As someone who struggles with anxiety, I was a nervous wreck when COVID-19 started shutting everything down. Everyone was scared of being infected because there was so much that was unknown about the virus. In December 2020, I was exposed and tested positive for COVID-19. In this article, I want to be vulnerable in sharing my story and experience from being in self-isolation, how it affected my anxiety, how my mental health was affected, what my symptoms were and talk about the importance of keeping each other safe and taking precautions. First, I would like to preface by stating that every single individual experiences the virus differently and this is simply my story and how I experienced it. My goal is to provide a personal view on my experience in this global pandemic, while also having had the virus.
COVID-19 has been the most critical and significant event of my life so far as a 21-year-old. My first time hearing of the coronavirus was in January 2020. I had just got back from Mexico and I was in an extreme panic because I had been traveling for a month and was in contact with many people at the airport traveling to many different places. At that point, everything was still very unknown. It was unknown whether it was gonna get contained right away or if it would get worse. March 2020 was when everything began shutting down. Once schools and restaurants started shutting down, I automatically began to panic. I was constantly overthinking everything, every small symptom. Even though I did not leave my house for two months, I was constantly washing my hands to the point where they were peeling and getting dry. I was wiping down everything in my room and house every hour. I was consumed with fear that if this virus infected us it would hurt me or my family.
In November 2020, I was exposed to the virus through a family member, and my family and I quarantined for two weeks and all tested negative twice. During that time in quarantine, I became depressed due to the isolation. Although I had my family, between being restricted from leaving the house, and the days seeming so long, it took a toll on my mental health. After leaving quarantine a couple of weeks later in December, I was exposed again. I was still recovering from the mental fog, so when I found out I took it pretty hard. I was dreading not only quarantine again but this time around quarantine by myself in my room. At the start of my quarantine I tested negative, however, I tested early and it wasn’t detected yet. Later on, I did end up testing positive. Not only was my mental health impacted this time but so was my physical. I was extremely fatigued, with body aches, fever, sore throat. I also experienced shortness of breath doing day-to-day activities. It took me about 2-3 weeks to fully recover. I am very grateful for my body and how strongly it fought for me. I would like to advise you to make sure you are taking safety precautions in order to keep each other safe.