This past weekend I attended and performed in the 19th Annual New York Burlesque Festival.
I’ve been a burlesque performer since 2004. For several years my job was touring the world performing and teaching burlesque. You can read more about that in "From Burlesque Star to Nutrition & Wellness Coach."
I don’t perform as much as I used to because my health has taken top priority and so has my nutrition and wellness coaching.
Feeling a little rusty, this weekend was the first time since March 2020 that I’ve been out and about in NYC in large venues, watching live entertainment and performing in front of hundreds of people.
Truthfully, it was a little overwhelming and anxiety-producing.
Not the performing, but rather being around so many people.
It was also super fun, meaningful, and healing to be reunited with my performer friends and burlesque community.
I spent time backstage connecting and sharing pandemic experiences. There was a lot of compassion, laughter, playfulness, and admissions of anxiety and trepidation about emerging back into the world.
If there’s one thing we’ve all learned over the past year and a half, it’s that each of us has our own level of comfort and we must make every effort to not place judgement on other people’s decisions and boundaries.
It was also apparent that COVID-19 re-entry anxiety is real.
Given the collective trauma we’ve all experienced, to greater or lesser degrees, I am recommending 3 ways to mitigate any pandemic re-entry anxiety.
1. Be patient with yourself.
One way to practice being patient with yourself is to go slow, accept whatever you’re feeling, and to not judge yourself or the feelings you’re feeling.
2. Remember that you are not alone.
We’ve all been through collective trauma and many people are experiencing the same roller coaster of emotions and feelings that you are. Recognizing that suffering is a shared human experience and is a vital component to self-compassion and healing.
3. Connect with others.
Share what you’ve been through with people you feel safe with. Verbalizing anxieties elicits empathy and connectedness with others. That vulnerability creates connection.
We’re all on a journey of healing which fluctuates and is complex.
I invite you to join me as I discuss this further in episode 41 of my podcast, Positively Anti-Inflammatory, “Healing Is Not Linear.”
Love, Your Wellness Coach,
Alyssa
October 6, 2021