COVID: Tired…Stressed…Lessed

Lessed? you’re wondering. We’ve invented a new word, courtesy of the many “benefits” of the COVID pandemic.

Lessed: A state of being in which one who’s survived 2020-21 is so tired, weary, and stressed out that he/she often loses the ability to recall complex words (i.e., book, car, table, etc.); focus for a time period longer than a microsecond (that’s one-millionth of a second, FYI); or sound reasonably coherent (grunts, sighs and groans excluded).

First, let’s consider the general sense of being tired and weary. You’re probably/may be experiencing:

  • A frequent and frustrating inability to fall asleep at night or stay asleep
  • Worry about lack of sleep…which creates anxiety and leads to more sleep loss
  • Mental fogginess, lack of energy, sometimes little to no motivation to get out of bed in the morning
  • Overall weariness with life

Those can lead to a significantly reduced ability to stay on focus, which then affects:

  • Communication

Having trouble expressing yourself?
Finding the right words?
Do you lose your train of thought?

  • Concentration

Do you find your mind wandering, can’t stay on task?
Are you taking longer to finish responsibilities when normally you’d be sailing on “auto pilot”?
Are you less skilled at multi-tasking?
Are you making more mistakes?

  • Confidence

Are you second-guessing yourself when you normally wouldn’t?
Do you feel insecure or even fear for abilities you’d usually exercise with self-assurance?
Do you require/demand others’ support and positive feedback more than usual?

NOTE: You also may be suffering from physical ailments and/or depression. If that is true, we urge you to consult a doctor. If any ailments are severe, seek help immediately.
What to do?

  • Be more patient/understanding with your current limitations

Grant yourself grace!

  • Practice more mindfulness*….less use of autopilot and multi-tasking

             Assume your mental and physical abilities are diminished; proceed with caution.
Check and re-check whatever you’ve produced; expect errors.

  • This is not the time to take on significant new challenges, make life-changing decisions

If you must do either, then seek input from trusted, wise family/friends/counsellors. Take more time than you normally would for major decisions.

  • Accept that stress is a tough master, and that you can control only so much of its effects!

And once again….grant yourself a good measure of grace!

  • Exercise; eat healthy; talk and process with trusted confidants; attempt to get regular and adequate sleep; take time off as you can 

Seek a balance of pro-active self-discipline and giving yourself a break

*(Mindfulness: Quieting my mind to be present; an awareness of my thoughts, feelings, sensations In the here-and-now) 

Bullet Synopsis

  • You may be feeling a near-constant sense of tiredness, weariness
                Contributing factors: unrelenting stress, lack of sleep, worry about that lack, mental and physical lethargy
  • Fogginess/inability to focus then affects:

                 Communication – reduced ability to express yourself

Concentration – trouble staying on task, multi-tasking; making more mistakes overall

Confidence – unusual insecurity issues

  • Expect less from yourself….and give yourself grace
                  Know that you are NOT alone in experiencing these difficulties!
We leave you with this encouragement from God’s Word: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

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