{"id":672,"date":"2020-08-21T16:43:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T20:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/?p=672"},"modified":"2020-08-24T10:04:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T14:04:50","slug":"how-to-cope-with-re-entry-anxiety-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/how-to-cope-with-re-entry-anxiety-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Cope With Re-entry Anxiety During COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How
Photo: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first months of quarantine weren\u2019t as hard for Rachel Kirchner, 41, as she\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n

There were disappointments, of course\u2014no summer camps, a canceled trip to Israel\u2014but the Potomac mother of three adapted relatively easily to ordering groceries online and only venturing out when absolutely necessary. (The above-ground pool her family recently added to the backyard did provide some relief.)<\/p>\n

As Montgomery County inches into reopening, though, Kirchner is finding that her anxiety is inching up as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuarantine is definitely getting harder now that people are doing less of it,\u201d she says.
\n\u201cI feel like the world isn\u2019t ready to reopen, and it\u2019s going to be harder for us to continue to make safe choices if more people around us are not making safe choices. It\u2019s stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experiencing re-entry anxiety<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Feeling something similar? According to North Bethesda psychologist Brooke Stipelman, your worry is completely normal. \u201cWhen quarantine started, we had several months where we were sent this strong message of \u2018you need to stay home to be safe,\u2019 so it\u2019s going to take time for the resonance of that message to lose its power,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The first step to quelling re-entry anxiety is gathering the knowledge necessary to assess your ability to safely reenter the world around you. While a second wave of cases is hitting cities like Houston and Miami, things are, according to Dr. Manu D. Kaushal, trending in the opposite direction for Montgomery County. He should know\u2014as MedStar Montgomery Medical Center<\/a>\u2019s Director of Critical Care and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Kaushal spent most of April and May tending to COVID-related cases in the ICU, but he has seen a steady decline through June.<\/p>\n

As the months have progressed, Dr. Kaushal has noted the same new symptoms as the CDC. \u201cWe are now aware that loss of taste and smell is a major sign, and we have seen patients with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in addition to runny nose, coughing, fever and muscle ache,\u201d he says and urges anyone experiencing such symptoms to get tested and self-isolate immediately. (This is true even if you\u2019ve already had COVID-19, as cases of reinfection are being reported.)<\/p>\n

When it comes to educating himself about local spread, Kaushal eschews national media outlets in favor of local portals\u2014and suggests that you do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much data, and a lot of it does not pertain to you,\u201d he says. \u201cThe best thing to use locally is the dashboard on Montgomery County\u2019s website<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stipelman agrees. \u201cPeople tend to overestimate perceptions of a threat, especially [when they see it] all the time on the news and social media. You have to be careful about where you get your information. Rely on objective state and county data. That can help you make decisions that are proportionate to your individual level of risk based on where you live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Per Kaushal, the most important stats to track on this front are the positivity rate of local testing results\u2014\u201cIt should stay under five percent,\u201d he says\u2014and intensive care utilization, which \u201cshould stay under 70 or 80 percent.\u201d These stats will become especially important if, as Kaushal and many other medical experts predict, we see a resurgence of cases in the fall or winter.<\/p>\n

Taking small steps<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In the meantime, if you do not fall into a high-risk category, you can mitigate anxiety surrounding a return to \u201cnormal\u201d life by taking small steps and being strategic about the activities you choose to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t go from completely isolating yourself at home to being in a crowded indoor bar,\u201d says Stipelman. Instead, she recommends a form of treatment called exposure therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cExposure therapy is essentially facing your fear,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf you can confront it, you\u2019re more likely to see that the terrible thing you\u2019ve been thinking about actually won\u2019t come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

To exercise a form of exposure therapy on yourself, Stipelman recommends creating a list of activities that vary in levels of exposure and risk. Try something that carries very little risk, like walking outside, and slowly work your way up to something like grabbing ice cream with a friend as you begin to feel more comfortable. Do so while wearing a mask and maintaining distance and you\u2019ll continue to minimize risk while reacclimating in a way that works for you.<\/p>\n

When making your list, choose activities that are meaningful so the reward of the activity will outweigh the risk.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more: A new book by Bethesda native George Zaidan<\/a> examines packaged ingredients we consume and apply on our bodies every day<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cDo the things that are going give you the most joy,\u201d Stipelman says. \u201cIf someone is
\nextroverted, an outdoor interaction with friends is going to feel very fulfilling, but maybe they\u2019ll skip getting a pedicure because they can do that by themselves at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what happens if you make it out, only to be hit with a bout of panic in the middle of soup aisle? For situations like this, Stipelman uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help clients reframe negative thoughts in a way that\u2019s more neutral and balanced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go to the store and someone passes by you without a mask, you could start to feel anxious that you\u2019ve contracted the virus,\u201d she says. \u201cRather than letting your thoughts spiral, begin to challenge them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the likelihood that person has the virus? If they do have it, what\u2019s the likelihood that you were exposed to enough of it in moment they passed to actually get you sick? And if you do get sick, what\u2019s the likelihood you would become seriously ill? Asking yourself these questions will provide a more realistic perspective on the situation.<\/p>\n

If that fails, try a deep breath\u2014four seconds on the inhale, six on the exhale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about anxiety is that it\u2019s very future-oriented,\u201d says Stipelman. \u201cAnything that redirects your attention to the here and now is helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A version of this story appeared in the August-September issue<\/a> of Montgomery Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Feeling anxious about returning to “normal” life during a pandemic is understandable, but experts say there are ways to mitigate your fears. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,61],"tags":[56,99,98],"yoast_head":"\nCoping with Re-entry Anxiety During COVID-19 - Montgomery Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If the thought of returning "normal" life during a pandemic is creating re-entry anxiety, don't worry: there are ways to mitigate your fears.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/how-to-cope-with-re-entry-anxiety-during-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Coping with Re-entry Anxiety During COVID-19 - 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