The New Normal
Yesterday was my first post-quarantine outing to a social-distanced, already small restaurant. It was like getting ready for a first date or something! Real non-workout clothes, makeup, and decent hair. Just the snakeskin platform wedges were enough to make me feel like I was headed to a red-carpet affair. I arrived promptly and stood my 6 feet apart on the little yellow-tape "X"'s on the floor. We dined al fresco, again socially distanced. Grilled shrimp tacos were delicious and my two friends and I talked the hour away.
Sounds picturesque, right? Or at least selfie-worthy.
Wrong. The anxiety never left the back of my mind. I am not an anxious person. But the entire time, I thought about every surface I touched, was I breathing too deeply in other people's "air, was I remembering to NOT TOUCH MY STUPID FACE?!
When I jumped back in the car to head home and back to my WFH office, I was flooded with relief.
I am an extrovert. These thoughts are not who I am. Social anxiety has taken on a whole new meaning. For someone who simply loves being out amongst the people, this is heartbreaking and nearly debilitating.
If you Google, "COVID & extroverts", the first 5 hits are articles that were all written in April. April was Forever Ago. How many emotional phases have we experienced since then? According to a study covered in the May 5th, 2020 Washington Post, the researchers indicate that...."In general, people may underestimate their own capacity for resilience, which can bias the results of surveys exploring the psychological effects of negative events. When individuals are asked how they’re doing, relative to the past, they tend to distort their perceptions of their past selves to line up with their beliefs of how they should have changed..... we’ve been amazed by how effectively people have coped with the momentous social restrictions brought on by the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic. But these are early days: There is no way to know whether people’s feelings of social connection will remain intact as these restrictions drag on. So, yes, do check on your friends, whether they’re extroverted or introverted.
If this is the case, why are we not seeing more about the Quarantine Life as a semi-permanent thing? Maybe we need bumper stickers like the SaltLife deal. Well, maybe not quite yet. But we need to talk about it with each other. The lines of communication must stay open where we "see" each other's faces. Often. Daily. Maybe hourly. We have the technology. We need to use it. Rather than IM, video chat your colleague. Rather than text your mom, Facetime her. Let them know you simply want to see them and connect.