Post-pandemic Anxiety

Of course the pandemic kept us anxious, that’s how pandemics roll. But how do we unclench? How do we go back to normal when that word has lost all meaning? How do we adjust to fitted clothes after a sweet eternity in sweatpants? 

Try these writing prompts to help refocus your strength, wrangle ruminating thoughts and find your footing in the shifting sands of change.

1. A nervous flutter in the stomach is all it takes to send a message of fear to the four corners of our minds. When it shows up, write it down.  Articulation alone brings down a panic that says that everything is terrible and the only solution is to run away. Once written, these thoughts become tangible, you can bottom line your concerns and keep residual nervous energy contained in writing you can continue processing over time. Write two actionable steps you can take to prepare or soothe yourself, like visualizing your return to work in the most advantageous light, or making time to rest in acknowledgment that stress is depleting and it’s ok to recuperate.

2. The pandemic changed how we worked, socialized, celebrated and communicated. Life is not the same shape it used to be, and now we’re left wondering why nothing fits into the same slots as before. Things are unruly, like that ball of wires in your junk drawer you can neither untangle nor throw away, but unravel a little and suddenly you find that power cord to your 8-track player you will definitely need someday. Write about the things you missed during the pandemic, what would you welcome back? What new developments are you curious to see? Play up the positives, energetically shift nervous avoidance into excitement and dread-filled lethargy into focused readiness.  

3. The irony of pandemic isolation is that we have never been more connected, tethered by common trauma and neck pain from hunching over computer keyboards. We were all together in our separate lockdowns, and now we are all easing back into the pool step by step, gripping the metals handrails with white knuckles. Write about our commonalities, our shared weariness and trepidation to go back to a weird world that was already pretty weird. Remind yourself that you are not alone, and that person you see as you again walk once familiar streets probably feels much the same way you do.