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Dangerous Fatigue

There are countless sad and terrifying stories like this one about the pandemic. Around me I see young people and kids tired of waiting for normalcy and taking their chances. Playing soccer in the school yard, running together, hanging out in large groups for dinner and so on. This is understandable - not everyone can wait infinitely for all this to blow over. Being in denial of pandemic fatigue and what it can to to the person feeling it or those around them who can be impacted is wrong. In the workplace, there is a lot of talk about talking mental health breaks and carving time out during the work day to get away from the meeting madness for quiet time to think. That is all good but no one is talking about growing tired of waiting for a post-pandemic world. 

,,pandemic fatigue refers to feeling overwhelmed with still having to maintain a state of constant vigilance, in this case six months after the pandemic started, and a weariness to abide by restrictions.

Everyone I know would agree they feel that fatigue. Some are able to tolerate it better than others - availability and access of physical and mental resources matter a lot. 

Some pandemic fatigue seems to be caused by conflicting public health messaging in many countries. During lockdown, the rules in some countries were so strict that they were fairly unambiguous. Now, after the easing of lockdowns in many places, some countries are reintroducing restrictions of varying levels following rising numbers of cases. These constantly changing measures can cause confusion over what people should and shouldn’t do..

Very true as well. Black and white policies while "draconian" make conditions of compliance easy to understand. No leaving home unless for food or medicine after 6 pm - one may hate that edict but it is very clear. Six months into this thing the powers that be are taking a more nuanced approach for a variety of reasons - not all bad or wrong but compliance is now a moving target even for the well-intentioned. 

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