Coping With Uncertainty – Parenting In the Age of COVID-19
Written by Diana Swope
One of my favorite authors is Emily Oster, an Economist who writes about parenting. Her books and blog posts take a data-driven approach to various parenting topics. I inhaled her blog posts during COVID as I struggled to make decisions for our family. My husband and I have three children ages 6, 8 and 10 and we were constantly confronted with choices like when to have playdates, when to dine in a restaurant, when to send kids to school and when to vaccinate our kids. There was so much uncertainty and we were inconsistent from one day to the next. Reading Emily’s frameworks and data she revealed helped us make decisions amid the uncertainty.
“Is it Always Going to Be Like This?” Uncertainty and the Omicron Variant
In the fall of 2020 I was getting a lot more comfortable planning things and approaching normalcy. Heck, we are taking our kids to Disney World in two weeks! But Omicron renewed feelings of anxiety for me and so many others. Emily’s recent post “Is It Always Going to Be Like This” summed up how I was feeling perfectly. Is it always going to be like this? Emily answers, “Yes, because COVID isn’t going away.” Reading Emily’s reflections helped during this reopened period of uncertainty. One point she surfaced rang true for me. Life wasn’t certain before COVID. We could have booked a trip to Disney World and it could have rained every day, our flight could have been cancelled, or a child could have gotten the flu.
Managing Uncertainty and the Future of COVID
Learning to live with the possibility of COVID becoming endemic is going to mean accepting the existence of COVID and taking precautions. But it will also mean acknowledging that it isn’t the only risk or even probably the most significant risk we face most of the time. The future has always been and always will be a little foggy.
When Coping With Uncertainty Requires Additional Support
The pandemic is taking an emotional toll on everyone, and you are not alone. If you are finding the anxiety of uncertainty has become overwhelming, we’re here to help. O’Connor Professional Group (OPG) offers a breadth of behavioral health services to address the needs of individuals and families living with addictions, eating disorders, mood and personality disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and other behavioral health conditions. If you or a loved one is suffering from a mental health disorder or are in need of support, contact us today. Our compassionate professionals are here to help find the resources to support you and your family.
