Another Product of COVID
As a child, when lost in a crowd, we are taught to stay put and wait for our parent(s) to find us. We are told to seek help from a woman with children, or a police officer.
But what do you do if you’re lost in a crowd as an adult?
With COVID creating micro-social scenes, a lot of people I know, myself included, have lost the ability to be comfortable in large crowds.
Living in the Adirondacks makes it easier to practice social distancing, while still getting out of your home. Can’t say the same for those poor souls in the city.
If I lived alone, and didn’t have a job, I could probably go for days without talking to anyone.
As an introvert, I don’t think I would mind that so much. It’s easy to find peace, quiet, and solitude in the forest.
However, that just makes reentering the modern world that much harder.
Whenever I have to go into “the city” and the stores are FULL of people, I can feel myself sweating. I can feel my jaw clenching, and part of me freezes and doesn’t want to move for fear of being talked to or, God forbid, bumped into.
It’s that “lost in the crowd” feeling.
I could look around for a woman with children or a police officer, but I don’t think that’s going to help my mental and emotional state right now.
“Anyone have a Xanax?” I could shout down the aisles, but I don’t think that would go over quite well.
What are your coping mechanisms in this crazy COVID world we live in these days?
Anyone…?
Dandi-Rae Ink 