Experts: For some, COVID anxiety rises as pandemic restrictions ease in Conn.

As more people receive the COVID-19 vaccine, pandemic restrictions intended to protect against the disease in Connecticut and elsewhere are being eased.

Health experts say this latest phase of the pandemic carries its own set of anxieties as people consider their comfort level with restrictions being lifted.

“I think we’re sort of seeing two things,” said Stephanie Jacobson, Quinnipiac University associate professor of social work. “You’re seeing this COVID fatigue, where people are saying ‘We’re so close to the end, but I just can’t stay home anymore.’ And then there’s this anxiety of getting back into the world, where people might see that the restaurants are now very full and say, ‘I’m not comfortable with that.’ ”

Jacobson said people are now forced to balance their “very real fear and anxiety for their health and the health of their families” against the prolonged loneliness and isolation associated with continued social distancing.

The situation is particularly strange as there likely won’t be a clear end to the pandemic — in which COVID-19 is no longer a threat — for at least some time, according to Dr. Andre Newfield, chair of psychiatry at St. Vincent’s Medical Center Behavioral Health in Bridgeport.

“I think we have a tendency to think it’s going to be like a light switch, where it’s either ‘yes, pandemic’ or ‘no, pandemic,’ ” he said. “The reality is that there is not going to be any firm (end) to this. You don’t know what to expect and the unknown can be very anxiety-provoking on its own.”

Newfield said another issue is that people have been looking forward to the end of the pandemic for a year, and the idea that the end is coming so slowly and gradually is sure to be disappointing. That kind of disappointment can create it’s own mental health strains, he said.

“We should all be overjoyed, but it’s a sort of odd feeling,” he said. “The process is slower than we would have hoped. It’s all shades of gray, instead of white and black.”

Newfield said much of the stress and sadness people might be feeling is normal, but there can be waning signs of something more serious. Difficulty eating or sleeping, or being too worried or sad to engage with daily activities

are all indications of a more serious problem, he said.

“The key to coping is knowing what’s a real problem, as opposed to the blues of, ‘This isn’t going to be as great as I thought,’ ” Newfield said.

Jacobson said people need to determine their comfort level.

“Maybe you’re only comfortable eating outdoors or only comfortable seeing a small group of people,” she said. “People need to make their decisions based on their own comfort levels.”

But at least one doctor recommended waiting to take any major steps forward.

“I think the main thing, at

least in my opinion, is to continue to do exactly what you’re doing despite been vaccinated until herd immunity,” said Dr. Gregory Buller, associate chief medical officer and chairman of the department of medicine. “I think, right now, continuing to wear masks and socially distance is the better part of valor.”

John Moore / Getty Images As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, health experts said some people have developed a new set of fears and anxieties due to the pandemic.