Anxious about exiting lockdown?

Wherever you’re reading this, Covid-19 continues to have an impact.

I live in England, where we’re preparing to open up society wider than it’s been for over a year. The biggest concern is a virus variant first recorded in India. So far, just something to keep an eye on - nothing like the crisis this variant continues to cause in India itself, of course.

Against that background, this piece is focused on anxieties caused by easing of lockdowns. On the face of it, easing or ending a lockdown can only be a good thing. Many people have been experiencing real mental health difficulties through not being able to see family, hug, or simply wander around the shops. We have taken for granted the importance of meeting friends for coffee, or perhaps just sitting alone with a cappuccino and reflecting on the world.

Being out in the fresh air (or the fresh rain - will it ever stop?) is in itself a restorative practice, and when we do so mindfully the benefits can be profound.

And yet … opening up means mixing with and meeting other people. People who may be infectious without realising, who may not have been vaccinated yet, who may not respect your social distancing boundaries.

Opening up could mean your employer requires you to commute to the office with no full choice over who you are mixing with.

If you’re about to venture out into the world for the first time in months - perhaps in over a year - how are you feeling about that prospect?

If you’re planning to meet with family and friends, perhaps even exchanging hugs, is that simple good news or is it emotionally more complicated than that?

If you have to return to the office or other workplace, having worked from home during the pandemic, is that a source of stress or does the prospect of seeing your colleagues again outweigh any perceived risks?

Sometimes we experience low levels of anxiety without properly knowing what we’re anxious about. How do we know we’re feeling anxious? For me, it’s usually a feeling in my stomach - sometimes butterflies, sometimes a knot. Often I cannot immediately say why I’m anxious and so need to check in with myself.

How to ‘check in’? One way is to stop, make yourself comfortable, breath slowly and deeply, and notice where in your body you feel discomfort. You may find bringing that discomfort into your awareness also brings thoughts about the source of your anxiety.

Alternatively, when you stop, close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply, and you may find your thoughts continue even though you’re concentrating on your breath and telling your mind to relax.

Just now, listen to those thoughts. What are you thinking about? Is there a connection with sensations in certain parts of your body?

Perhaps you’ve now found the source of your anxiety.

Knowing what you’re anxious about doesn’t change the fact you are anxious. Perhaps you have a feeling of anxiety for a good reason. Perhaps knowing you’re - for example - not really anxious about meeting your friends for coffee after a long break, but you are anxious about the journey, allows you to change your perspective.

Of course, you may have traced an anxiety that’s not about Covid-19 at all. If only we never had more than one source of anxiety at a time! When you’re mindful of your thoughts and of your body, you can breathe anxiety away or find another way to deal with the issue.

Of course, whatever the rules say, we are free to exercise our own caution if we feel the need (requirements of employers and other agencies permitting).

As ever, remember to be mindful of your own mental health.