Coronatiredness

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found the lockdown and social distancing measures to be challenging in ways that I didn’t really expect. I anticipated the limitations on social life being a struggle. It’s natural when we aren’t able to see the people we care about, the people who support us, and make us feel like ourselves.

What I didn’t expect was how depleted I would feel. I feel so tired... What is that about?

Why do I feel exhausted when I appear to be doing far less than I used to?

From the conversations I’ve been having with people around me physically and virtually, it seems that I’m not alone. Low energy, and feeling depleted, overwhelmed, and unmotivated seem to be common experiences in these strange times.

I think this is, in part, simply because it takes time to adjust to changing routine, learning new ways of working and living. And adjusting to change takes energy. We aren’t able to fall back on automatic and habitual patterns, those that make it so you don’t even need to think about what you’re doing. Instead, we’re having to think about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. Until we become comfortable and familiar with these new ways of living, we have to expect to make more mistakes, work less efficiently and smoothly, and generally have a less streamlined way of life. It’s similar to when you first move to a new town or start a new job, and you have to learn all the new places to go to, or the new procedures. If you’ve experienced this, you’ll know that it takes a lot of energy, and leaves you feeling exhausted at the end of the day.

Our energy levels are also linked with what we do. Many of the things that used to motivate and energise us are now unavailable; things like meeting friends, going dancing, eating out, being outdoors, going to events, live music, shows, going to work, and so on. I think this has a subtle but significant impact on us. Loss of meaningful activity is linked with causing and maintaining depression. Engaging in activities and experiences that are meaningful to us and give us purpose makes us who we are and links us with people who have similar values or interests to us.

So, it makes sense that globally, many of us are feeling at least some symptoms of depression;

*Note that experiencing symptoms of depression does not mean you have clinical depression. Everyone experiences these symptoms as times, often due to difficult life events. Clinical depression may be diagnosed if symptoms endure over a long period of time, significantly disrupt daily functioning, and cause significant distress. Please seek professional advice if you are concerned about yours or someone else’s wellbeing.

Remember to look after yourself, practice self-care, and try to ensure your physical and psychological needs are being met as much as possible.

Be gentle with yourself and acknowledge that you may be experiencing loss at the moment; loss of meaningful activity, but also loss of roles (perhaps work, social, and/or relationship roles), loss of plans and things to look forward to. It’s no wonder it feels something like grief at times.

While we may not be able to engage in our usual activities and roles, we may be able to access them in new ways, such as virtually or within our home, in our neighbourhoods or communities.

Finally, I think there’s an underlying feeling of anxiety, an undercurrent of concern and worry. It comes with the uncertainty we’re currently living with, the questions with no answers. For how long will our lives be disrupted by social distancing? How bad will things get? If I, or anyone I know, get covid-19, how severe will the symptoms be? How will the health service in my country cope? How will the economy survive? What will life look like in the longer term?

We’re living in particularly unpredictable times, where things are developing and changing at such a rate, it’s difficult to keep up. It’s an uneasy feeling to have so much uncertainty in our lives.

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It’s so understandable that so many of us are feeling depleted and overwhelmed.

Please, be gentle with yourself.

Allow yourself to slow down, to rest and relax.

I think the value of productivity, work, and achievement is driven into us by our society, because our economy relies on them. Now, we are seeing our economy suffer, because many of us can’t go to work or have no work to go to.

It’s great that people are finding and sharing ways to be productive, to learn and grow while social distancing. It’s wonderful that people are embracing their creative side, starting online business ventures, studying remotely, and so on.

Nevertheless, I think it’s also important for us to take into account how depleting and overwhelming the impact of the coronavirus is. We may need to manage our expectations for ourselves. For instance, I’ve found that working from home, I get far less done than I initially expected. This was so frustrating and stressful in the first week, but I’ve readjusted my expectations accordingly, and feel much better about work now!

I think it’s important for us to give ourselves permission to not always need to be working, achieving, and improving. It’s time we see our value and worth beyond our productivity.

This can be a great opportunity to reflect, meditate, and connect inwardly.

The challenge is finding self-acceptance despite not doing the things that make you feel purposeful and worthy; appreciating you for you, rather than for what you do.

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Behavioural Activation is a CBT intervention that uses the introduction of meaningful activity to reduce symptoms of depression. Here is a guide on Behavioural Activation for more information: https://medicine.umich.edu/sites/default/files/content/downloads/Behavioral-Activation-for-Depression.pdf

Read more about depression here: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/symptoms/