Anxiety

Anxiety

It is perfectly normal and understandable to feel anxious about risks during a pandemic and it is perfectly normal and understandable to have a heightened awareness of physical vulnerability after the death of someone close to us; experiencing both at the same time may make that anxiety feel less manageable.

You might be feeling worried, anxious or fearful for many reasons after the death of someone close to you. Particularly in the current circumstances, you may be feeling worried about how best to organise a funeral or do any of the administrative tasks that need to be completed after a death. Depending on the circumstances around their death, you might be waiting for post mortem results, which can bring with it high levels of anxiety. You may have depended on the person who has died for practical or emotional support during times of stress and be feeling their loss particularly keenly during an uncertain and anxiety-provoking time.

Many bereaved people experience a “displaced” anxiety where they become worried about things they would normally have taken in their stride and which may seem to be unrelated to the death of the person close to them, such as using public transport, driving, shopping, or being in big social gatherings. They may also experience a general “loss of confidence” in their skills, such as feeling less able to do their day job, more unsure as a parent, socially anxious when they were “outgoing” before etc.

Given that all of these areas of our lives have now become more fraught due to the pandemic, this may lessen this effect for some people (for example, if the expectation that you will continue to attend social groups is removed) or intensify it for others (for example, if you still have to work and rely on public transport to do so).

People sometimes “see” or “hear” the person that has died when they are going about their everyday lives. While some people find this comforting, others can feel unsettled or frightened by it. This does not mean you are going “mad” as these are not unusual experiences to have following a death and are all part of your mind processing what has happened.

Anxiety often produces strong physical sensations in our body which can be frightening under “normal circumstances” if you do not know what they are, but which can also mimic health conditions, including Coronavirus (COVID-19). For example, anxiety can lead to: • Heart racing • Sweating • Chest pains/tightness • Shortness of breath/breathing faster • Feeling lightheaded/dizzy • Increased muscle tension/aches

• Feeling sick/needing the toilet

If you are ill, it is unlikely that these symptoms would reliably go away altogether after 20 minutes of sitting still and doing controlled breathing, after avoiding a particular situation, or after distracting yourself. If you are experiencing these physical reactions persistently, speak to your GP. There is also a list of services that can quickly and effectively support you at the back of this guide.