Just Unlocked a New Horror: Post-Covid Anxiety
There are some striking results from the post-covid process.
Coronavirus has led to an approximately 40% increase in mental health problems, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other stress-related disorders. During the pandemic process, lots of people have lived through isolation and severe stress etc. It has also fired up our fears about becoming ill and given us new kinds of anxiety. Since the strict rules have been released a bit, the anxiety seems to have greatly increased. And this increase is not something to be underestimated.
If you feel like your health-related anxiety has increased, it is understandable and expected. You should know that you are not alone.
After getting close to the old normality, we are encountering increased anxiety. According to a study published recently, 30% of people have developed anxiety symptoms. For instance, my gal pals and I do some post-covid gatherings. And we are questioning whether we should hug or not. Even though we say “Let’s hug”, I can’t let go of my fear of being infected. The fear of becoming infected after touching someone or something is actually one of the post-covid anxiety symptoms.
Another symptom is intrusive thoughts. They can happen during the daytime or at night. At night, the thoughts show themselves as nightmares. As an example, I sometimes see in my dreams going out without my mask on. Afterwards, I started panicking and running towards my home. Even I try to stop my thoughts; it is in my deep subconscious. Therefore, it is recurring. This frightening, dream-loop has become my personal hell.
Other symptoms include fear of losing one’s job, fear of foreigners (who may be carriers of infection), and agoraphobia (fear of open spaces).
Yet, not all the news is bad.
As stated in the research, having a low level of anxiety causes us to be more aware of approaching threads. In this case, it makes us more cautious about our hygiene behaviors. So, it can be said that a low level of anxiety is normal and mostly manageable.
However, if the anxiety is unmanageable and interferes with the daily routine, it is also normal to look for professional help. The effectiveness of structured therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy, has been proven for post-covid anxiety. In a nutshell, these therapies facilitate overcoming the anxiety crisis.
In conclusion, it seems that the current pandemic is coming to an end in some parts of the world and in other parts of the world it is not at all coming to an end. So many people have suffered from different kinds of problems during the pandemic. It has been devastating at physical and psychological levels. Even though the pandemic rules have lost their consistency during this phase, lots of people by this stage have developed at least one stress or anxiety-related disorder. On the other hand, low levels of anxiety help us to be more careful in a way. Yet, if you feel like any of the explained symptoms are interfering with your daily functioning, going to see a therapist/counselor is also okay. Seeking mental health help should be encouraged and normalized.
