PANDEMIC BURNOUT
It’s been a year. A whole damn year. WTF.
I’m tried. Are you tired? Of course, you are, we all are. Everyone is drained. Every single person across the globe has been impacted by this pandemic. Some have lost family and friends to the virus, other have lost their livelihood, homes, and important milestones. No one has been left unscathed. Some have been impacted more severely than others and the lockdown rules highlight inequality in our society. We have been forced to face several harsh truths. We have had little to no reprieve from this harsh reality, so it is such a shock that we are al burnt out?
I have noticed that I am experiencing levels of exhaustion that I have not felt before. It’s a different type of exhaustion, because no matter how much “rest” I try to give myself it seems to have very little effect. This my dears, is burn out.
We have talked about burn out before. It occurs when we are exposed to constant sources and repeated stress. A chronic stress that does not dissipate or pass, and there is no break from. Burnout from work is already exhausting but the burn out from the pandemic, this feels like a different beast entirely. We are tired, annoyed, isolated, and lonely. It feels even more exhausting because our only option is to “hang in there”. We are stuck in a paradox of wanting more control and choice while also feeling too drained to make a decision.
In different circumstances, there may have been ways to buffer this stress. Feeling connected socially, having a circle of friends and family we can rely on, and having more control or certainty about our situation can help us to feel better. Unfortunately, many of us are tired of connecting virtually. We are tired of telling people “I miss you!”. Every conversation starts to feel the same and you have nothing new to share. We also do not have any certainty or control over the situation.
If you are feeling exhausted and burnt out, know that you are not alone. You are SOOOO not alone in that feeling. Many of us are just focused on surviving, “thriving” is out of the question. Most people are down with texting, and surface level “check-ins”. What we need is real life connection and that is one thing that we cannot get. We are clinging to the people in our lives in ways we have not before, while others are shutting out the world completely. No reaction is wrong, and it all makes sense. Know that these are normal and regular reactions to our collective abnormal circumstances.
