Why 'getting back to normal' may actually feel terrifying
After a year of anxiety, anger, and burnout, many people are struggling with returning to pre-pandemic behaviors. Experts weigh in on ways to work through the trauma.
Doctors are forecasting what some experts are now calling “the fourth wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say the mental health impacts will be “profound and far-reaching,” likely outlasting the physical health impacts, and straining already-stretched mental health systems in the United States and worldwide.
While infections rage on in India and Brazil, case numbers in the U.S., Europe, and many other places have dropped dramatically and restrictions are lifting. But across the globe, many people are feeling lingering psychological effects from what has been a collective traumatic experience.
“The pandemic has produced a petri dish of psychological factors that may lead to emotional health problems: anxiety, brain fog, depression, and PTSD,” says Luana
