I was speaking with a client last week who has been working quite effectively with managing her anxiety. She spoke about a situation which had started out quite confidently – heading into a store with her mask on and her list of items; feeling no anxiety. She noted that upon entering the store, she began to notice how many people were there and a quiet unease settled in. She stated that despite her telling herself that protocol was being followed, her unease began to grow until she decided that she needed to leave.
In therapy, she was hard on herself, stating that she has never had social anxiety before and it threw her off. We explored what had happened and it would seem that it really had less to do with social anxiety and we chalked it up to ‘Covid-19 uncertainty.’
With any event that brings uncertainty, we will have some anxiety to manage. Part of that need comes from our survival brain which is always behind the scenes looking for possible danger. We are also creatures of habit who like to plan with some expectation – uncertainty tends to bring a little adventure to the mix 🙂
Covid-19 has brought with it a time of navigating waters unknown – without a captain, we are steering our ship with some instructions from the coast guard but relying mainly on our selves to determine the best course. As a result, we can give ourselves permission to ‘go with our gut’ and do what is comfortable for ourselves and for our families.
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Thank you, this makes sense. I can resonate with the your explanation of the difference between the uncertainty and anxiety.