MAINE, Maine — Many people don't know how to navigate the unknowns as COVID-19 mandates ease and cases fall.
For example, some don't want to wear a mask again when cases go up, and others are not ready to take their masks off at all. Many are craving a return to hugs, others still prefer a fist bump.
Allegra Hirsch-Wright is a licensed clinical social worker at Maine Behavioral Healthcare.
She shared several tips on how to navigate interactions as we begin to write a new normal:
- Figure out what feels safe for you
- Talk to your colleagues, family members, or those you spend time with, about your feelings
- Be kind to others.
- Practice the "two feet, one breath" strategy
"Identify specific grounding skills and strategies that help, so that when you are feeling ungrounded you can take a moment to pause," Hirsch-Wright said. "I mean, one of my favorites is called two feet one breath, and no matter where I am or what I am doing, I can do it. So I really think of just putting one foot flat on the floor, I really focus on what it feels like to have the floor supporting me if I am standing up, I feel like I really get a sense of what it feels like to have my legs supporting me and holding me up, and I just breathe."
"I also think about other times in my life where I may be asked to do things that I don't really want to do, but I do them because I know that they are generally things that will help keep me safe and feel comfortable. So I approach it in that way," she continued. "If I were to get on a plane and it felt comfortable to me to take my mask off but the person next to me is wearing a mask ... I would err on the side of kindness and keep my mask on."
Hirsch-Wright said people have to create a new normal for our culture. She said we are not going to flip back to the way things were but should respect each other's beliefs and interactions.
The entire interview with Hirsch-Wright can be found here:
