Do you have Covid shopping anxiety?
Before Covid-19, a trip to the supermarket used to be so simple, writes Darrell Smith.
Aloaf of bread, a 2L bottle of milk, a dozen eggs and into the checkout line. File them into your reusable shopping bags, then out the door. It used to be so simple, the quick run to the supermarket.
Now, in this age of Covid-19, even everyday tasks such as grocery shopping have changed, with new rules replacing the routine.
For people already grappling with anxiety, the shopping experience can awaken a fresh set of worries as the world begins to reopen retail as places emerge from shutdown imposed to slow the spread of Covid-19.
‘‘It’s a very common problem,’’ said Peter Yellowlees, chief wellness director at California’s UC Davis Health. ‘‘If you were anxious before Covid, this may make you more so.’’
Anxiety swirls around this virus, touching family, health, finances and livelihood, and finding its way into everyday life. Your pre-coronavirus supermarket trip already demanded multiple decisions, with some routine, of where to park, large cart or basket, frozen or fresh, sale or favourite item, debit or cash. A Cornell University study cited in a Washington Post story about shopping noted that we make more than 200 food decisions a day.
On top of that now, you’re trying to figure out where to stand in line and why the plastic bags seem so sealed and how you need to stand farther away from the shoppers who just licked their fingers to try to pry them open.
A March poll by the American Psychiatric Association on Covid-19 revealed how much anxiety has consumed those in the United States.
The association’s national poll found nearly six in 10 Americans felt coronavirus seriously disrupted their daily lives; 48 per cent were anxious about contracting coronavirus; while 36 per cent – more than one in every three Americans – said the virus was having a serious effect on their mental health.
‘‘There’s no-one I’ve seen who is not impacted by Covid,’’ said La Tanya Takla, an educational psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist based in Sacramento.
‘‘The fear of getting it, the inundation of it in the news, is debilitating for some people. Germs have always lived with us. What makes this different is how many people are getting sick from it.’’
Takla, Yellowlees and Adriana Joyner, a licensed Sacramento-area psychotherapist, are unanimous in how to tackle the supermarket and combat anxiety: Have a plan to get through it.
‘‘One of the main ways that you can manage heightened anxiety around shopping trips is to have a plan in place that helps you feel comfortable, secure and as safe as possible.’’
That could mean a quick checklist of the things that trigger anxiety at the store and how to navigate them, Joyner says.
‘‘Is it the people around you without face masks? Is it the crowds? Is it having to touch items such as the cart?’’ she said.
‘‘If you feel more comfortable wearing a mask, choose a store that requires patrons to wear masks,’’ Joyner said.
Understanding the underlying trigger for the anxiety, Joyner said, will help to pinpoint those fears, directly address them and re-establish control.
In the grocery store or at home, having a shopping routine when so much has changed can also pay dividends in peace of mind.
‘‘Think about what you can do,’’ Takla said. ‘‘There’s no way to not have it impact you but there’s a lot we’re in control of. Routine is essential. It’s also calming,’’ she said. ‘‘You’ve done your part.’’