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Opinion | How can you tell whether Covid-19 made you overly anxious or just reasonably cautious?
The ongoing uncertainty does calls for some caution — as well as forgiveness for the decisions you and your loved ones make with incomplete information.
Every day in my still-virtual psychotherapy office, clients question whether or not to go back into their workplace, meet friends for a drink at an outdoor café, or send children back to school or college — and their own reactions to those dilemmas. A shy young woman who has enjoyed sheltering at home during Covid-19 said, “I’m not sure if my anxiety about going back to work is just my regular discomfort about being in groups, reasonable anxiety about being with people inside, or pandemic paranoia.” A new client told me, “I’ve never had any difficulty with separation before.” She said, “But now I’m afraid of letting my children out of my sight.”
Meanwhile, another client is thrilled to be returning to work. “The dangers of the virus are down right now,” they said. “Everyone’s being careful — even people on the subway are wearing masks. And it’s so wonderful being back with people, even if it’s not the full contingent of employees. Everyone was kind of giddy at work on the first day, so happy to be back together. We need this!”...
The ongoing uncertainty does calls for some caution — as well as forgiveness for the decisions you and your loved ones make with incomplete information.
Every day in my still-virtual psychotherapy office, clients question whether or not to go back into their workplace, meet friends for a drink at an outdoor café, or send children back to school or college — and their own reactions to those dilemmas. A shy young woman who has enjoyed sheltering at home during Covid-19 said, “I’m not sure if my anxiety about going back to work is just my regular discomfort about being in groups, reasonable anxiety about being with people inside, or pandemic paranoia.” A new client told me, “I’ve never had any difficulty with separation before.” She said, “But now I’m afraid of letting my children out of my sight.”
Meanwhile, another client is thrilled to be returning to work. “The dangers of the virus are down right now,” they said. “Everyone’s being careful — even people on the subway are wearing masks. And it’s so wonderful being back with people, even if it’s not the full contingent of employees. Everyone was kind of giddy at work on the first day, so happy to be back together. We need this!”...