As Masks Come Off - Covid Anxiety Goes Up
by Dwight Bain, LMHC, NCC Understanding how AQ can reduce fear and help you build post-covid normal. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced they were relaxing the guidelines on wearing facemasks for fully vaccinated people you might have thought most people would feel relief. Surprisingly, you would have been wrong. Half of those surveyed about returning to their pre-pandemic lifestyles told the American Psychological Association they felt uneasy or even scared about going back to in-person interactions as the pandemic ends. Attending concerts, movies, dining in restaurants, dating, going to a sporting event or worship service, travel to visit aging relatives, or even return to their workstation inside an office building caused many to feel a sense of panic. Why would Americans be afraid to take off the facemasks they have been required to wear over a year? It has to do with understanding what the word ‘normal’ meant to them during...