Struggling with COVID fatigue?
Many have grown weary of the limits placed on activities and the extra steps required to follow the precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It all takes extra effort, and it isn’t fun. These precautions are important to protect your health and the health of others, but they can be hard to sustain for months on end. These feelings are called “COVID Fatigue” or “Mask Fatigue” or “Caution Fatigue.”
Regardless of the name, this fatigue happens when the energy that keeps you alert to danger and risk starts to run down. A feeling of resignation can also creep in, along with the attitude of “why bother?” However, giving in to that weariness and letting down your guard has consequences.
We may be tired of COVID-19, but this virus is still spreading, and the evidence of the consequences of letting down is clear in the rise of cases and hospitalizations earlier this fall.
Early in the pandemic, fear and a sense of social responsibility combined drove most people to change their behaviors dramatically to slow the spread of COVID-19, and it worked. The number of new cases, hospitalizations, outbreaks and deaths stopped growing and then started to fall.
It took a lot of effort, willpower and energy to deny everyone what they wanted — close social interactions, freedom to go anywhere and getting back to previous routines.
Willpower is like a muscle that gets tired and weakens with overuse. We grow numb after being in a high state of alert for extended periods of time. This happens even with everyday struggles we face between what we want in the short term and what we know is best for the long term. Examples include spending now or saving for the future, eating a tempting dessert or meeting a weight-loss goal.
It is normal to experience a conflict between our emotional drive (“I want it now!”) and rational control (“But think about the future”). The pandemic has created constant conflict between our emotional drive and rational control.
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