Life is Returning to Normal, So Why Do You Feel Anxious?
June 8, 2021
You’re fully vaccinated, New York is reopening, and life is getting back to normal. So, why are you anxious? Instead of joy, you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and can’t stop asking yourself: How should I behave around others? Should I continue to physically distance? Should I shake a stranger’s hand? Do I even want to?
After more than a year of social distancing and without knowing who is fully vaccinated, returning to ‘normal’ may feel scary, especially if you already live with anxiety, according to Dr. Susan Evans, Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry. “Anxious individuals worry,” Dr. Evans says. “Whenever there is uncertainty about the future, there is the likelihood for increased worry and anxiety,” she says.