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Psychology
Mental Health
Pandemic
Health
Stress

How to ease back into post-pandemic life, according to therapists

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Throughout the pandemic, one psychologist has seen an uptick in people seeking therapy. He expects this trend to rise as we return to normalcy.

An individual speaking with a therapist.
Everyone will have different comfort levels when transitioning back into normalcy. Photo: Maskot/Getty Images

By Kelsie Sandoval

Whether you’ve been infected with COVID-19, risked getting exposed as an essential worker, or worked from home, the pandemic has disrupted everyday life.

“A lot of us have been locked into almost like chronic stress mode,” Craig Sawchuk, a psychologist at the Mayo Clinic, told Insider.

But as more people get vaccinated and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosens its COVID-19 mitigation strategies, signs of normalcy are returning. Restaurants are opening up and some offices are letting people return to the office.

Despite the return to a semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy, lots of people will have long-term effects from the trauma they experienced.

It’s normal to take time to process a traumatic event

Sawchuk said even if a threat, like COVID-19, goes away, it takes time for our bodies and minds to readjust.

After a traumatic event, Sawchuk said it’s normal to reflect and think about the event. But it becomes a problem if people have flashbacks or…

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