North Syracuse mom shares struggle with post-lock down anxiety

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — People are experiencing a new type of anxiety because of the pandemic-grappling with the decision on whether to go to a party or stay home and not risk getting sick.

Wendy Fitzgerald is a wife and mom of two who says she's been struggling to say 'yes' to invitations for parties since the pandemic lock-down ended.

"It's kind of like, 'why don't you come?' It's like, can we do the activity on Zoom? Can we do that like, drive-by birthday party? It does kind of suck, because so many people are ready to be back to business as usual," explained Fitzgerald.

This kind of anxiety is real, and many Central New Yorkers that reached out after we asked about it on a Facebook live, say they're going through it.

Psychotherapist Lisa Brateman says she's seeing this play out with her clients.

"Now, what's creating the anxiety is people have gotten used to that and people have been doing everything possible," said Brateman, "and now they're feeling like, am I introducing risk?"

Brateman says, now, it's not about asking "can i bring a dish to pass," or "what time should we come over?"

She adds, you should not feel embarrassed to ask questions about a gathering if you're uncomfortable.

"Is it going to rain that day? Are we going to drive there and then drive home? Are we gonna go inside? Are we gonna share a plate of food?," said Brateman, "if your friend doesn't respect your concern, that's a problem in itself."

Wendy Fitzgerald says she's going to do whatever she can to keep her family safe, even if that means saying no to a social life for just a bit longer.

"Just keep on doing it, because I think that, genuinely, if we do keep trying to be safe, I think this is going to be over really soon," said Fitzgerald.