| On Monday, we posted a story by Allyson Chiu and Allie Caren about the interior debate that every (responsible) person goes through when they experience cold or flu symptoms during the pandemic and have some sort of get-together coming up. The argument goes something like this: Me: I'm not feeling great. I've got the sniffles and my throat is a little sore. Could I have covid? Also me: Nah, unlikely. You're vaccinated, and you always wear a mask in indoor public spaces. Besides, you hardly go anywhere. Me: But what about that guy in the checkout line in the grocery store? His mask was under his nose, and he wasn't staying six feet away. Also me: You were in line with him for two minutes. It probably wasn't long enough for him to give you the virus. And there's no evidence that he had covid in the first place! Me: But what if he did? What if he was a superspreader? Also me: You don't even have a fever! Me: But I'm really tired, too. And we're supposed to have dinner at the So-and-Sos' tonight. Maybe I should tell them that I'm not feeling well and see if they still want me to come. Or maybe I should skip it. Also me: You have got to be kidding. They've probably already started cooking, and you know they hate changing plans at the last minute. Besides, if I don't get out of this house soon, I'm going to lose it. Me: I'm not kidding. What if I'm sick? What if I make someone else sick? They could die … Also me: Stop catastrophizing. Me: But am I catastrophizing? After all, almost 800,000 Americans have died. Also me: Okay, okay. You're right; we should be responsible. We'll call them and cancel. We'll stay in. … But I get to pick what we stream tonight. This was a familiar routine until I realized I have an antidote: a batch of at-home coronavirus tests I bought months ago. I'd only broken into the stash for travel. But then, a couple of days after our indoor Thanksgiving dinner, I had a sore throat and congestion and started doing that interior monologue backward in time (Me: What if I have covid and already exposed my family? Also me: How could you possibly have gotten covid? You didn't even do the Thanksgiving shopping!). Rather than fretting for days until the symptoms got worse or disappeared, I decided to take a test. It was negative, and, predictably, I started feeling better after knowing that. It's not a cheap way to stop obsessing over every sniffle. But it works. Take care. | 
Email 
No comments:
Post a Comment