Covid-19 isn't something you fight against. With Autism (Asperger's), just trying to get my head around the fact that the world has it and it's a life and death scenario, means I'm already mentally and emotionally struggling.
My Anxiety Challenges
There are days when I wake up and I have anxiety, then there are days when I wake up and I'm feeling slightly more positive and I cope, primarily because I've had a good night's sleep. The pandemic has brought about many challenges, mostly around my mental and emotional health.
With very little understanding of the virus around my mental health, I have struggled. To normalise how I feel, I needed to hear all the facts. Without those, trying to live through the pandemic, is like trying to fumble my way through a maze blindfolded. At times, I have felt out of my depth.
Autism and fragile health
My mental health is fragile. With autism, news can be overwhelming. It is inevitable my sensory issues are continually tied into problems with the pandemic. How I feel about everything is three to five times more magnified, which means being able to regulate my emotions is also more difficult.
A year in, and I am learning to focus on what I have control over, versus what I can’t control, paying attention to my mood, diet, getting adequate sleep and taking regular supplements. I work on trying to maintain control when things are out of control, but also being more prone to anxiety and depression, means I am continually susceptible to problems.
By taking good care of myself during such a difficult time, by learning to regulate my emotions and choose what I let in, I manage my anxiety in the pandemic. It's not something I can overcome and win.
While the coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone, for all the reasons you say, it is clearly having a disproportionate and devastating impact on autistic people and their families.
This will all come to an end, as nothing lasts forever and we will adjust to a different way of life, less difficult than the present circumstances.
My mum is 85 and her positive attitude is testament to what we can achieve in a pandemic; always positive. I look at the fact that every day is a day nearer the end of the pandemic and the restrictions.
I think it's a good way to think about things if you can.
As you say autism is difficult. Our brain works in a completely different way to a normal thinking brain. I fare better when there is an end and know everything is being done to handle the pandemic in a way that protects us.
Instead mistakes have been made and with autism it's easy to feel more anxious without the clarity, of which we have had very little.
A year in, and I am doing better. One reason for that is I am managing to stay well, but going out even for walks can be an anxious time, so I mask up.
For me it's all about a lack of clarity and independent scientists speaking and being ignored and autism.