It's quite normal to be apprehensive about mask wearing. How many thoughts are coming up for you that are unsure? Worries? Etc. These are reasons we can feel anxious. So these tips are great👍
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My own journey with mask wearing has been so far, like this.
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Initial automatic thoughts.👇🏼
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FEAR
Will I breathe?
Will I feel strange?
This is my civil liberties being taken away again.
Seeing people wearing them is a visual reminder of all the fear & feelings of the last months. I don't want to see that.
It's a reminder to the trauma of the past 6 months.
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😣
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THEN I got my head around it
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MY CONTROL.
I don't want to get fined so I'll wear it.
I'm still unsure if they are really helping but it can't hurt to wear it.
I've worn it a couple of times and it's strange.
Now I've worn it more than a few times. I forget I've got it on.
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I LEARNED
I can breath
I prefer the cotton ones
Now it's become a normal sight to see so it's not as bad as I was first thinking.
I hope we don't have to keep seeing them but until we get more info. I will. I don't want the country to get locked down again so I prefer masks than being at home all the time.
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YES
It's still difficult to plan or imagine the future. So I am trying to live for today, look after myself because this HAS been truamatic. Therefore my emotions are still up & down & that's my natural way of getting through this.
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I hope telling you my thought process helps you, it IS strange, this is new, & our minds automatically do not like either. ALL thoughts are normal. But we can speak to ourselves to help get our mindset to a more helpful one for ourselves, & a helpful mindset FEELS better.
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Ps. MASK WEARING. We all have our opinions based on our own upbringing, environment, influences, ideas, info that we've been exposed to. This post is only about a helpful coping mechanism to wearing a mask, to help you with your worries and feelings.
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Thanks
Anna❤
Nice