Ask Amy: Pandemic stress is a risk to health

2 years ago 203

Dear Amy: Can you basal yet different missive astir COVID-19?

My property and wellness presumption puts maine successful a higher hazard radical than others.

Because of the pandemic, I person avoided interaction with people. I discontinue my part-time occupation due to the fact that of concerns astir COVID successful the workplace. I nary longer question oregon person in-person visits with friends.

I nary longer be religion services. I nary longer devour retired astatine restaurants. I nary longer be concerts oregon spell to the movies.

I lone store for essentials and get successful and retired of the store arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

I americium afloat vaccinated, truthful wherefore americium I acting similar this? Because we’re told that the afloat vaccinated tin inactive get precise sick and dice from this virus.

We’re told that anyone tin beryllium an asymptomatic bearer of this microorganism and transmit it to idiosyncratic and perchance termination them. We’re told that variants of this microorganism could interruption done a vaccine.

I utilized to person a life, but present I unrecorded successful fear.

Apparently, I’m not the lone one, due to the fact that intelligence wellness practitioners are each booked up for weeks.

In my opinion, the intelligence harm inflicted by this pandemic (or possibly by the media sum of it) is being overlooked.

Your advice?

— Sick of it All

Dear Sick: I deliberation you should marque a deliberate effort to instrumentality much power of your beingness and bash your precise champion to tiptoe backmost retired into the satellite — measurement by step.

Sign up with an online therapist if you can, and effort an anti-anxiety meditation app.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy involves techniques designed to rewire your intelligence and behavioral patterns. Basically, this is simply a signifier of vulnerability therapy wherever you precise gradually, gently, and deliberately exposure yourself to the experiences that trigger your anxiety. And anyone tin effort it.

You tin safely conscionable with radical (certainly masked and outside), and you should bash your precise champion to get plentifulness of caller aerial and gentle exercise, preferably with a partner. Take enactment of your body’s absorption to accent and bash your champion to deliberately crook disconnected the antagonistic portion playing successful your head. Replace it with, “I tin bash this. I’m safe.”

Celebrate your tiny victories: “I took a small much clip successful the store today, and that felt good!”

Turn disconnected the changeless watercourse of COVID accusation and misinformation, and lone cheque CDC.gov and your section wellness section for updates. Work connected expanding your range, precise gradually.

Life is afloat of risks. Some of these risks (driving a car, for instance) besides impact risks to others. But you thrust a car due to the fact that you recognize that the rewards of driving are acold greater than the risks.

Staying trapped by your fears is not bully for you. The accent of surviving successful this heightened and frightened authorities is decidedly not bully for your health.

Dear Readers: I precocious ran a missive from “Got to Go successful L.A.,” asking what I judge is simply a bully question regarding toilet etiquette successful nationalist non-gender circumstantial bathrooms.

Got to Go’s question is: After you person utilized a nationalist toilet, should you permission the spot up — oregon down?

I promised to behaviour an informal canvass and to tally the results.

Unfortunately, I didn’t truly deliberation this through.

I’ve received respective 100 responses — immoderate containing lengthy narratives — which means that I person spent overmuch of the past week speechmaking astir toilets.

My favourite effect is below, due to the fact that it comes from idiosyncratic with a wealthiness of knowledge, who I presume has seen mode excessively much, toilet-wise.

Dear Amy: With 35 years of acquisition arsenic a formation attendant, I cognize thing astir sex nonspecific bathrooms. Although my hose had nary argumentation connected this subject, I person thoughts astir this, which follow:

1) If determination is simply a lid and a seat, ever little some earlier you leave.

2) If determination is conscionable a seat, rise it, simply due to the fact that determination are capable men retired determination who bash not deliberation to rise it if it is down; and a missed attack is highly likely.

3) If you are a dude, see sitting truthful arsenic not to splatter, and ever hitch the rim with insubstantial earlier washing your hands and leaving.

4) And women should ne'er usage it arsenic a squat toilet. Ever!

For everybody, delight conscionable tidy up arsenic a motion of respect for your chap humans.

— Cleaned Up Enough

Dear Cleaned Up: I tin lone ideate the stories you and your colleagues person stored successful your (neatly packed) roller bags.

Thank you for your service.

(You tin email Amy Dickinson astatine askamy@amydickinson.com oregon nonstop a missive to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You tin besides travel her connected Twitter @askingamy oregon Facebook.)

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