PEORIA, Ill. — Friday’s full reopening of Illinois brings to an end roughly 15 months of restrictions outside the home.
This means the ability to gather with friends, family, and acquaintances without having to socially distance or mask up which, for many, is a welcomed happening.
But, not for everyone.
Experts have warned about a possible uptick in mental roadblocks as people reintegrate into public settings.
“When you are isolated for such a long time, even for people who don’t have any preexisting mental health problems, it’s easy to build up anxiety and depression, which comes because you’re isolated from your family and loved ones. It causes sleep difficulties, it causes anger, and it can lead to a lot of issues,” said Dr. Kapil Aedma, a UnityPoint-based psychiatrist.
“I think the majority of people will not have a lot of issues but, because of the isolation, some people who are already anxious by nature, probably their anxiety got worse because they’re worried about getting infected all the time, and they’ve been masking up and isolating themselves.”
For those with preexisting anxiety, Aedma suggested a gradual approach.
“Start with only [socializing with] a few people. Close friends, who you are confident are vaccinated or taking all the measures,” he advised.
“Start reintegrating with them, and then slowly start going to grocery stores during odd hours when you expect not a lot of people to be in there.
“In medical terms, we call it systematic desensitization. Exposure response therapy kind of thing, where you start reintegrating people slowly, step-by-step, and see how they do.”
Aedma, who specializes in pediatric psychiatry, said adults won’t be the only ones experiencing social issues with the reopening.
“A lot of these kids, for the past 15 months, they’ve been out of school, they’re not going to their friends’ birthday parties, they’re not interacting with other kids because they were told by their parents it’s not safe, and they’re seeing all the people wearing their masks, they’re not allowed to touch a lot of things, and parents, themselves, are very anxious and that reflects onto their kids,” he said.
“These kids very definitely will have a lot of questions when they start reintegrating. As adults, as parents, it’s our job to reeducate them about what happened in the last 15 months and why we had to do what we had to do.
“Moving forward, when they’re anxious, we just have to be patient and work with them and explain to them the reason why we are reintegrating back.”
Aedma said to use layman’s terms when explaining to kids topics like COVID-19, vaccinations, social distancing, and why the infection rate has gone down.
A final piece of advice the psychiatrist offered to help kids kick any psychological hurdles as they reenter society was an idea oft-discussed, even pre-COVID.
“I think this is the time for us to think about setting up rules for electronic time for kids,” he said.
“It’s very important to remember for kids who are younger than seven, to limit electronic time to two-to-three hours. Not more than that.
“Research has shown increased electronic time causes a lot of attention problems, anxiety issues, and mood issues in kids. Engaging them in family activities, like even puzzles, just talking to kids, and reading books to them would help a lot.”
Full interview with Aedma:
