Editor's note: Haider Rifaat is a features writer for OK! Pakistan, an international edition of OK! Magazine. He is also a writer for Arabian Moda and South China Morning Post and serves as the creator and host of Pakistan's first web talk show – The Haider Rifaat Show. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The world struggled to adapt to an unusual pandemic lifestyle, beginning last year. Just as millions of households in the United States began to accustom themselves to the new normal while wearing face masks, adhering to social distancing and working from home, COVID-19 restrictions began to ease.

Vaccination efforts amped up, cases began to dwindle and some public sectors opened up for business. Amidst these major developments, Americans are now met with a new challenge, "cave syndrome," which is the fear of interacting with the outside world following more than a year of staying home.

The new term, established by Florida-based psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Bregman, gives us a glimpse into what a full-blown return to normalcy would look like in the near future, especially in light of resuming long-term interaction with peers, work colleagues and extended family members.

Bregman observes what he calls a shocking trend among his patients, supposedly reporting an increase in cave syndrome. Introverts, extroverts and people who fall in between have grown fond of their homes during the pandemic, and it seems as if they are anxious to adapt to a regular lifestyle in a post-COVID-19 world.

Individuals with anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia – the fear of leaving one's house – already fear social interaction. The pandemic worsened their condition over the course of more than a year. They may run a greater risk of developing cave syndrome considering that the world is gradually returning to normalcy.

A 2021 conclusive survey conducted by the American Psychological Association laid bare key findings that largely affected American adults. Around 49 percent of Americans felt uncomfortable resuming normal social interaction.

Parents, workers, young adults and people of color experienced deteriorating physical health in response to COVID-19 stressors. This has to do with dependence on alcohol, poor diet and irregular sleeping patterns. As many as 61 percent of adults experienced undesired weight changes while 46 percent of Generation Z adults reported that their state of mental wellbeing declined during the pandemic.

In light of these major findings, it is evident that many Americans, if not all, would feel the need to socially isolate, and try to figure out their personal problems before making the much-needed transition to a normal life.

Even the impact of COVID-19 on mental health seems to be a long-lasting hurdle for many American households. Individuals winded up losing their loved ones to the virus while fighting for their own lives. On top of that, the job market collapsed earlier on and many were out of jobs. Eating disorders among adolescents amplified during the pandemic.

Women, on the other hand, endured a significant increase in depression and anxiety linked to overuse of alcohol and violence, according to a study conducted by University of Chicago Medicine. It is stresses like these that Americans have not outgrown. Hence, making a sudden, forced transition from the pandemic routine to a normal life would be a major challenge for Americans.

Rest assured, there are pathways to overcoming cave syndrome. Bregman suggests that having a loved one or a companion by your side not only facilitates anxiety disorders, but helps avert cave syndrome. He further devised the "Mindfulness, Attitude and Vision" (MAV) system this year to overcome cave syndrome.

The initial step is to understand the problem causing distress. Then try to approach things with optimism and recognize that stepping outside the house could result in some form of positivity, for example, re-imagining pre-pandemic activities that led to happiness.

Lastly, visualize your aims and work towards them once you muster the courage to escape the "cave." Individuals could take small, progressive steps to put their social skills to test. For instance, going for groceries or visiting a close friend.

However, cave syndrome, by no means, applies to every single American. Those with no history of anxiety disorders are eager to resume work life and social interaction with family and friends. While it may be safer for vaccinated Americans to resume their daily drills, it is important to recognize that vaccination drive in the U.S. decreased last month due to higher demand and limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

U.S. President Joe Biden would also fall short of achieving his goal of inoculating 70 percent of adults with one shot by July 4. More importantly, the contagious Delta variant – originating from India – constitutes one in five cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and comprises 10 percent of the coronavirus cases emerging nationwide.

Even Dr. Anthony Fauci dubbed the new variant as the greatest threat to the country's fight against COVID-19. What makes matters worse for America is vaccine hesitancy.

As much as 24 percent of Americans do not intend to get vaccinated, according to a new Gallup poll. As many as 78 percent of these individuals are still hesitant to get vaccinated while 51 percent would not consider getting vaccinated at all.

Vaccine reluctance is likely an indication of more people exposing themselves to the virus and the new Delta variant, which should raise concerns of a worsening epidemic in the United States.

There are many unresolved challenges for the United States government to overcome. Lifting COVID-19 restrictions so earlier on appears to be a miscalculated, premature move on the government's part. There is a sense of impending danger with the Delta variant in the country. Thus, it is important to reimpose small lockdowns to prevent a new, more lethal wave of the virus moving forward.

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