By Dr Jan Orman
“I’m more scared now than I’ve been at any time in the pandemic. I don’t think I can go back to my normal life.”
That was my patient Mike’s* first comment when I saw him this week.
While much of the media is celebrating the end of CoVID-related restrictions, there are many in the community who, are not so happy about the prospect of interacting with others and possibly exposing themselves to the illness. Having some degree of anxiety about this major change in our lives is perfectly normal and many are reporting a whole range of concerns that are driving their “re-entry” anxiety.
Some recent examples of what I’m seeing in the community
We know that anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing and that in our current situation we are all experiencing some level of anxiety, but all these people and many more, need support as their anxiety threatens to interfere with their lives.
What about the health professionals?
Health professionals are not immune to re-entry anxiety. Perhaps more than other people we are very aware of the dangers of lifting the restrictions. With vaccinations available, we are better placed to keep the virus under control and we can be a little more relaxed about the possibility of getting sick ourselves or passing the virus on to our loved ones. There is still a lot of talk amongst health professionals and significant anxiety, around the possibility of future pandemics, with versions of this virus or even another virus developing. Health professionals are overworked and worried about the health system’s capacity to cope with any more surges, as well as their own.
Most media coverage on the adverse mental health effects of lockdown, focus understandably, on suicide rates, depression, substance abuse and family violence. We need to remember that anxiety is playing a big part in everybody’s lives right now. The lifting of restrictions may just uncover a lot more problems than we are anticipating.
However there are resources available to support and help us. You might like to take a look at these useful resources to help you manage any anxiety you may be feeling right now:
*Identity and some details changed
Jan is Sydney GP, private psychological medicine practitioner in Sydney’s inner west and a GP educator for Black Dog Institute.
Have you ever been on your way to work and asked yourself “I don’t really feel well . . . should I really be working clinically today” – and yet still turned up and completed a full day’s work?
*In April 2021, approximately 619,000 older Australians (aged 65 and over) were employed in the labour force", and at 66 years, I’m proud to be included in this statistic. By Tessa Moriarty
For as long as I have been in practice (and that’s a long time!) I have done my best to avoid looking after old people.