Today involved going to dinner at a friend's, where we ate and visited on the deck. The day had been very hot -- 30C that felt closer to 37C (~87/100F) but a cooling breeze arrived in the evening. There has been little socializing over the past months, so that moving towards being more social within public health guidelines and 'bubbles' feels a bit unusual. Maintaining social distance even in very small groups can be difficult, yet lack of social interactions creates an entirely different type of health impact -- yet another of the effects of isolation. Worry about encountering or even transmitting this blasted virus can create a host of mental health issues. After learning to live in an isolated bubble, expanding the number of people we see regularly becomes very challenging. Anxiety thrives when we encounter these types of changes to daily living. Interestingly, reducing social interactions can reduce long term health. The potential misunderstanding here seems to be that household bubbles expanded to two mutually exclusive households with a maximum size. Now the term has been applied to the four Atlantic provinces, which does not mean we can drop our guard with anyone from the region. Masking and distancing are still necessary. So, it can be confusing when we are trying to maintain mental health and physical health -- things that may be difficult to balance fully.
The title line of a song kept running through my head. Worry will be part of the whole 'opening up' process, but following guidelines will help keep risk lower. Working towards this will take time and effort. Stay safe. Enjoy!
Don't you worry 'bout a thing -- Stevie Wonder
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