If you’re wondering why you have waves where you suddenly feel bowled over by big emotions, “COVID reminders” might be part of the reason for the sudden shift.

Think of COVID reminders like triggers. They’re anything that reminds you that you’re living in a pandemic.

They can be subtle or completely obvious, and they often take you by surprise. COVID reminders are not all doom and gloom though. In fact, they sometimes might leave you laughing and feeling less alone in the ups and downs of iso life. Still, when they come up you might notice a part of you feeling bummed by once again being faced with reality.

Here are a few COVID reminders that you might resonate with:

  • Realising that standing in line to get a coffee has now become an outing
  • Trying to smell something and then remembering you have a mask on!
  • Feeling sad and weird about needing to take a wide berth around a stranger on a narrow footpath
  • Not being able to separate the top of fruit and veggie bags because sticking your finger in your mouth to get traction is no longer allowed (perhaps never should have been!)
  • Seeing the military and police patrolling parks
  • Wondering about etiquette for eating and drinking when you’re meant to be wearing a mask
  • Feeling comforted by the smell of hand sanitiser
  • Feeling sheepish about the postie arriving
  • Desperately wanting to pat that cute dog, but resisting because it’s a moving “surface”
  • Feeling like you’re wearing a disguise when you see yourself in the mirror with a face mask (especially if you’re also wearing a hat and sunnies!)
  • Compensating with exaggerated gestures because you’re worried people can’t tell if you’re smiling under your mask
  • Getting excited about car trips (in your 5km zone)
  • Looking in the mirror and trying to convince yourself that haircuts are overrated
  • Feeling spooked by the sight of a completely empty tram

Next time you notice a sudden change in how you’re feeling, be curious about whether a COVID reminder has just come across your radar. If you can, take a few deep breaths and go easy on yourself in these moments. Remember that this all a lot to take in. There’s so much information for our minds and our bodies to be processing. Remind yourself that you’re doing your best. We all are.

If this blog peaks your interest, you might also like our post about some of the ways life feels contradictory during COVID.