The idea of returning to normal is making many people feel anxious

People feeling anxious about returning to normal More than half of Canadians feel somewhat anxious about returning to the way of life before the pandemic, a survey found.

TORONTO — More than half of Canadians feel somewhat anxious about returning to the way of life before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a new survey.

The survey conducted by Leger, in collaboration with the Association for Canadian Studies, polled 1,647 Canadians from May 21 to 23.

Results show 52 per cent of those who responded reported feeling some level of anxiety, with those aged 18 to 24 showing the highest levels of unease at 68 per cent.

“We’ve had a year of not interacting, not being in public and we’ve had a year of anxiety about getting the COVID vaccine,” David Scholz from Leger told CP24 on Wednesday.

The findings come as some provinces, including Ontario, have tabled a new multi-step roadmap to reopening and as vaccination campaigns ramp up.

Experts say there are several reasons people feel uneasy about returning to a way of life before the pandemic.

For Toronto resident Bill Brown it’s adapting to the evolving restrictions and shutdowns throughout the pandemic that has taken a toll.

“You can’t get near anybody, anything you do, you have to keep your distance,” Brown said.

Hairstylist Angel has not been able to work since late November due to COVID-19 restrictions, but he worries about what conditions may be like when restrictions ease.

“I’m anxious because there is people who still don’t want to get vaccinated,” he said.

Rachel Landry is eager to see life return to normal, planning to travel more once it’s safe to do so. However, how she books her trips and where and who she decides to travel with won’t be as simple as before.

"I'm going to find out before booking are they insisting everybody be fully vaccinated or are they lax? I’ll take that into consideration," she said.

Experts say the feeling of anxiousness and the results of the survey are not surprising.

"We've spent well over a year being bombarded by information about this dangerous virus out there – it’s not easy to just flip a switch," said Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, who expects that anxiety to be short lived for many people as more people become vaccinated and case counts continue to drop.

"Our first venture out will be a little tentative, but once we’re there it feel like the warm blanket of our past habits – it will be amazing how quickly we rebound."

When it comes to the pace of lifting restrictions, 53 percent of Canadians felt their province was moving at the right pace, 20 per cent thought their province wasn’t moving fast enough and 27 per cent believed things were moving too fast.

No margin of error can be assigned to the survey because it was done online.

Files from The Canadian Press