MONTREAL GAZETTE | Pandemic fatigue is real, but there are ways to deal with it, prof says
The signs of ‘pandemic fatigue’ are out there, from the people who feel exhausted to the ones who have become less diligent about physical distancing and washing their hands. It’s not surprising that people are feeling emotionally taxed after experiencing anxiety and disruption for so long because of COVID-19, says a Montreal professor whose research focuses on emotional regulation in performance and well-being. Pandemic fatigue is real, but there are ways to deal with it, prof says.
But while people might have felt better for following the public health guidelines at the outset of the pandemic because it gave them a sense of control over the situation and a means to counter the health threat, they may be flouting those same guidelines now because they’re focusing on the lower number of deaths and hospitalizations to convince themselves the threat has passed, said Jason Harley, an assistant professor of surgery in À¦°óSMÉçÇø’s faculty of medicine.
