Anxious about getting sick

[julia241977]

My anxiety's been pretty okay during lockdown. Staying inside meant I never had to worry about getting sick. But now, things are starting to reopen, and my job is starting (we can't work from home). I've been wearing a mask, washing my hands, doing all the right things! But I can't shake the worry that it's only a matter of time before I get sick.

I'm young, healthy, white middle class. If I get sick, I'll probably be okay. But I've heard about the small fractions of young healthy ppl that are hit hard by this virus. The people that end up in the hospital, have strokes, or die on a ventilator. And I can't help but worry that I'll be one of these people; every time I cough I worry it's the beginning of the end for me.

How can I shake my fears? Any advice for anxious ppl who have to leave home for work?

[glassgirlw]

Honestly I’ve been working outside my home throughout the pandemic - and yeah at first I was obsessively cleaning and disinfecting everything in sight and the office surfaces and barring customers from coming inside the office (made them wait outside and we would take paperwork out to them) - and slowly over the last month or so I’ve loosened up “some”, it’s not at the forefront of my mind every minute like it was. Or, it’s just become “normal”, one of the two. But my anxiety isn’t quite as bad as it was at the beginning. You may just have to give it time. I don’t know that there’s a quick answer unfortunately.

[Fishmanpa]

Same here G-Girl... I'm in essential services and have been working throughout. The company has put in place a COVID playbook of sorts and they've taken steps to protect and help us for which I'm grateful but its still stressful nonetheless. There really isn't a quick answer or solution. We all have to find our way of dealing with this regardless of our personal circumstances. It keeps coming back to what the experts are saying. Wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands.

Positive thoughts