Aside from its protective role, I thought protective face masks could do no worse than smudge my make up and blur my glasses until I experienced a sudden anxiety moment while shopping. There had been a short delay at the payment till when I suddenly felt claustrophobic and short of breathe followed by the need to take off peel off my mask. In that moment I had a near panic attack but the concerns about being “adjudged” wrongly by others made me keep it on and that didn’t really help my situation. It was an uncanny experience as I had not experienced a panic attack in over 12 years.
Wearing a facemask in public has become part of the new normal for most us. It is a means to protect ourselves and others from the dreaded Covid 19. For people in some parts of the world, the wearing of face masks has been the norm, the rest of the world is just catching up. Despite the argument against the wearing of face mask, one thing is absolutely certain, they are for our protection as many people are asymptomatic-infected but dont know it.
However the wearing of face mask can aggravate anxiety in people either out of concerns for others, themselves or simply because of the feelings it evokes and the burden of responsibility to others. In as much as it might be uncomfortable, it has to be worn in accordance to public health and safety rules and government guidelines.
So how do you manage face mask anxiety? here are a few tips.
- Practise breathing exercises underneath your mask
2. Manage your thoughts by eliminating negative thinking.
3. Remember Face mask protects you and others
4.Keep your shopping to less busy periods to manage the time you spend in shops
5. Find a mask that suits you. I find certain materials very uncomfortable. with a bit of trial and error, I finally found the ones that worked best for me.
6. Customise your face cover. A little bit of personal touch can help you feel better. it helps you be in control. You might not be able to control what is going on around you but with a personalised facemask you own how you interact with the situation.
7. Wear your mask when and where it is necessary for instance in shared public places.
8. Practice mindfulness
9. Don’t worry about those who are not wearing masks in public as we all have different value systems except for those who genuinely can not wear them for health reasons. Your first responsibility is you!
10. Talk to someone about what you are experiencing.
And for that sometimes unavoidable bad breathe, take a mint! Your mental health will be better for it.
This is very helpful to know. As the mask wasn’t really for me for different reasons 😕 like choking on my breath 😅😅😅 and it actually agitated health issues for me even though I paid the most expensive amount for that tiny piece of material thinking it would help my matter 🙃 🤦♀️😅 soo the face shield became my safest option 😃
Same with me. I had to try different fabric types before I found the one that really suited. As for buying pricy ones, dont let me regale you with the “counselling” session i gave my son when he returned from school without his new “pricy” facemask on his first day of wearing it