How To Deal With Pandemic Fatigue When The Rest Of The World Has Gone On With Their Lives

These days, it's hard to not notice that we've been in perpetual lockdown for almost two years, at varying degrees. As the rest of the world starts opening up, it's also hard not to notice that a lot of countries have started going back to a seemingly normal way of life—heading back to offices, meeting friends and family for dinners and parties, attending mass gatherings like concerts and sporting events—you get the picture. For us in the country though, this seems like a farfetched reality for the time being, and if we are being completely honest—sometimes the future seems bleak. 

Being in a pandemic for about 21 months has sure taken a toll on a lot of us not just financially, but physically and mentally as well. Questions like 'when will this ever end?' come to mind, and frankly, thinking about it also gets tiring. That's why for World Mental Health Day, we touched base with The Happiness Doctor herself, Dr. Lia Bernardo, and asked for her expert advice on how to cope with pandemic fatigue when the rest of the world seems to have gone on with their lives. 

Metro.Style: We've been at this for almost two years. What are the most noticeable changes in people's mental health state?

Lia Bernardo: While we cannot really generalize because this will not be true for all, what I have noticed within our Raising Frequencies community is that people are now more accountable in terms of self direction towards feeling better about themselves. People are generally more self-aware and have embraced self-nurturing as a priority in their lives. People have now started looking inwards and have realized that the answers are within and not in the externals.

MS: They say there is a pandemic of anxiety apart from the actual COVID-19 pandemic. With this reality, how can people cope amidst an uncertain future?

LB: By embracing the fact that we really have no control over our external environment but we have full control of our internal environment. So while we navigate the uncertainties of the world, our greatest coping skill or resource is making sure that our internal world is in harmony and flow.

MS: All over the world, we see countries leading 'normal' lives—in-person concerts, sporting events, etc. while here in the country, everything seems bleak. What can we do to help ourselves cope with such a situation? 

LB: This, I have no answer to, because it also frustrates me and my stand on this is that we need to educate people on safety, courtesy and awareness of others so that we can move forward to a sense of "normal" vs. settling on living like this (in fear and isolation from each other), we are social beings first and foremost, so while we do need to practice caution we need to work towards moving into face to face meetings, events, etc.

MS: What are practical things we can incorporate into our daily lives to help us deal with the fact that we are in this situation and it could take a bit more time before we catch up with other countries?

LB: I will always have the same answer, its raise your frequency, because when you move, learn, grow, create every day, you develop self-love and this puts you in a state of being that is positive, joyful and harmonious with yourself and others.

Interested to learn more from Dr. Lia Bernardo? Join Atma Prema Wellbeing Group's free classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10-10:30 am on Zoom by signing up via their Instagram account at @atmapremawellbeinggroup

Lead Photo by Yoav Aziz on Unsplash