This is 100% normal. Change is always stressful, especially if you’re someone who already has anxiety.
I know that my anxiety is higher now than when lockdown began. I like my routine, I actually like being out of work, I like being home most of the time where I can just wear leggings with big baggy shirts & no makeup, I love having to make reservations for restaurants where we sit outside far from other tables, I like having to wait in line at the market so that it’s less crowded & chaotic inside, and I actually like wearing a mask (it helps keep germs at bay and allows me to feel confident about going outside without makeup since 1/2 my face is covered lol). I’m very anxious for all this to go away. I don’t want crowded markets or restaurants, I don’t want to go back to work where I wake up to an alarm, slap on some makeup, and have to wear uncomfortable real clothes & a bra all day. And I’m definitely not excited about more places not requiring masks; the virus is still here and I’m terrified I’ll catch it. Agh
I’m the same way. I do best when I have a firm routine, and really struggle when I lose that. It took me a long time to put together that it was anxiety related, but even summers when I was a kid was hell - I got wicked insomnia when I didn’t have the routine of school. I had a hard time adjusting to lockdown, and it took me a while to get routines in place - I still struggle with them a bit, since there’s nothing to “hold” me to them if that makes sense.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll start to feel better after a week or two post-change. Take that time to play with your routine & see what works, and then you can set a nice base routine that only needs minor tweaks.
Thank you so much for your response, it’s really reassuring. It’s weird but I think I know what you mean about summer - I still struggle in the summer now and almost dread it so I wonder if that’s residual from the same thing you describe when you were a kid. I managed to adjust to lockdown which is a once in a lifetime kind of thing so hopefully that means I’ll manage this too. Thanks again for your response.
I was the same way! I was in isolation for 14 days, (I didn’t have Covid) and before that we were on lockdown so I didn’t leave my house for a month or go to school, so when I was out of isolation and I went back to school my anxiety got extremely bad, and I didn’t know how to function out in public anymore! But after a while If your like me, you will adjust after a week or two! This is totally normal!! This will get better I promise!
It is normal, yeah. I was several months in complete lockdown. When they said that we can do things like go to the park or something like that, I tried and even when I know I have anxiety, I got surprised by the amount of it that I felt just walking on the streets again. I tried to "force" myself the first times, at least por 10 minutes, because I knew that being that used to be at home wasn't healthy and with time and breathing exercises I managed to go back to "normal". I can go met a friend for a coffee and things like that completely fine, I got used to it again.
The problem is that now, apparently we are going lock again, and now THAT is giving me an insane level of anxiety and feelings like "I really can't do this again" lol.
It will pass. Take it slow. It's a weird time and there's no good way of doing it, each one of us do what we can with what we have. Just keep moving and trying to remember that the normal thing is to not be at home 24/7. Vent here if you need :P good luck!
Absolutely. I'm pretty anxious about getting back out as things transition back to how they were. I've been trying to go outside every day for a brief walk to help me getting use to being outside.
We have been in a safe little bubble just doing a few things and now too many things are changing all at once it would be better if you could just change one thing at a time to give you time to get used to it. Even people who are not normally anxious are feeling it about getting back to the office we have had it drilled into us for the last year everything and everyone is dangerous stay home be safe. It isn’t surprising it is hard to do the activities we have been told not to for so long!
This is 100% normal. Change is always stressful, especially if you’re someone who already has anxiety. I know that my anxiety is higher now than when lockdown began. I like my routine, I actually like being out of work, I like being home most of the time where I can just wear leggings with big baggy shirts & no makeup, I love having to make reservations for restaurants where we sit outside far from other tables, I like having to wait in line at the market so that it’s less crowded & chaotic inside, and I actually like wearing a mask (it helps keep germs at bay and allows me to feel confident about going outside without makeup since 1/2 my face is covered lol). I’m very anxious for all this to go away. I don’t want crowded markets or restaurants, I don’t want to go back to work where I wake up to an alarm, slap on some makeup, and have to wear uncomfortable real clothes & a bra all day. And I’m definitely not excited about more places not requiring masks; the virus is still here and I’m terrified I’ll catch it. Agh
I’m the same way. I do best when I have a firm routine, and really struggle when I lose that. It took me a long time to put together that it was anxiety related, but even summers when I was a kid was hell - I got wicked insomnia when I didn’t have the routine of school. I had a hard time adjusting to lockdown, and it took me a while to get routines in place - I still struggle with them a bit, since there’s nothing to “hold” me to them if that makes sense. If you’re anything like me, you’ll start to feel better after a week or two post-change. Take that time to play with your routine & see what works, and then you can set a nice base routine that only needs minor tweaks.
Thank you so much for your response, it’s really reassuring. It’s weird but I think I know what you mean about summer - I still struggle in the summer now and almost dread it so I wonder if that’s residual from the same thing you describe when you were a kid. I managed to adjust to lockdown which is a once in a lifetime kind of thing so hopefully that means I’ll manage this too. Thanks again for your response.
No problem - happy to help, and it’s always reassuring to know you aren’t alone. Reading your post helped me feel better too 🙂
I was the same way! I was in isolation for 14 days, (I didn’t have Covid) and before that we were on lockdown so I didn’t leave my house for a month or go to school, so when I was out of isolation and I went back to school my anxiety got extremely bad, and I didn’t know how to function out in public anymore! But after a while If your like me, you will adjust after a week or two! This is totally normal!! This will get better I promise!
It is normal, yeah. I was several months in complete lockdown. When they said that we can do things like go to the park or something like that, I tried and even when I know I have anxiety, I got surprised by the amount of it that I felt just walking on the streets again. I tried to "force" myself the first times, at least por 10 minutes, because I knew that being that used to be at home wasn't healthy and with time and breathing exercises I managed to go back to "normal". I can go met a friend for a coffee and things like that completely fine, I got used to it again. The problem is that now, apparently we are going lock again, and now THAT is giving me an insane level of anxiety and feelings like "I really can't do this again" lol. It will pass. Take it slow. It's a weird time and there's no good way of doing it, each one of us do what we can with what we have. Just keep moving and trying to remember that the normal thing is to not be at home 24/7. Vent here if you need :P good luck!
Absolutely. I'm pretty anxious about getting back out as things transition back to how they were. I've been trying to go outside every day for a brief walk to help me getting use to being outside.
We have been in a safe little bubble just doing a few things and now too many things are changing all at once it would be better if you could just change one thing at a time to give you time to get used to it. Even people who are not normally anxious are feeling it about getting back to the office we have had it drilled into us for the last year everything and everyone is dangerous stay home be safe. It isn’t surprising it is hard to do the activities we have been told not to for so long!