Thinking covid anxiety is just as big a problem

[EeeICouldRipATissue]

I thought right from the start of the pandemic that all the lockdowns and constant stay at home messages would create a lot of mental health problems/anxiety and looking at some of the threads on here, and attitudes from some I know in real life, I think it's true.
Don't get me wrong, I have 100% stuck to all the rules right from the very beginning and always have (and will keep on doing so)
I know this isn't AIBU board, but AIBU to think covid anxiety and issues aren't being taken seriously enough or recognised?

I think those people had anxiety anyway but for different reasons. Tbh back in 2020 when there was people on here arguing that you shouldn’t leave the house even for exercise there was almost a competitiveness of how well people were keeping everyone safe and not being selfish. Some anxiety or perhaps some on a wind up mission I don’t know . I personally couldn’t be arsed with it I didn’t see me calling at a shop was causing a risk or being selfish. Especially when you hear that in fact out leaders not only ignored the rules in fact had parties it’s laughable if it wasn’t so serious. It’s understandable for some that the rules were stay at home but some are serious worriers in all eventualities and covid was just another thing to worry about . It’s sad to live like that and there is no answer to stop being like that . I sympathise until anxiety is passed onto others like their children and they genuinely get upset and angry that you aren’t terrified that’s what is scary imo .

The thing is, there is nothing more that can be done. Everyone has been vaccinated and we are having the most mild variant to date. There is no other choice than to remove restrictions - particularly as there is no money to pay for restrictions. My 40yo brother nearly died in ICU from covid so I’m not complacent about it and don’t dismiss the anxiety that many people are suffering from. There are just no other options now.

Some people need shooting over their behaviour though. I know someone who told their employer they were so terrified of covid (40s, healthy) that they could not come to the office a single time for the past 2 years. Employer supportive, despite others going in to work when required and behaviour impacting on others. Person not too afraid to go on holiday though and got covid with no issue.

Anxiety is not always rational. Even if it is, its advisable to work on it, work on ways round it.

pawpaw, did your GP make that comment recently? is your Gp saying your anxiety is still rational now, now that isolating is stopping. What is your GP suggesting as ways round this, ways to improve it. Or is the GP suggesting that you remain home for another 2 years, or indefinitely?

@Oblomov22

pawpaw, did your GP make that comment recently? is your Gp saying your anxiety is still rational now, now that isolating is stopping. What is your GP suggesting as ways round this, ways to improve it. Or is the GP suggesting that you remain home for another 2 years, or indefinitely?

Rational as in I should be avoiding crowded places and not planning to return to unventilated workspace when I can WFH absolutely fine I'm one of the critically vulnerable and a 5th vaccine has just been talked about. If I get covid then I will need anti virals/antibodies

So my anxiety increasing is actually entirely rational that I don't want to be in contact with people with covid

I think what has been really damaging is that before the vaccinations, people weren't taking the anxiety of the CEV people seriously. my husband was laughed at by colleagues, they wouldn't keep distance or wear their masks. he will never trust or respect them again and feels let down by the company and I don't think I'm being dramatic if I say it has left him a bit traumatised. the message he received, is that they don't care if he dies

Can we just stop framing “covid anxiety” as purely a mental health issue?

Yes, some people have health anxiety but I shouldn’t have to reveal my diagnosis to avoid advice or abuse about being afraid of a “mild” virus. It’s getting incredibly frustrating.

I follow my consultant’s advice. I’ve just had my 4th vaccine. I avoid supermarkets and public transport etc because I don’t want illness to delay my treatment or infect other vulnerable people who I’m treated with, and that’s without thinking about the potential long term complications of covid.

The very small number of other countries that have ended legally required covid restrictions have kept very strong guidance on staying at home and mask wearing. Given how many people are excited about ending testing and going out when they’re just a little ill, it’s perfectly rational to want to avoid them. The knowledge that for many people the minor inconvenience of mask wearing is worse than the death of clinically vulnerable people is pretty scary.

Oblomov, jeez, drop the obsession with GPs. Most people are not getting diddly squat in terms of help from their GPs. And in fairness, GPs don't have any magic answers to a form of anxiety that is, fundamentally, rooted in two years of social anxiety and reading scary media.

The very small number of other countries that have ended legally required covid restrictions have kept very strong guidance on staying at home and mask wearing

That's not true. ROI is dropping mask mandates from the end of Feb. Testing is being wound down. I know that Norway has no stay at home mandate any more.

Covid anxiety certainly isn't just a mental health issue though, especially to those who are still high risk if they caught covid despite being fully vaxxed. It's a genuine physical health anxiety especially when their consultant has told them to continue "shielding" as much as possible, continue to wear masks, continue to social distance, etc.

My sister was in the clinically vulnerable group and in the first wave was told to not even leave the house. I remember her asking me if I thought it would be OK for her to walk around the deserted fields opposite her house if she didn't touch the gates...

Fast forward 2 years she doesn't do anything because she has poor mental health (has had for a long time). When she weighs things up she comes to the conclusion they're not worth the risk. Hairdressers, gym, support groups- she hadn't returned to any of these. All the things that would help her with her mental health. She belongs to Facebook groups with other clinically vulnerable people and has come to the conclusion that no one else at risk is doing much. I have tried to say that they are probably the ones who post more but it is impossible for her to get perspective. She doesn't work and so hasn't been forced to interact with others. I don't see her being able to move on.

I know someone who is still very very anxious about covid to the point where I’m quite worried about her. She’s young-ish, no conditions which would make her particularly at risk, has had two vaccines plus booster and caught covid pre-vaccine and got a mild case then. But is really worried, and is sure the government is covering up the real truth of how it’s going to be a mass disabling event.

She’s at least sent her kids back to school now which is progress. Earlier on her partner was as worried but he’s not so scared now. But she is limiting family contact, hobbies, travel, work opportunities, a whole lot of things, and she’s still so worried about it, and it seems like she’s feeling increasingly despairing and unheard as more and more people in her social circle are going back to normal.

I don’t know what would help her or people like her. I guess covid going away would do it, but failing that? It’s feeling like she’s on the border of conspiracy theory type thinking now. But what can you do? She certainly wouldn’t welcome some kind of “get back to society” mental health outreach from the government she thinks are evil eugenicists who want people dead…

@ TheKeatingFive
Yes, mandates are being replaced with guidance. I don’t think we disagree.

Nowhere is scrapping the guidance to wear masks or to stay home when sick.

Nowhere is scrapping the guidance to wear masks or to stay home when sick.

But guidance means squat. As of end of February, ROI will have no mask mandate. Naturally you can wear one if you want. Same as U.K.

As for staying home when sick, there is no mandate to do that in Norway, you can if you want, same as U.K.

In ROI, most people won't know they have covid as PCRs will be available for over 65s only and LFT has never been free. So if you want to test, and are happy to pay for it, you can - same as uk.

I think it is entirely normal and almost expected for most of us to have our mental health effected to various degrees. I remember being scared that someone had coughed in the street and that somehow it would come up to my flat window. And then to have restrictions change on a regular basis and to see the very worst of how selfish we are as a society truly depresses me.
I was also on the flip side of having a newborn in lockdown 2 and the depression was the worst I have ever felt in my life.

I have been fortunate enough not to have caught it. I do not want to catch it. I will do everything I can to limit my exposure to it whilst still ensuring that we live our lives. I will wear a mask, limit indoor activities with crowds, isolate if I have symptoms. Its not a big ask to me.

It's a massive problem.

And I'm not having a go OP, but I find it interesting that you were very quick to reassure us you had stuck to all the rules and will continue to do so.

There's been a massive amount of this - people wanting to be seen to do the right thing even though they know in their logical brain that lots of these rules were utter bullshit. That's very worrying.

This blanket shutting down of normal society, economic activity and education in order to prop up a failing health service, and people's wholesale buckling under the pressure of propaganda and nudging, must never happen again.

I agree with you. Im not sure what we’re arguing about.

My point was aimed at the “Pandemic’s over!!” people. It’s not. It’s still dangerous. The government should be doing everything it can to support people to follow the guidance.

@Butteryflakycrust83

think it is entirely normal and almost expected for most of us to have our mental health effected to various degrees.

this exactly. we can't expect to be untouched by a global virus. I think maybe the shock in discovering that this has quite significant ramifications for mental and physical health, is quite a privileged one. as in, in many countries, we are generally well protected from these things

I agree with you. Im not sure what we’re arguing about.

Ok fair enough

My point was aimed at the “Pandemic’s over!!” people. It’s not. It’s still dangerous.

Well not at a population level. And not for the vast majority of individuals. For some, yes.

"Anxiety" in the mental illness sense is usually taken to mean unfounded or disproportionate anxiety, which either causes a lot of distress, or causes you to lead a life worse than the life you'd lead if you did the thing you're anxious about. And I'm sure at least some of the people still restricting their lives a lot due to Covid would fall into that kind of group. But I'm not sure that framing all worry about Covid as though it's clinical dysfunctional anxiety is very helpful. There's an awful lot of CEV and immunocompromised people out there for whom every time restrictions are lifted, the outside world gets genuinely a little more dangerous. So the more that the general public are convinced everything's over, the more they need to restrict themselves voluntarily. It might look similar to a clinical anxiety disorder, but depending on their medical situation, it could be an entirely rational response to real risks (albeit one which takes a heavy toll on their mental health).

I've experienced clinical anxiety so bad I've had to stay in a mental hospital, and at a lesser level through several periods of my life. I've used medication, therapy, time, and sheer hard work and stubbornness to beat it, though I know it could come back. I'm not unfamiliar with anxiety disorders and how they can feel, and don't make judgements about people who have them or object to people noticing when I'm exhibiting anxiety-based behaviour.

I'm also currently avoiding leaving the house except for medical stuff, because DP and I are both CEV and were advised to shield, and he's very concerned about the high infection rates locally and the waning of immunity from our boosters. I'd be happy with a slightly higher level of risk-taking, but as we share a house and a bed, it makes sense to agree on a mutually-acceptable level of risk-taking. This doesn't feel like "anxiety", except in the everyday usage of "having a concern about a particular bad thing happening".

@Hotcuppatea

The problem with anxiety is the more it's pandered to, the bigger it gets. The solve for people's Covid anxiety is to do all of the things that worry them: go into a busy shop, ride a bus, hug a friend, etc. You can do it gradually. Small steps. Take a friend if it helps.

Don't wait until you feel ready, because you'll never feel ready. You have to feel the anxiety and do it anyway. That's the only route out of this.

How patronising.

It's also possible that some people are being more cautious than necessary due to an honest miscalculation of the risk due to inadequate/insufficient information or incorrect understanding of that information, but unless that's driven by anxiety-based thinking, it's still not useful to frame it as anxiety (of the clinical, mental illness variety).

I'd agree that "feel the anxiety and do it anyway" is basically the way you deal with an anxiety disorder, but is it the way you deal with justified caution around exposing yourself to something that's particularly dangerous to you?

This blanket shutting down of normal society, economic activity and education in order to prop up a failing health service, and people's wholesale buckling under the pressure of propaganda and nudging, must never happen again

I would like this on a t-shirt please.

@ClumpingBambooIsALie

yes exactly, in most circumstances the risk that you are anxious about isn't usually death, is it. feel the fear and do it anyway is a lot less cool, when you really might die