The long day of COVID, hypervigilance & the dynamics of burnout

This topic came up in an online survivors’ community that I’m part of, as we all pondered the question of whether Covid has caused us to nudge burn out or not.  The thought was that initially we all entered the crisis as strong as we could for the fight in front of us.  The crisis is long, just as we were warned, even though it seems longer, and it was always going to be hard to anticipate just how we were to survive through it, even in the midst of hopes we had to thrive, for we all want to thrive through every season of life.

I sense that how we are feeling individually is a product of many factors, not least of which is how our home countries are grappling with the crisis.  In Australia, the first wave at least has been controlled, even though we as a society in general remain very cautious, where paradoxically as individuals, fatigue has set in and we have relaxed.  I know in other places of the world it seems that Covid is a more clear and present danger right now.  None of us can afford to be complacent, however.

But with the facts as they are, that we have all been through a two-three-month period that has felt more like a full year, there is bound to be some collateral damage in terms of wear and tear on our mental health.  I think I personally sensed a real flatness.  With gyms closed and really no desire to reinvent an exercise regime, as well as being in lockdown, the will to remain fit and active for many of us has waned, just as much as being locked down has forced us to become innovative when we otherwise couldn’t be bothered because of the other things pressing down on us.  Being indoors a lot of the time, we can see why the temptation to eat poorly contributes to a diet that represents the dip in our hope in real terms.  We’ve all faced threats to our jobs, unless we are essential workers, and we have all experienced a raised ambient of anxiety given the economic gloom that is part of our present and future.  Essential workers, of course, face the very real and impending danger of physical as well as psychological burnout.  These factors are merely the tip of the iceberg, but they warrant restating.  The base level of stress within all our societies has a knock-on effect in all our lives, and those who are given to anxiety disorders and depression and PTSD are super vulnerable to both hypervigilance and burnout.

The beginning of the crisis invited us into the anticipation of what lay ahead.  Well, it was not so much an invitation as something we had to get used to.  And whilst some of us welcomed the idea initially that those without disorders were trying something on that we were familiar in wearing, most of us have tried on a variety of styles of hypervigilance of one form or another or of many forms over the ensuing months.

The constant state of hypervigilance has led to the inevitable experience of burnout.  It is little wonder that we are rendered defenseless against a scourge none of us can control or predict.  We see the control measures that governments put in place, and we quickly deduce that this is big, that this is realer than we like, and that this is changing life as we know it in real time.  We are all left with few ways of absorbing the circumstances we are collectively in.

The longevity of the Covid season inevitably features the dynamics of burnout.

The challenge ahead for us as individuals — particularly if we are prone to occasions or seasons or constant mental ill health — isn’t something to be either denied or panicked about.  It is a threat and while Covid is a threat there will always be a threat.  This is something additional to be really aware of as we encounter the opportunity to adjust to the concept of a new normal.  The only defense we have is to be prudent about exposure and to be proactive in terms of our self-care.  The classic trinity of sleep, diet, and exercise will continue to be the basis of the best mental health care plan we can procure for ourselves.

Of course, community is vital, and like very many, I’ve come to truly appreciate the community mentioned at the top of this post, among the several I belong to.  And perhaps this is the biggest point.  More now than ever do we need to surround ourselves with like-minded others who we can endure this crisis with.  It doesn’t matter who they are, and it doesn’t matter the kind of group, so long as we are genuinely able to love and be loved and to feel genuinely safe, included, and accepted for who we are, as we continue to bunker down and survive at this time.

Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash