Anxiety and masks
On a recent trip to Hunstanton, I
was waiting in a queue to order some coffees at a lovely little café on the
beach at Old Hunstanton. It was a socially distance queue and it was quite a
long one. As a people watcher (also known as nosey) I was keeping an eye on all
my fellow customers and maybe doing a little bit of earwigging. There were two
girls in front of me who were in their early twenties who I was trying not to
listen to but I honestly couldn’t help it! Their conversation was quite
interesting as they got nearer the front of the queue, became much more
animated. One of the girls was really struggling with the thought of having to
wear a mask to order her coffee. She mentioned feeling anxious and it
triggering her claustrophobia. At the time I dismissed this as an over reaction
but as I thought about it more it did get me thinking. None of us know what
other people are going through, what their Covid-19 experience has been or what
triggers or issues it has brought up. For some people wearing a mask brings a
whole heap of other issues from breathlessness to feeling trapped.
There are so many different
issues around masks. I see people wearing them all the time, some using them to
make them look intimidating, some people wearing them on their chins, some
people sporting football team ones (I saw a very stylish Newcastle United one
recently) through to the delightful home made masks (are they washed after
every wear? I know mine isn’t).
If a mask is going to help people
get out and about, give people the confidence to go back on a train to get to
work then surely it’s a good thing but we cannot underestimate the additional
worries it also brings.
If you are feeling apprehensive
about wearing a mask, the link below may help:
Take care
Ingrid
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