Ask Amy: Pandemic stress is a risk to health
Dear Amy: Can you stand yet another letter about COVID-19?
My age and health status puts me in a higher risk group than others.
Because of the pandemic, I have avoided contact with people. I quit my part-time job because of concerns about COVID in the workplace. I no longer travel or have in-person visits with friends.
I no longer attend church services. I no longer eat out at restaurants. I no longer attend concerts or go to the movies.
I only shop for essentials and get in and out of the store as quickly as possible.
I am fully vaccinated, so why am I acting like this? Because we’re told that the fully vaccinated can still get very sick and die from this virus.
We're told that anyone can be an asymptomatic carrier of this virus and transmit it to someone and possibly kill them. We’re told that variants of this virus could break through a vaccine.
I used to have a life, but now I live in fear.
Apparently, I’m not the only one, because mental health practitioners are all booked up for weeks.
In my opinion, the psychological damage inflicted by this pandemic (or perhaps by the media coverage of it) is being overlooked.
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