worries as they appear. If you have to go back to the office, why not ask your employer what their workplace procedures are and whether you’ll be able to do a couple of days a week at home? Find out what your local transport service is offering to help keep workers safe, or shopping/travelling at less busy hours will help you to get back into the swing of doing these things whilst minimizing any anxiety or worry about risk.
Always stay focused on the positives. Winter lockdowns were rough: darkness, cold and poor weather, made isolation feel even lonelier. As summer approaches, even if it’s socially distanced, you’ll be able to meet people outside with little (if any) risk to yourself. A chance to slowly get back to seeing a person or two at a time. Across several countries, cases are falling rapidly as vaccination efforts continue to ramp up, and the most vulnerable in society are getting the necessary protection they need. Keeping your eyes on the numbers can be a powerful way to understand and rationalize your anxiety by helping you paint the full picture.
Never forget what you’ve overcome: in a matter of weeks at the start of last year, we uprooted our normality to fight a global pandemic. Some of us will have caught covid, some of us will have known people who sadly have passed away from it. We have moved to work from home, set up the tech we need to carry out our jobs, and some of us have relocated completely. We’ve tested, we’ve trialed vaccines, and fought our fear of needles. Many of us will have learned new skills or hobbies, taken up baking or tried to learn a new language. Many more of us will have grappled with issues such as our mental health, body image, and loneliness. We overcame them all to make it here today, and we have to recognize that. This is another challenge - no matter how big it seems - that we will overcome. This too shall pass.
And don’t give up on those hobbies either - if you learnt to bake, or started working out every morning, or had a virtual movie night every week over zoom: keep it up. Continuing that routine, that rhythm will support you to slowly transition back into doing some of these things outdoors, or in person. Taking it slowly is key to overcoming this anxiety and keeping up your hobbies and interests is a core part of that to both distract yourself and provide a handy retreat if coming out of lockdown rapidly becomes overwhelming.
Ultimately, never forget that this is a journey that we are all on. Covid-19 has impacted everyone in some way or another, and your concerns and anxiety are not invalidated by your experience of the pandemic. Take care of yourself, keep yourself up to date on the latest information, and remember that you will overcome this in time.
