As we enter month five of social distancing as a result of COVID-19, the side effects of the pandemic continue to affect us — even those who haven’t had firsthand exposure to the illness. If you’re experiencing anxiety, depression or quarantine fatigue, you’re not alone. Nothing increases anxiety more than uncertainty, and this virus has caused uncertainty at every turn. We still don’t know when a vaccine will be available. We don’t exactly know what school is going to look like in the fall. We don’t know which businesses will survive and which ones will end up closing permanently. What about the stock market? Will I, or someone I know, get sick? With so many unknowns, it’s completely normal to feel worried right now. If we can learn to manage that worry, we can experience greater peace, reduced anxiety and a better mood.
When the world feels unpredictable and out of control, it’s easy to feel powerless, which, for many people, is one of the scariest feelings imaginable. When we feel like we don’t have control over a situation, we tend to either look for things that we can control, or we experience “learned helplessness.” Learned helplessness is basically the phenomenon that when we feel we don’t have control over our situation, we give up and behave in a helpless manner.
