During the lockdown, a lot of people felt disconnected and yearned to get back out to socialise. Most people missed meals out with loved ones, drinks with friends and dating apps became unused and redundant. Now that lockdown has eased, we are all ready to go! Or are we? An Anxiety UK survey says otherwise, showing that our anxiety levels have grown immensely during isolation, leaving us disorientated with the post-lockdown world. It appears that as we fear COVID-19 less and less, we’ve started to fear social situations more and more. So now that our isolating days are over, how can we make sure we don’t continue to self-isolate out of fear?
1) Take baby steps
Just as we eased into lockdown, we also have to ease ourselves out of it. Go at your own pace and with what makes you feel comfortable. Give yourself small achievable goals such as going out for a one hour walk or seeing one friend at a time. Imagine it like bodybuilding, with each workout making you stronger and ready to take on new challenges.
2) Change your routine
Having a routine is a great way to stay organised and propel your day forward, however, the routines we’ve created during lockdown are due for some reassessment. When your day is based around being indoors, it will look very different to a day of work, socialising and going out. The routines we formed helped us to cope, but now we need to get back out there! This doesn’t mean you should change every part of your day, start with something small like having your coffee at a café instead of at home and build up from there. Soon you’ll forget what it’s like to spend all day indoors.
3) Relax on control
The inability to control what is happening around you leads to fear, panic and an inability to function properly. During COVID-19 our homes and immediate surroundings were safe, immovable, and always in our control. Social situations are a far cry from this level of security and without the day-to-day practice of dealing with unpredictability, it will easily send us reeling. So what’s the key? Get back into practising! Keep in your mind the things that you can control, which is yourself and your actions. Take this mentality with you while you take your baby steps and change your routines and you are on your way to being a social butterfly!
4) Ask for help
It’s no easy feat to take on the challenges of anxiety alone, and luckily you don’t have to! If you are feeling overwhelmed it might be time to reach out for some help. You can take a look at therapies used to help anxiety such as CBT or why not contact me today to discuss your needs and ways I can help you get back out there!
