I never thought in my life that I would be writing a post about pandemic anxiety. Much like everyone else in the world, this pandemic came as a surprise. I remember first hearing about the coronavirus, and hearing that it was only in China and it wasn’t something we should worry about here in the UK. Then each week, heck even each day it seemed to get closer and closer to home. The period between it being discovered in China and it hitting England wasn’t too long. Of course during this time, we were all glued to the news and our phones checking updates.
I remember having a conversation with my friend at work right before we got put in lockdown. We talked about how it wouldn’t be too bad, or that if we had to go home it would only be for a few weeks. Little did we know, it would be almost a year. People I would see everyday at work I haven’t seen in a whole 365 days. Nobody ever thought this would happen. And to say it has affected peoples mental health is an understatement. Anxiety and depression rates have soared and life is so uncertain at the moment. It’s a scary and confusing time for us all. This time has been so lonely and isolating for so many people. With months spent at home with nothing to do but think. It can all get a bit too much if you think about it.
In Todays post I wanted to share some things you can do to help to reduce/manage your pandemic anxiety. These are some of the things I have been doing to help calm myself whenever I feel overwhelmed by it all.
SWITCH OFF THE NEWS
One of the first things I did when it all got too much was turning off the news. I sort of went from one extreme to another. I had the news on almost all of the time. And if I didn’t have the news on, I was Googling everything. I wanted to know the risks, I wanted to know how it would affect my life. I slowly started to realise this was doing me no good. Hearing about all the deaths everyday and all the people losing their loved ones, is enough to make anyone depressed.
Turning off the news but still staying informed is how I am now. I know the current levels of infections but I don’t let it rule my life. It’s made me feel so much more free. I do make sure that I keep up to date with some stats, I don’t want to become ignorant to what’s going on around m I am slowly learning to live with this virus, and I think thats what we all should be doing.
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ONLY DO WHAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING
We all have choices in this life. We are free to choose what to do, but of course we are then subject to the consequences afterwards. Remember to only do what you feel comfortable doing. If the government in your country says you can gather, but you don’t want to. Then don’t. Just because they say something is allowed doesn’t mean you have to do it.
I think there will be alot of post pandemic anxiety too. I for one know that I am worried about life after the pandemic and what it will look like for us. Will there be masks? Will there be social distancing restrictions in place? Who knows. But even then, I will only be doing what I feel comfortable doing.
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TAKE IT EASY IF YOU CAN
Something that I have done during this pandemic (which I shouldn’t have), is trying to keep up my old life. For months I tried to be as active as I was when going into the office or seeing friends at the weekend. I felt guilty for relaxing and not wanting to be active and get outside. But friend, we are in a global pandemic. Our old lives are on hold, it’s near impossible to keep up the same standard as your old life. I tried everyday to put makeup on and do my hair, when in reality it didn’t matter if I did or not.
Once I switched my mind set I became so much more happier with life. I stopped putting pressure on myself to lose weight and bake banana bread. I started to live my new temporary life and it brought me so much more joy. Than putting unnecessary pressure on myself.
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BE WELL PREPARED
If you do plan to go out when it’s safe to do so, remember to be prepared. Preparation is key for me and my anxiety. If it makes you feel better then plan everything out. Write a checklist including remembering your mask, hand sanitiser, gloves. Time your trip out around times of the day when you know the supermarket or park will be quiet. I have found that large groups of people make me nervous now, because I worry about spreading germs. So I make sure I go to the supermarket when its quieter.
There are little things you can do throughout your day to reduce your anxiety and being prepared is one of them.
Do you have pandemic anxiety? How do you manage it? Are you anxious about post pandemic?
There is one thing we can all agree on, and that its really hard to not feel anxious about the future. It’s never been more uncertain. But there are steps we can all take to reduce our own anxiety and make a life that little more bright.
Olivia x
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Thanks alot!
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Very well put. I have had ups and downs with my anxiety towards the pandemic. I’m worried about the behavior to come when things do ease, based on how badly people behaved when they ease even slightly last year. I turned off the news and stopped reading it because it just made me worse. Also found something positive to do, like my crocheting so I don’t focus on the negative. Thanks for sharing your tip Olivia ☺️
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Yes I am worried about that too. I don’t want us to go back into that mindset we had before the pandemic. I want us to keep the new behaviours we have developed. But I have a feeling it will all be forgotten!
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As do I but we shall see if the majority have learnt from the last time. We will stick to our guns and move forward safely ☺️
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I understand what you mean about not watching the news. There’s a fine line between staying informed on the important stuff (what’s open vs closed, mask laws, vaccine rollout plans) and obsessing over everything. My husband never misses the news. I finally just told him to tell me if there’s anything I need to know. I was just sick of hearing about it all the time.
Overall, I’ve been coping fine but it is starting to get to me. That said, while I miss gatherings, and concerts and theatre performances, I’m in no big hurry to gather with large groups of people.
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It can get too much cant it?! Sometimes knowing the important stuff is all we need. I can get so overwhelming and can really consume you if you aren’t careful
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Great tips, doing them all. And just taking each day as it comes
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Yes ! me too
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Some great tips! I haven’t been so bad in the pandemic but my girlfriend has struggled alot with anxiety. Particularly the advice about not going out if you’re not comfortable doing so has been very important for us!
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Aw bless her, I hope she is starting to feel better as things start easing!
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She is thank you 😊
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I have been struggling a little in the past few days because of worrying about the change… It was a drastic change last year, and I adapted, but now things are changing again and it feels overwhelming. Going from being home all the time to suddenly being out in public feels very daunting because it means getting comfortable with speaking to people face to face again. It means being judged for the weight gain. It means actually having to deal with confrontation…
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Its so crazy how we can adapt to new things, like working at home and everything else. And now that life is starting to slowly go back to the way it was, it worries us. But remember we adapted to this, so we can adapt back!
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Thanks for the encouragement 💖
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Keep writing, keep inspiring.🤗👍
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Thank you!
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My blog is helping me with my anxiety. Can anyone else here relate?! 😂 I wrote about it my latest post. It seems anxiety is a common blog topic these days. 😳
Thanks for the great read. I especially agree with switching off the news! But of course stay informed. 👍
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Mine really helps with my anxiety too!
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I loved this post, I’ve never really had an anxiety but it’s really informative! I definitely think the news can make you worry too much – sometimes switching it off is much better! Great post!!
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Yes it can! The news is such a downer most of the time!
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I can definitely relate to the news part. I was glued to my screen and news reports everyday which was not helping me at all. I eventually stopped listening and only focused on reports that immediately impacted me. I definitely feel some anxiety when going out especially in crowds which I never liked anyway. But with this pandemic it makes me more anxious. I feel naked without my mask when I remove it in public to eat or drink. Does that happen to you?
Awesome tips.
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Yes! It happens to me too. Its almost become part of my everyday outfits haha
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Honestly, fighting the urge to constantly watch the news has been SO beneficial for my mental health during the pandemic x
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Yes me too! x
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“People I would see everyday at work I haven’t seen in a whole 365 days” I feel you!!!
I feel like I have only spoken a handful of people in the last year face to face. When you live alone, it becomes even tough. This pandemic has been an rollercoaster but your point about being prepared—so accurate!! A must I believe.
Thank you for sharing😘 xx
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Thanks for reading lovely! xx
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If anything, I’m terrified about going back to the pre-pandemic World. My job involves certain policies that were enacted and I was ignored, and I carry that guilt in my isolation diaries here in my blog, but I found a way to make things work, and have a better work/life balance as well as realising what I want out of life. Lost 6 friends to covid, vulnerable myself, but keeping masked and sensible
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Wow, I am so sorry to hear you lost so many people. That must be so horrible. I am worried about it too. But we have to take each day as they come don’t we! Always here if you need someone to talk to x
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Don’t tell about “pandemic anxiety”. My mom got freaked out after knew about corona virus 🦠🦠. She literally spent her entire day on news about how many people die , where it was happen . And those news are enough to depressed anybody and she kind of addicted to it . I couldn’t see my mon like that .
I tired of her suggesting to not spent time always on news . There was nothing positive in that .
And slowly slowly she was over from it .
Like you , she also knows everything , but she adapt the lifestyle and now she is fine .
We are also having every precaution .
This virus snatch our lifestyle , prosperity, loved ones … The losses are just endless🥺
But what else option we have other than live life 🙂 .
We all are waiting for the moment when everyone will say ‘corona virus gone”🌞
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Aw! I hope your mom is doing alot better now!
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Now she is absolutely fine☺️
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This is a great post, full of simple tips that really do work. Instead of the endless scroll and continuous refreshing of my news feed, I sometimes drop out from reading the news altogether. I figured that if something major was to happen, then my family would tell me, right? If the government found time and resources to send everyone a text about lockdown, then they’d do the same again. Being constantly hyper is not healthy for me. I want my shoulders to drop, and relax.
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