Sometimes fear and anxiety can make our minds leap to the worst scenario, even if it’s most unlikely. Protecting your emotional health is just as important as caring for yourself physically. If your feelings are overwhelming or all-consuming - and getting in the way of your daily activities - reach out to a health care provider. Then refocus your mind and energy on things you can do to feel better. Instead, acknowledge and name your feelings. Stuffing feelings down and ignoring them doesn’t make them go away. You can:Ĭhallenging situations stir up a mix of emotions. Although you should limit your physical contact with people outside your household, there are other ways to connect socially. So it’s crucial to connect with others during the pandemic. Being alone and feeling isolated can be stressful. Anything that offers you stress relief can be helpful. #3: Lower your stressįocusing on activities that are calming or bring you joy can lower your stress level - whether that’s cooking a fancy meal or bird watching or practicing meditation for 15 minutes a day. And be sure to choose an accurate source of information, such as UCLA Health or your local news. You can also limit your news consumption to once a day for an hour or less. Take a break from the news for a day or two and see if you feel better. But too much news can overload you with negative emotions and zap your energy. It’s good to stay up to date on the latest coronavirus information. Doing these things will boost your energy, lift your mood and strengthen your immune system. Though it may be difficult to drum up the motivation, exercising every day is important too. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep (at least seven hours a night) and maintaining a nutritious diet. When you’re wrapped up in what’s going on in the world and at home, it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself.
Take these steps to renew your energy and feel more in control: #1: Take care of your body To reduce the toll it takes, it’s essential to pay attention to your emotional and physical needs. You may also feel:Īdapting to the increased uncertainty of the pandemic is challenging. The hallmark sign of pandemic fatigue is a sense of inner weariness. The fatigue can stem from a number of emotions you’ve experienced during the pandemic, including: Wrestling with intense emotions day after day drains your energy, causing pandemic fatigue. Read on to learn what you can do to feel better while staying safe. It’s also important to stay the course and slow the spread of coronavirus. It’s perfectly normal to feel burned out right now. It’s a very real feeling of exhaustion stemming from the effects of the novel coronavirus on your life - from stay-at-home orders to the fear of getting ill to losing jobs. After months of dealing with the fallout from COVID-19, many people have pandemic fatigue.