Managing COVID Fatigue

You’ve probably heard the term “COVID Fatigue,” but what is it, and do I have it?  

COVID Fatigue is an overall sense of exhaustion due to the extra demands of dealing with COVID. Here is what health-care providers are seeing: people who are feeling defeated, burned out, and individuals with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug dependency.

Person with a mask surrounded by Caution signs
Photo illustration by Gary Meader / gmeader@duluthnews.com

University of Wisconsin Health psychologist Shilagh Mirgain has some tips to help you manage. Below are four main areas of COVID Fatigue, and some coping mechanisms for each one:

  1. Change fatigue and uncertainty burnout  
    • Radical acceptance that life will continue to be difficult for a while.
    • Find the silver lining.
    • Look for activities new and old that continue to fulfill you.
  2. Depleted surge capacity
    • “Take 5” mindfulness practice to recharge.
    • Expect less from yourself – cut yourself some slack and give yourself some grace.
  3. Zoom burnout
    • 20-20-20 rule (For every 20 minutes you are looking at a screen, look away from the screen and focus on a spot 20 feet away for 20 seconds).
    • Consider getting blue light blocking glasses.
    • Use transitions well (getting up and walking for two minutes every hour can help reverse the negative health effects from prolonged sitting. Also consider other formats for meetings, such as a telephone call or shorter meeting where you do some of the work by e-mail).
    • Choose to move: Make physical activity a priority.
  4. “Doom scrolling,” or staying glued to electronic devices to find out information on the disasters and stressors that face our country
    • Limit how much social media you are exposed to.
    • Be mindful of the type of news you are consuming.

University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority. (2020, September 23). Managing COVID Fatigue is Crucial to Our Health and Wellbeing During the Pandemic. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.uwhealth.org/news/managing-covid-fatigue-is-crucial-to-our-health-and-wellbeing-during-the-pandemic/53530

Thank you for reading the FLC.  Have a great Halloween Weekend, and don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour Saturday night!!!