Removing covid mask in public places

Author:

Created: 20/11/2021 Last Modified: 25/11/2021

Adult / CYP: Children and Young people

Categories: Social Anxiety | Low Self Esteem | GAD

Experience Narrative:

Collected school meal from the canteen, go and sit with my friends, take my mask off to eat my lunch. Once I am finished eating I can put my masks back on. People might say they've not seen me eating school dinners before, but I can just say that I'm hungry today.

Belief to be tested:

Everyone will notice, they'll say I look weird without my mask on and I'll be really embarrassed and upset.

Alternative Perspective:

Other people will be hungry and wanting to eat their food, most people will make the assumption that you have to take your mask off to eat so what I'm doing won't seem unusual. They might say something to me but that's because I'm doing something new not because I'm weird.

Safety Behaviours to drop:

Keeping mask on face or neck and popping food in (put it on the table instead), keeping eyes down (look up and look around)

Client reflections:

No one noticed I took my mask off to eat. No one said anything. I felt very anxious and like everyone was looking at me but when I looked around I saw they weren't looking.

Practitioner reflections:

Part of a hierarchy but YP found this a difficult step to achieve, the fear of being judged by their peers was quite strong.

Print Save as PDF

Comments (0)

Share your opinions, feedback and questions below