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Commentary
COMMENTARY: WITH OMICRON THREAT, WILL RETURNING TO OFFICES AND SCHOOLS BRING NEW
ANXIETIES?
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Commentary
COMMENTARY: WITH OMICRON THREAT, WILL RETURNING TO OFFICES AND SCHOOLS BRING NEW
ANXIETIES?
It sounds counter intuitive to dread greater freedom of movements as we move
into endemic living but there are those who feel an acute sense of fear, says a
KTPH psychologist.
Office workers at Market Street Interim Hawker Centre on Jan 3, 2022, around
noon. (Photo: CNA/Grace Yeoh)
MABEL YUM
Mabel Yum
05 Jan 2022 06:06AM (Updated: 05 Jan 2022 06:06AM)
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SINGAPORE: Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic started, a friend of my part-time
cleaner – let’s call her Madam Lee – stopped work completely.
The 56-year-old had been working as a cleaning lady for homes but decided it was
not safe to continue. She cut down almost all interaction with the outside
world.
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Two years on, vaccines have been delivered to the majority of Singaporeans and
safe management measures are implemented to help us live with the virus. But
Madam Lee is still staying home most of the time and unwilling to venture out.
Singapore has put in place a system that will allow us to live with the virus.
And even with new variants emerging, gradual reopening is happening. From Jan 3
(Mon), work from home is no longer the default arrangement and 50 per cent of
employees can return to the office. Larger work-related events of up to 1,000
people can also take place with safety measures in place.
Bigger crowds have been a common sight in our malls especially during the
festive season – with some revellers going overboard when thousands gathered at
Clarke Quay to usher in the new year.
There appears to be two groups of people – those who simply cannot wait for
things to get back to normal and those who feel a sense of fear that this
reopening will somehow lead to cases rising.
Set against the backdrop of Omicron infections increasing in Singapore, the
impending return to normalcy will likely cause Madam Lee’s anxiety to grow even
more out of proportion. And there are many like her.
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Most Singaporeans polled in a survey reported by the Straits Times last
year said it was unrealistic to live with restrictions indefinitely – suggesting
they wanted to move on to endemic living. But 10 per cent were willing to live
with restrictions beyond two years.
This group may remain cautious, anxious, or may even find reopening dangerous –
a reaction that some experts have termed “re-entry anxiety”.
This is also born out in studies overseas. In a report published by the American
Psychological Association in March 2021, almost half of the respondents felt
uneasy about adjusting to in-personal interaction after the pandemic, regardless
of the vaccination status.
RELATED:
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2022
COMMENTARY: CAN MENTAL HEALTH APPS REPLACE FACE-TO-FACE THERAPY?
COMMENTARY: SINGAPORE CHILDREN ARE GETTING FATTER AND IT’S WORRYING ESPECIALLY
DURING A PANDEMIC
ANXIOUS ABOUT “OLD NORMAL”
It sounds almost ironic that we are not comfortable with getting back to the
“old normal”. But living a secluded lifestyle for almost two years has created
new habits in all of us.
For instance, we are so used to keeping safe distances, we get anxious when we
see larger crowds. Or we instinctively move away when someone near us coughs or
sneezes.
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My observations of people's feelings point to how complex this is: We
want things to be normal yet are fearful of change.
Neuroscience research shows that our brains are wired to be resistant to change
because the emotional brain – the amygdala – interprets change as a threat.
Reversing back to the “old normal” can be perceived as particularly threatening
and challenging especially since the trajectory of the pandemic is still
uncertain.
If this affects most of us, then one can imagine the challenge it poses to
people with pre-existing anxiety issues. For them, the secluded lifestyle
provided temporary relief in the form of avoidance and consequently reduced the
triggers of their anxiety.
However, based on the "operant conditioning" theory, first described by the
American psychologist, B F Skinner, this prolonged state has the effect of
intensifying their anxiety in the long run. When the temporary relief is about
to “break down”, they may experience an increased in anxiety.
In the case of Madam Lee, she coped with the pandemic by shutting the world out,
instead of understanding that the safe management measures can be tapped on for
protecting her from infection. This unhelpful way of thinking (where nothing is
in her control) and avoidance strategy (always staying at home) formed what we
call a maladaptive coping mechanism, which would make her adjustment to re-entry
much more difficult.
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Screengrabs of videos circulating on social media show a crowd at a New Year's
Eve gathering at Clarke Quay. (Screengrabs: Tiktok/shihanahnafshoeb/imnosimpp)
ADJUSTING WELL TO REOPENING
The key is to avoid adopting an all-or-nothing mentality.
It is probably not a good idea to be seeking out and staying in crowds all the
time, just as you do not have to be cooped up at home all the time. If you are
anxious or have family members who are, start leveraging on your daily routines
to create more opportunities to be familiar with being outside home.
Getting groceries during non-peak hours instead of ordering them online or
making the effort to take a short walk in the neighbourhood before returning
home after work are some small practices to start with before gradually working
up to more challenging tasks.
Similarly, staying updated on COVID-19 developments does not mean doom-scrolling
for COVID-19 news the whole day from different sources – but neither does it
mean avoiding all news completely. Set aside a bit of time (no more than 30
mins) once a day just to read the most salient updates on official news
channels.
Some folks are still wary of heading back to the office even though a testing
regime is put in place. Instead of worrying about all the potential downsides,
it may be better to see it as an opportunity to catch up with your colleagues
whom you have not seen for so long and to brainstorm for new ideas for the
coming year. These face-to-face interactions are critical.
RELATED:
COMMENTARY: WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH AN ENDEMIC COVID-19. HERE'S WHAT THAT COULD
LOOK LIKE
COMMENTARY: WILL OMICRON TRIGGER RESTRICTIONS IN SINGAPORE AND SET BACK PLANS TO
LIVE NORMALLY WITH COVID-19?
COMMENTARY: STRESS CAN MAKE YOU STRONGER IF YOU LEARN TO IDENTIFY WHEN EXTRA
ATTENTION IS NEEDED
Avoidance, or hiding from COVID-19, prevents us from challenging irrational
thoughts. We need to step out gradually to get used to the “old normal” with
time.
The infrastructure for managing COVID-19 has been established in Singapore but
beyond that, we too have grown more resilient and have acquired an adaptive
mindset after living with frequent changes. So now, even if things change, we
have the benefit of experience to live with these changes more readily now.
When we spoke, I encouraged Madam Lee to externalise her attention and observe
that her friends who have been working and going out in the past months have not
been infected. This helps to challenge her all-or-nothing mentality that there
is a high chance of catching the virus once she leaves home.
She should also move on to make some actual behavioural changes by meeting up
with close friends whom she trusts for a short gathering or progressively
increase the duration of such catch-ups. These social connections are critical
to our mental health too.
Adaptation takes place naturally with time. Like Madam Lee, all of us can focus
on what is in our control and start making plans to adjust to reopening.
Mabel Yum Po Shan is Head and Principal Clinical Psychologist of Psychology
Service at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
Source: CNA/cr
RELATED TOPICS
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