Anxiety is a nasty loop, especially when it affects your sleep--which then affects your health.

To be clear, my family and I absolutely try to stay home when feeling unwell, and I have spent a lot of money this year already, COVID testing all of us at home when we have any symptoms of anything. At $12 per test, it's cost-prohibitive for us to test everyone every day for the 3-12 days or so after somebody (well-meaning or not) tells us we've been someplace where someone was sick. I don't want to be a jerk and spread anything, and I wear masks when in doctors' offices because I recognize I could be spreading anything any time--but the society we're in dictates that I can't cancel doctor visits, because they're impossible to get.

Thanks for reading!