After more than two months of stay-at-home orders people receive in many parts of the world, some people started to report feeling fatigued and easy tiredness.

why do we feel fatigue in such a situation? and what to do to cope with it?

“As terrifying as it has all been for many, these were actionable plans that an individual could take, with a goal in mind, and witness actual change and feel that they accomplished something,” says Dr. Gail Saltz

So people initiated safety measures, getting themselves into panic mode when the first waves of outbreak started. But now that we have done our protective measures, we have accommodated the initial fear and some of us started underestimating the risk.

Our fears have receded a little, so we started shifting the focus and looking for new things to murmur about.

Another factor is missing human connections. As a social creatures we crave for our contacts and want our usual gatherings to come back again.

Dr.Gail also points out that the crisis mode under which we are currently running our lives is hard to maintain. At the beginning of the pandemic we became anxious and made quick decisions, but this physiological state is naturally unsustainable. Now the dust settles down, and the mind adapts – hence the fatigue.

Coping

The first action towards coping is understanding the difference between our wants and our needs.

Our basic needs like food, water, shelter, exercise, safety, and support must be met before we move to the things we want to do. If you are struggling with your basic needs you have to seek help and change strategies in order to satisfy them first.

Once you have done this, explore what you want to do afterwards. Look for growth under quarantine. You may setup new goals and objectives, learn new skills, and look for online courses and activities.

Create new activities to break down the monotony and bring structure into your days. remember that there is no time frame or competition to do that, it’s just about surviving a hard time.

In this extraordinary time, establish a routine. When life is uncertain sticking to a routine is of paramount importance. behaviors like going to bed and waking up at regular times, eating nutritious food, doing physical exercises are very useful in combating the fatigue.

You can get some sunlight, going out and maintaining social distancing. This can give you a mood boost as well as mindfulness with the aim to stay in the present moment.

One other way to cope is acknowledging our negative feelings. We will not be able to harness them until we validate them. Simple acknowledgement can give relief and reduce their intensity and effects.

Once you acknowledge, accept theses feelings. You may consider sharing them with some one or writing them down in your daily journal.

Another trick to decrease fatigue is setting up manageable goals. Doing so will give you the benefit of feeling rewarded and having the sense of achievement.

Try to practice new forms of self care just as yoga, mindfulness, taking a bath. This in part can reduce your boredom and help you structure.

helping others, patience, and acceptance are main mechanisms to cope with the fatigue. We have to accept this dramatic change in life which could last for long times.

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