GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (WBAY) – Many are feeling frustration as the pandemic continues – a phenomenon doctors are calling COVID fatigue.

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Health experts are now talking about the realities of this type of burnout and how to continue living a socially distant life.

“People are just tired. Also, I think this relatively brief reprieve towards the start of summer, I think people saw the light at the end of the tunnel and then all of a sudden with the delta variant it all started going down again and they’re like if I had I have had enough, ”said Dr. Brian Cagle, clinical psychologist at Bellin Health.

While following social distancing guidelines such as wearing a mask or meeting outdoors can be helpful in reducing the spread of COVID-19, it can also be psychologically exhausting.

“So we’re finding that people are feeling social distancing fatigue, COVID fatigue. We’ve been running a long distance race and we feel really exhausted from all of the safety precautions we’ve had to take, all of the changes in our lifestyle, and we just want to get back to a sense of normalcy, ”he said. Dr Shilagh. Mirgain, Psychologist Emeritus at UW Health.

Unlike other physical and mental illnesses, health experts recognize that most people don’t have a lot of experience to draw on for this disease marathon.

“If I have chronic depression or have back pain, I have a frame of reference. I know what it feels like, but yeah, the frustration is definitely similar. If I have chronic back pain or chronic depression, I’m going to get very frustrated because it just doesn’t seem to end, ”Dr. Cagle said.

“We are seeing that one of the consequences of the pandemic is an increase in mental health problems. We have seen an increase in depression and anxiety. These rates are higher than they were before the pandemic. We are also seeing an increase in problems like drug addiction or sleep disturbances, ”added Dr. Mirgain.

Doctors say that to fight COVID exhaustion, you can do things that make you happy in a safe and socially distant way, like exercise or become a journalist. They add that you can also speak with professional support if needed.

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