Pandemic fatigue

We've emerged from lockdown (yay) but there’s still a very palpable sense of uncertainty fatigue.

For us in South Australia, we’ve been relatively lucky in comparison to most Australia (and the world). If there’s anything that’s been made undeniably clear during the last week, it's that we are not out of the woods yet - even considering our very fortunate circumstances here in Adelaide. 

When will we be out of the woods though? Will there be another lockdown? How many days will it be for? Am I able to plan for a gathering with more than 10 people? When can I see friends and family interstate or overseas again? It’s overwhelming trying to sift through all the choices, all the opportunities, all the pathways, all the things that could happen. How long until we can travel without the worry of being locked out of your own city or country? How long until things get back to normal again? What is the new normal and how long until this new normal transforms into something different again?

The ambiguity that many of us are in, is pretty exhausting. 18 months into this pandemic has shown us that we’re not in a sprint, we have to prepare for a marathon. You know what else is like a marathon? My thesis. I feel like I am so close to the final sprint but also still so far away, the finish line is out of sight. I’ve reached out to the other researchers in my cohort, especially those who have already been awarded their degrees and submitted their theses. My peers are relentless in encouraging me to keep diving into my data and to keep going. They know me well. They know that despite the struggle, I am determined to see this through (I hope!). So I think it’s time for me to really draw on my resources for some psychological stamina. Below are some of the suggestions myself and my peers have found have helped get us this far in trying to earn a research degree in the midst of a pandemic.

• Keep the goal in mind, but have realistic expectations for your day-to-day. Be mindful of your mental and emotional resources and make sure you keep an eye that they aren’t being depleted. Fill your cup daily with some easy self-care activities. Here is one self-care activity I wrote about previously.
• Try and actively work on some radical acceptance. There is uncertainty yes, so we need to figure out and identify the things that are certain, especially the things in the short-term. Accept that we cannot plan too far ahead. Identify the things that we can plan for in the day-to-day like when to wake up, when to check emails, what to eat, how to nurture ourselves daily, and so on. 
• Focus on what we can control. What are the things we can make a decision on? We can’t control how many days we are in lockdown for but we can decide on how much news we consume. We can decide on having two hours of solid thesis-writing each day. We can decide to take a relaxing bath at night.  
• Self-compassion goes a long way. Re-define what success looks like for us. Re-define what is okay. It’s Important to look at it now and be adaptable because even though we’ve managed the past 18 months, it’s still unclear what the future holds and we need to prepare for the long-term and strengthen our psychological stamina. 
• Lower the mental fatigue by creating a daily routine and forming habits that will lessen how many decisions you have to make during the day. This type of routine may include accomplishing some of your writing first thing in the morning, or at least before you check your emails. This allows you then to focus on your priority, as opposed to responding to emails which usually entail doing less critical/urgent work relating to your thesis. Other small habits may be simplifying your daily lunch or breakfast so you don’t have to make additional decisions during the day. This saves some of your mental and emotional resources not only for brainwork for thesis-writing but also for self-care, self-compassion, and connecting with friends and family (even virtually). Perhaps a quick but healthy and mindful lunch can enable you to have a more relaxing, more indulgent brunch with friends over the weekend.