We are staring down a brand new phase of this COVID-19 Pandemic; the Reopening Phase. No one really knows how it will go, what the numbers will do, or even how this whole ordeal has really impacted us mentally, emotionally, or socially. Time will tell all of those things – but in the meantime, we (at least here in Ohio) are coming to the end of government-enforced restrictions. This means we CAN start doing more, but also have to make all the decisions ourselves without being able to fall back on mandates. With that comes a whole host of questions for just about anyone I’ve talked with: Do I even remember how to socialize properly? How have my relationships changed during an isolating year or so? What if I really liked spending a lot of time on my own and enjoyed a slower pace of life – do I have to go back out? How will others respond if I choose to continue/discontinue using protective measures?
We all have a lot of decisions to make regarding how we approach social gatherings, masking, distancing, travel, etc. There is a lot of factual, scientific information available with some clear recommendations, and there are also a LOT of emotions and social implications that come up with those decisions (who knew that one day wearing a face mask could be a political statement?!). I’m going to trust you are all following the science and medical advice, because I’m certainly not the person to advise you there, but I do think it is important to cope with the emotions that come with these decisions – because if we don’t cope with emotions they can overtake our decision making, and making decisions on emotion alone is not usually a great choice. Certainly not an empowered one.
Here are a few ways to cope with the emotional parts of navigating this reopening:
Step one: stop expecting yourself to know how to do something that you haven’t done before. That’s completely unrealistic and you deserve far more self-compassion than you do self-criticism. None of us know exactly how to navigate all of this.
Step two: make sure you stay connected to your Self during this reopening process. We have all had a little more time with ourselves and our own thoughts over the past year or so, don’t lose that! Everyone will have a little different approach to resuming social interaction and the “return to normal”, make your decisions intentionally and not based in guilt, fear, or shame. Practice asking yourself if guilt, fear, or shame are driving your actions, and then decide if you want to continue that path or choose a different one.
Step three: give yourself another heaping dose of self-compassion and focus on moving forward, not returning to normal. Relationships have changed during this time. We’ve learned a lot about what is most important to us – focus on creating a NEW normal that reflects those things for you. Getting a lot of pressure from others to make different choices? Time to set some clear boundaries, and maybe assess if these interactions/relationships are ones you want to carry forward into your “new normal”.
In general, staying connected to your Self (your own values, needs, etc) and giving yourself plenty of compassion and grace is the best way to manage this new season. For some, though, this won’t be enough; we know that rates of trauma, anxiety, and depression have been high in response to COVID-19 and all that has come with it - job loss, income/housing/food insecurity, grief, etc. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to seek out some support during this time; therapy can be super helpful if you are struggling to cope with the emotional impact that this pandemic has had.