Hugh: Psychologist Explains Why Everyone Seems Exhausted Right Now

If it feels like time has both been slowing down and speeding by at the same time, you’re not alone. Following the pandemic-related shutdowns and years unlike any other, so many people seem to be running on empty and it’s no shame if you’re one of them. Psychologist and speaker Naomi Holdt recently took to social media to explain the general exhaustion out there, and it makes sense. She calls the pandemic years a “vicious onslaught” that took strength to make it through, and the process left us all “carrying shock, trauma, grief, heaviness, disbelief” going forward. Naomi explains that once things started going back to normal, whether you were conscious of it or not, there was a psychological pressure to “catch up” in all parts of life, whether it be work, school, relationships, or otherwise. She explains, “attempts to re-create some semblance of ‘normal’ on steroids while disregarding that for almost two years our sympathetic nervous systems were on full alert, has left our collective mental health in tatters.” Her advice? Remember that almost everyone needs a little extra compassion, including children and teens, “and most of all…be kind.”