Are you suffering from Quarantine Envy?
If you鈥檙e an essential worker, you may have found yourself feeling a little jealous seeing friends and family enjoying time together or getting projects done during quarantine while you鈥檙e busy working.
That feeling is perfectly normal, according to D.C.-area therapist , CEO of Group Therapy Associates.
鈥淚 think if you are an essential worker, it鈥檚 hard to hard to watch other people cleaning out their closets or leaning how to make sourdough bread and not feel a twinge of envy or resentment,鈥� Boykin said.
She said for many they are feeling, on some level, they may not be experiencing the pandemic like they鈥檙e supposed to.
鈥淲e have a drive or desire to make sure we are 鈥榙oing it right.’ Am I having this pandemic experience right?鈥� she said. 鈥淲hatever experience you鈥檙e having 鈥� 鈥榓re my feelings valid?鈥� is a question for everybody whether they鈥檙e conscious of it or not.鈥�
- Sign up for news alerts from 草莓传媒
- Maryland Gov. Hogan unveils coronavirus recovery plan
- 鈥楽cience-based鈥� plan to reopen states proposed in Congress
- 鈥榃e will be here to support you鈥�: DC psychologists offer assurance
- Iconic DC sites have changed due to the pandemic
- Latest coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus resources: Get and give help in DC, Maryland and Virginia
The answer, according to Boykin, is yes. Your feelings, no matter what they are, are valid. But, she said, you need to come to terms with them.
鈥淭o simply acknowledge that while part of me logically knows that person, whose got all this free time to bake bread and hang out with their kid, may very well also be struggling financially because they鈥檙e not working,鈥� She said, “And, its OK that part of me is also envious and jealous of that down time because I鈥檓 tired and I feel overworked.”
She also said it’s important to realize we are going through an ongoing traumatic event. This traumatic event is not like a car accident or a fire, where it happens, then is over and you can rebuild. We’re still in the middle of this one. It’s still unfolding and chronic uncertainty is frightening.
鈥淥ur brains really like to explain things and so when we鈥檙e constantly feeling anxious and uncertain and trying to navigate something that鈥檚 completely unfamiliar, we look for a way to make sense of it and sometimes that means either blaming other people, whether that鈥檚 directly blaming somebody or through kind of jealousy of their experience or blaming ourselves and often times we do a little bit of both,鈥� she said.
She said the best thing we can do to deal with it is to remember to be more compassionate with ourselves and also with other people as we all move through this time together.
