Today marks one week since all restrictions have been lifted in my state with the exception of Universal Masking. However, that is something that many chose not to practice or feel confident without masking in the community. While masking is still practiced in some regard, it is being part of what is a different normal.
Since the last change in the pandemic restrictions has been in place, we have seen less and less of dread, gloom and doom and the return back to normal things that were scheduled to occur last year, however did not because of the COVID cases on the rise. As a result, I have seen people eager at the bit to get out and do something. More so, it is taking me getting used to being OK doing the things that I used to do. Yes, I am doing some normal things like exercising regularly and cooking more than usual, however I realize that I need to expand my horizons more. That is because it has been determined by myself and my outpatient therapist in recent weeks that I was part of a larger picture that has experienced a phobia of going out in public because at the beginning of the pandemic, when the state eventually went into a lockdown mode, my parents specifically were afraid of going places. As such, the world in general was afraid of resuming any sense of normalcy because of the fear of getting sick.
Back then frankly, we didn’t know much about the virus as we do now, nor was a vaccine to give us extra armor. As such, if we have these things, we should use these tools along with the extra tools that we learned about during the pandemic like sanitization and masking and put them to practice as needed. However, with communities having many open-air events this past weekend, one in particular I attended wasn’t practicing social distancing or was totally masking. As a community member, I have to somehow have the belief that people are using good judgement and staying home if they are sick to prevent any possible spread.
We still honestly don’t know totally about COVID to the degree to know its true origin. We don’t honestly know what works versus what doesn’t. It can be time consuming to do the research and fact check the credibility of each and every story out there, In the end all it honestly takes is just using common sense and if we feel any sign of sickness we need to stay home, enough said. We know that we could have the potential to make others ill, whether or not it is COVID, its just common courtesy to be kind and it may be difficult, especially if we really want to do something that we have to not do it.
I for one don’t take sickness very well in any form. Likewise, if I do get sick it is very hard to stop doing my normal routine. As such, with the onset of COVID I have learned that I need to trust my gut when necessary and stay at home to protect others so they do not become ill as they reside with others and I can remain self-contained pretty much, Its just common courtesy and should have always been practiced, and I honestly think I should have been doing it a lot more in the past.
I do have to admit while It was a struggle to get out of the house this past weekend, it made me realize that I need to do it more often because it is a way of putting my fears with the pandemic behind me. I also have to trust by internal system more and realize when I am not well, although surprisingly I have been doing pretty well of recognizing when I need to take care of myself more often. As part of taking care of ourself, self-care, self-worth and self-love are part of those principles and should be a part of bettering not only our physical health but our mental health as well,
Best of luck to those who are conquering community events in the “new normal”
Dustin's Dynasty 