Post Covid Anxiety
The past two years ensured that we got to spend a great deal of time with ourselves, and whilst time spent reflecting on oneself is often beneficial, being confined to the house day in and day out with not much to do but focus on ourselves can quickly turn sour and can make way for an onslaught of negative thinking.
The isolation and threat posed by the pandemic, as well as the lack of contact from loved ones, has left many of us feeling scared, anxious, and generally out of sorts, not just with the new world around us, but also with our sense of self. Only now that we are starting to come out the other side are we seeing the true affect that the past two years has had on us, both as individuals and as a society.
The pressure to ‘achieve’
Throughout the pandemic, the internet and social media has been our main source of information and contact, and whilst modern technology has allowed us to stay in touch with others, it has perhaps made us fall out of touch with ourselves. There was a great deal of pressure to ‘achieve’ things during lockdown. We suddenly found ourselves with a seemingly unending amount of free time, and the guilt of ensuring the time was ‘well spent’ began to creep in. We perhaps stopped listening to our own needs, whether physical or emotional, and may have found ourselves slipping into survival mode. This wasn’t helped by the constant stream of Instagram posts about sourdough starters and full-body workouts that often provoked feelings of failure at not having achieved some great feat of success during the lockdown. We didn’t start that book we had always wanted to write or transformed our bodies into the sculpted figure of an Adonis or solved world hunger – but perhaps gripping on and doing our best during a global pandemic is all we could do. Here at The Therapy Room, we recognise that this in itself is enough, and we are here to help guide you into a more comfortable space as we all start to process some of the trauma of the past two years.
Going back out into the world
Re-entering society after such a monumental experience was always going to be tricky. Confidence and social skills will have taken a knock and it will take some care and attention to get us all back to good. Like when starting anything new, slow, and steady is the way forward, and life after Covid is no different.
Be gentle with yourself, don’t try and do 100 things at once and rush yourself back to how you felt before the pandemic, recognise that there has been big change and that you are allowed to process it. Perhaps start with meeting a friend in an outside space, then work up to meeting up at home, and then maybe in a public setting like a cafe or restaurant. Slowly exposing yourself to daily activities that used to feel ‘normal’ will allow you to start regaining a sense of control after such a big stretch of uncertainty.
Check in and ask yourself how you’re doing – practicing meditation or journaling is a really great way of consciously acknowledging your feelings, honouring them rather than rushing them. Talking through these feelings in therapy can provide us with a safe, open environment to work through the messiest, most difficult parts of ourselves, and can help shed some light on why these emotions have come about and what they mean.
Clients visiting the Therapy Room will be guided to explore how their sense of self has shifted or developed during the pandemic, and what their hopes are for themselves moving forward. We will be led by you, empowering you to regain confidence in life post Covid.
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For more information or to get advice today, contact Jay Pink at jay@thetherapyroom.co.
