Holiday/Covid Anxiety

[Msheatherlady]

I haven't posted on here in a while, and generally don't unless i'm feeling anxious and it's that time again. I feel like I always get anxious around the holidays, but this year it's like a triple whammy. I'm due to get my menstrual cycle, and because I have PMDD my anxiety tends to be heightened before/during/and a little after. Normally it's totally manageable, but with the holidays and now this new covid strain it's been higher than normal. I'm so worried about getting sick and missing being able to spend time with my family. My family is really important to me and the thought of not being able to spend time with them is really getting to me. I'm trying to stay positive and not freak out or worry myself too much but it's been hard tonight. I feel like any little thing, whether it be a one cough or my throat hurting i automatically panic and think i have covid, even if i feel completely fine. I have terrible allergies and 99% of the time that's what it is, but i'm so afraid that one of these times it could be. I'm vaccinated, still need to get the booster, so that makes me feel a little better but i'm still worried.

Is anyone else feeling this way because I feel kinda crazy right now.

[Agora1]

Hi Msheatherlady, you are not crazy at all. Both children and adults are feelingthe effects of the last couple years. We must do what we can to keep safe but other

than that, we must continue to live.

Worrying has never given anyone a pass on not getting sick. Actually, if anything it

would lower your immune system. And as for the "what ifs", that too must be put

aside. What if only tends to perpetuate our anxiety and fear. If and when we do

get sick from anything, we handle it then, efficiently and safely.

I know how difficult it can be when we have Health Anxiety and other issues but we

need to keep some sense of balance or we can bring on our own delusions of illness.

I'm glad you reached out to us...You are definitely not alone in how you are feeling xx

[Blueruth]

We have learned a lot since the beginning of 2020. You can do things to be more in control of a difficult situation. Surely you can work out a safe-er way to spend time with family? As many people as can should get tested. I know tests are hard to find but you might have success with at home tests if you aren’t in the east. Don’t be afraid to get tested. Too late for Xmas but go on cvs or Walgreens and order at home tests so you have them on hand.

I would make an appointment for a booster right now and also stand in line. Your health department probably has a list where you can make an appointment online. You can cancel the appointment. The booster is your biggest protection. People with boosters are , so far, getting mild symptoms. Moderna and Pfizer are the best too. Be grateful for that!

Again, Don’t be afraid to be tested either. This variant is way more transmissible. We should all be seeking tests whenever we want.

[Msheatherlady in reply to Blueruth]

Thank you for your reply! I had a terrible time sleeping last night because of worry so i drove out this morning and was actually was able to find some at home tests and took one. Thankfully it was negative and seems to just be a cold or allergies. I have a booster appointment scheduled for Thursday this week that i scheduled last week. I was having issues with the originally place i tried to get it at and registered almost a month ago to schedule and never heard anything, so i'm going somewhere else that someone I know went to to get theres. I'm trying to stay positive. After today I'm off work til beginning of January so it should be easy for me to stay out of major social situations until Christmas. I'll probably end up at a store or two before then to pick up things, but i always have a mask on and stay away from people in stores so i should be okay. I think i just need to stay off the news as much as I can because it tends to just hype up my anxiety more.

[Blueruth in reply to Msheatherlady]

That’s fantastic! I couldn’t get an at home test unless I ordered it. Now I’m paying 150 for the rapid test!!!! And waiting 90 plus minutes.

[ZOO7]

I feel this way! I got my booster and my kids got their second shots due to age range 5-11. I worry about this every day and we did make the decision to travel via car 12 hrs to visit family in PA. I’m not sure how I’m going to survive either but I’ve made a decision to get the rapid at home test kits to test my family and we are asking all people we gather with to get tested. I think we can do all we can to keep ourselves safe. Mark, wash hands, social distance when possible. I wish you peace and I wish that for me too!!! If you find other techniques that work for you please share them. Definitely go get your booster!

[Midori]

Yes, many of us are getting slightly paranoid about Covid at the first hint of a sniffle or headache or sore throat, etc.

I'm old (73), fully vaxxed and boostered, yet I still worry about it.

I even accused my son (carer) of being hypochondriac, but he gets if from me.

I think we are all becoming more body aware, just because of this darned virus, and at the same time, becoming less keen to go out and encounter others.

Life goes on though, and If we lock ourselves away too much we will be unlikely to get back into the swing of it and end up as hermits.

Cheers, Midori