quote [ This piece has been brewing in my head over the last few years as I’ve watched a dramatic shift happen. In a very generous framing of this dynamic, a growing number of people are questioning: what possesses someone to still wear a mask, aren’t they just anxious and paranoid?! This has created tension in families, partnerships, friendships, workplaces, social groups, and other communities. Since the answer is unclear to many, I want to address this.

And I say all this as a mental health professional who specializes in working with the chronically ill and disabled communities; is trained to recognize the impacts of trauma, cognitive biases, and thought distortions; with education and training in research methodology who has poured over infectious disease research for several years; who has lived with Long COVID and been part of this community for 5 years; and who has welcomed far too many new faces to this community in recent years. ]