Aimeé
There are less than three months left to 2020, and those months include an election for a new president—or the recurrence of the one we have right now. If your mind is in shambles after a pandemic, social upheaval, quarantine, massive wildfires, and floods, not to mention the primaries (remember those?) you’re not alone.
Positive psychologist Alexis Rockley shared a Twitter thread that seems to have resonated with a lot of people experiencing unprecedented mental fatigue.
“Those ‘all over the place’ feelings you’ve been having?” she asks. Um, yes, I think I know what you’re talking about.
“They are symptoms of stress, NOT personal failures of yours,” she continued. “Do you feel FLAKEY + INCONSISTENT? That’s b/c your brain doesn’t know what news to brace for next, or what next month will hold.”
She went on to explain that our brains are literally responding to the situation the earth and the United States of Refusing Basic Health Measures is dealing with. She says our brains are burning energy “10x faster than usual.” I don’t know where that science is coming from, but it sure feels true based on the speed of my racing thoughts in the middle of the night.
She also says are brains are shutting down certain functions under stress, like the areas that organize complex tasks and planning. Masks sense.
TIRED EASILY? That’s because your brain is burning your energy 10x faster than usual.
CAN’T SEEM TO FOCUS? That’s b/c your brain has temporarily shut down some functionality in your prefrontal cortex—the part that juggles complex tasks + planning— due to the stress response.
— Alexis Rockley (@alexisrockley) April 14, 2020
Remember when people thought that they’d get stuff done while in lockdown? There’s a reason you couldn’t, besides depression. Creativity requires energy, and that energy was being diverted into staying alive:
Feeling CREATIVELY BLOCKED? That’s because your brain has temporarily diverted all its creativity (aka ability to solve novel problems) to “how do I avoid dying?” while in a narrowed, slow burn, fight-or-flight state.
— Alexis Rockley (@alexisrockley) April 14, 2020
Humans are extremely adaptable, physically and mentally, but the constant waves of new, stressful information to process is making it hard for our brains to settled onto any one strategy for survival. That’s why it may be hard to settle to any task, make decisions, or plan long term.
Things that used to matter a whole lot might feel unimportant right now. They might not seem important again, or something else will, when life settles down. If it does!
Your plans, creativity, energy, focus + motivation are on a YO-YO right now, b/c your brain believes you need to be EXTREMELY ADAPTIVE.
You will not be on this rollercoaster forever. Be patient with your brain.
Sincerely,
a positive psychology-certified coach + fellow human
— Alexis Rockley (@alexisrockley) April 14, 2020
People found this all incredibly relatable and even reassuring:
Thank you for posting. I have all of this and a screaming 4 month old and a tantruming 4 year old on top. Feeling like a failure on top of all of the usual anxieties
— Victoria Passmore (@VictoriaPassmo2) April 20, 2020
Wow this thread literally described how I feel all the time..legit just thought it was my own personality at this point lol
— c. (@gyalalmighty) April 20, 2020
After all, if you feel like you’re losing your mind, at least you don’t have to feel like it’s just you.
But as some people pointed out, this is the state that many people have been living in, either because of mental health issues, anxiety, or living in situations of high stress, like poverty:
This is fascinating. So, the standard day to day lived experience of everyone in poverty is now the mental state of middle & some in upper classes? This is just what I, & millions of others have experienced for years. Unfortunately, welcome to the club everyone.
— DrStrib 🌻 (@DrStrib) April 28, 2020
Okay question though, what does it mean if I have all of these things all the time? 🤔😂
Is the entire world experiencing what my fibromyalgia brain fog feels like? I think that’s what this is 😬— Femke Bals (@SleepingBakery) April 20, 2020
And suddenly, a lot more people can understand what it means to feel like me, and millions of people like me, everyday. All of the “oh come on you’re always tired” or “it’s not a big deal” and “cant you just try harder” start to disappear when everyone has to deal with them.
— Lilith (@LuintaAke) April 19, 2020
And of course for those of us with mental illnesses that already present with these symptoms, everything’s just become an untenable shitshow.
— Jezi, Persisting 🍒 (@Jezi_Belle) April 19, 2020
Also a pretty good description of what living with an anxiety disorder feels like. Next time someone asks what it’s like I’ll say “It’s kind of like how you felt during the pandemic.”
— Conor Power 🇮🇪 (@CJPdammit) April 20, 2020
If the pandemic teaches us all anything besides how to properly wash our hands, I hope it teaches us compassion. No one should ever have to live in the state of 2020 forever.
More mental health:
- These Photos Of Mental Health Glow-Ups Show How Severely Depression Affects Your Appearance
- Viral Thread Details The Negative Health Effects Caused By Lack Of Sleep (15 Tweets)
- Model Shares A Video Of Herself Having A Panic Attack To Raise Awareness About Mental Illness
- People On Twitter Share What Symptoms Of Anxiety Feel Like To Them (30 Tweets)
