Experts: Many Find Return to ‘Normal’ after COVID-19 Unsettling

Last week, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks at many indoor and outdoor locations…  But not everyone felt only relief about the announcement.

Mental Health experts explain, in a HealthDay Now interview, that the COVID-19 pandemic has left a lasting mark on people’s psyches.  They say many of us will be struggling with lingering worry for some time to come.

Psychotherapist Sherry Amatenstein says, “We lived for over a year with such fear and such uncertainty. Your body doesn’t know what to do.  Our cues are all mixed up . Suddenly what was [forbidden] is supposed to be OK again.  How do you react?”

Dr. Vivian Pender says everyone is dealing with their pandemic year through a process very similar to the stages of grief, as they deal with the shock and denial of the pandemic’s many impacts on their lives.

The experts agree that many will ease back into regular life along with the “pod” of friends and family, whom they’ve limited themselves to seeing during the pandemic.

The experts also agree that the pandemic also had a silver lining or two—for example, you likely gained some things in your life you didn’t have before, including some much-needed perspective.