Do you have a child that is feeling anxious about going back to school for in-person learning? Or perhaps you or someone you know feels uneasy about returning to the office after a year of teleworking? As vaccinations continue to roll out throughout the nation and as cities and states move toward full re-opening, many people are feeling what experts call “re-entry anxiety,” an uneasiness about returning to the practices, social interactions, and gatherings that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a recent report published by the American Psychological Association, nearly half of Americans (49%) feel uneasy resuming in-person interaction once the pandemic ends. Re-entry anxiety is a common feeling and LA County Library has compiled resources to help you and your loved ones cope with the change.

Resources

• The American Psychological Association offers a variety of stress, anxiety, and grief resources that can help reduce pandemic stress and anxiety, including re-entry anxiety.
• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also developed a pandemic mental health guide that can help people cope with this issue, as well as general pandemic-related anxiety.
• The State of California’s Manage stress for health and LA County’s COVID-19: Coping with Stress web pages offer a variety of resources and tools to help adults and children manage their pandemic-related stress.
• Multiple media outlets have published articles that provide helpful tips on how to manage re-entry anxiety. Articles and blog posts from publications as varied as Time, Psychology Today, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review are available online. If you need help finding, identifying, or accessing a reputable media outlet, check out PressReader, our expansive digital database of full-text newspaper and magazine articles.
• LA County Library offers mindfulness resources and Health and Wellness-related videos to help customers manage their stress during this critical time.
• Heath insurers, medical centers, and hospitals routinely publish helpful free articles for members and non-members alike. Kaiser Permanente recently published an article on 3 ways to manage anxiety about returning to work while Cedars Sinai featured Coping With Back-to-School Anxiety During COVID-19 on its blog. If you feel that your anxiety needs medical attention, you may want to contact your health care provider. Many medical and health care professionals provide their patients the ability to get help remotely via video conference, phone, and email.

While this is not an exhaustive list, we are here to help you find resources that can help you and your loved ones manage re-entry anxiety and improve your well-being.

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