Cover Photo by Cedric Fauntleroy
It’s been a month since things are normal, she thinks. Her phone screen lights up with notifications from social media—of new posts, travel vlogs, movie nights, brunches and concerts. She swipes her screen and her eyes are fixated on the endless stream of information.
Everyone seems to be outdoors. Everyone is enjoying life again. She should too.
Ten minutes or an hour—she cannot tell the difference. The white comforter has multiple stains, clothes are piling up on one side of her bed, trash cans are filled to the brim and it’s been a long time since she’d cooked a proper meal. Yesterday’s groceries are yet to be arranged—sunlight pours in through the window but she can barely move. In her head, she has already listed all the things she’s supposed to do. If only, she could get out of bed.
But she feels no need to do so. What’s the point? This world is a mess. I am so tired. Why am I always so tired?
If that’s the question you’ve been asking yourself, Post Pandemic Blues could be the answer.
What’s Compassion Fatigue?
Compassion Fatigue is the desensitization to media and it is the result of feeling like you’re stuck in a constant perpetual cycle of uncertainty. Being bombarded with global news and the increasing infection rate has been emotionally draining for all of us.
Felipe et. al, in their paper, “Pandemic Fear and COVID-19: mental health burden and strategies” state: “During epidemics, the number of people whose mental health is affected tends to be greater than the number of people affected by the infection. Past tragedies have shown that the mental health implications can last longer and have greater prevalence than the epidemic itself.”
For those with underlying medical conditions, these periods of isolation and anxiousness have only worsened their conditions. Research done in June 2020, showed that 40.9% of the participants had reported at least one adverse mental or behavioural health condition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why you can’t just move on already
The pandemic is a collective traumatic experience for all of us aside. Regardless of the degree of change we have to experience individually, all of us did take up drastic measures to cope with the pandemic. We all had to create our own defense mechanisms against this global disorder. It took us time to accept the pandemic induced lockdowns.
Why is it so hard to grasp that we are taking time now to ease back into the new normal?
Because this is the desired outcome. When things are particularly brighter–we don’t expect resistance, but that’s the dilemma. Change will always be uncomfortable as we don’t look at what “good” it does but the hard process that it entails. Fear of Normal
This can include a continued fear of infection as crowded places such as offices, schools, and public spaces open up and also stress caused by the realization of resuming socialization with those outside your household.
It is interesting how we reject something that we were desperately craving in lockdown. It’s partly because with a drastic change in life, comes a learning or adjustment period. When you ease into a lifestyle. It’s uncomfortable. It’s new. It’s irritating. And mostly, it’s scary.
Psychologist Deborah Serani, refers to these feelings as “a global example of what’s called re-entry after trauma.”"It becomes a very anxiety-producing moment in the life of a survivor, when they return to normal," Serani said. "Except now, with the pandemic, we're all doing that."
The keyword here? It’s Empathy
Being empathetic is putting yourself in others’ shoes, but also, giving yourself the space to understand what you feel. As we return back to normal life, we have to deal with the pent up emotions of having experienced a global pandemic, and as much as we want to gallop into this new world, we must remind ourselves that adjusting always takes time. And that it’s okay if you’re not your most productive self.
As Kate Waldock, Cardiff University student writes in her blog, “Post Pandemic Blues”: “This isn’t, I’m afraid, the beginning of a bestselling self-help book promising to get your life back on track. All I can offer is the knowledge that you, and I, are not alone in this feeling, and that may be of some small comfort.”
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