Experts call it pandemic fatigue. In Italian we could translate it as severe pandemic fatigue. Psychiatrists and psychologists have already sounded the alarm during the first wave. Now even the World Health Organization has codified it. It is a real behavioral syndrome with manifestations of stress and fatigue caused by the persistence of the emergency situation. The stimuli and news received by the population are so high that people tend to become fatalistic because they are exhausted by the possibility that this condition can last for a long time. The consequence is that after a first moment of great attention to all the behavioral rules to lower the risk of being infected, the alert is relaxed.
Pandemic fatigue: when stress becomes chronic
In acute stress all our senses are on the alert. In these cases, we are very careful about behaviors to avoid the situation that generates this stress. However, if this circumstance lasts for too long, stress takes over and states of anxiety take over. But there is more. In order to survive, man has a great ability to adapt. When the problem becomes chronic there is a risk that it becomes somehow familiar and therefore pushes us to let our guard down.
The continuous change of restrictive rules also leads to a condition of confusion. People who are more fragile or with fewer tools struggle to continually adapt to new measures. We begin to think that everything is useless. In addition, the idea peeps out that the loss of personal freedom and even physical relationship with people are more important than the containment of infections.
What are the symptoms of pandemic fatigue?
Symptoms can vary from person to person. However, the most common manifestations are:
- anxiety,
- agitation,
- sadness,
- restlessness,
- mood swings,
- anger,
- desire for freedom,
- contrary to the rules imposed,
- fatalism, therefore resigned passivity to events,
- until the problem is denied.
The pandemic fatigue should not be confused with the post Covid fatigue
Pandemic fatigue and post Covid fatigue are not to be confused. Post Covid fatigue is a symptom that can last for months and affects people who have had the disease. The sensation is that of always feeling tired, with pain in the muscles and mental confusion. Pandemic fatigue is when we are overcome with anxiety, because we live in a constant situation of alert and worry.
What to do?
Local governments and institutions
WHO’s first recommendations are for both national and local governments.
- The effort they must make is to understand the suffering of their citizens and not to limit themselves to punitive measures, which would have the result of increasing their discomfort.
- Communication from institutions also plays a fundamental role. More than talking about bans, it should be explained that these are changes.
- Pessimism must leave room for credible realism.
- It is useless to make promises that cannot be kept, because then credibility is lost.
The media
They are the link between the political and scientific world and the population. Their role is crucial. Recommendations ask:
- objectivity and adherence to the facts.
- The comparison between experts on the virus is useless. The virus is a virus, it is science. Constantly hearing experts opposing each other only creates insecurity. Some countries, unlike what happens for example in Italy, have chosen that only a scientist should speak.
- Persistently showing emergency images makes us lose all hope that there are behaviors that can save us.
- Also underline the positive data, instead of just highlighting what is wrong.
The population
This is where strategies come into play to try to keep stress and anxiety under control. The first step is to accept the fact that we are tired and exhausted. It is a normal response, as he explained earlier, typical of when stress becomes chronic. But be careful, because chronic stress, anxiety and fear lower our immune defenses. In practice, the situation is this, better accept it. We try, as far as possible, to practice all those activities that lower stress levels, such as physical activity, which can also be done at home, yoga, meditation. But also the films that we like, the television programs that relax us. Playing video games can also be useful, because it makes us disconnect from reality. Avoid always staying in touch with the news. Being bombarded with images can be deleterious. Limit yourself to enough information to make us understand what is happening. Don’t underestimate your situation. If we feel overwhelmed with anxiety, talk to a doctor right away.
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