My cultural awakening: a Bastille show helped me get over my crippling Covid-era anxiety

I was afraid to be near people for two-and-a-half years, but then I got a chance to meet the band I loved – and the experience changed everything

I have always had a degree of& health anxiety, but when Covid hit, it really spiked. At home with the family, I made sure we washed all our food and even then I didn’t feel safe eating it. I& would bring in the post and then be worried about touching the front door. I’d shower for ages, trying to wash the virus away.

I’m a journalist, so before the anxiety set in I was a pretty outgoing and adaptable person. But from the start of lockdown until September 2022, I didn’t go anywhere indoors other than home or the hospital. I didn’t even walk down a street for a year and a half, for fear of passing too close to someone.