Pandemic life: "I feel more and more exhausted"

Sussex student Jenny Bathurst has been writing for us about pandemic life since lockdown began back in March.
Jenny BathurstJenny Bathurst
Jenny Bathurst

The pandemic robbed her of the chance to sit A levels. But she ended up with three As and is now studying journalism at the University of Brighton (Eastbourne campus).

Here is her latest contribution.

"Who knew that sleeping, eating, and the occasional half an hour walk could be so tiring? Never before have I found myself lying in bed at 4:00 in the afternoon struggling to keep my eyes open, yet in the middle of a pandemic where we are instructed to stay at home, I feel more and more exhausted. I cannot believe that a year ago I would be out of bed at 6:30am every weekday and now rolling out of bed at 8:30am feels like a massive achievement, albeit a struggle. I cannot begin to imagine the mental and physical strain on all key workers as they continue to work in what is most likely the most challenging year of their careers, presumably yearning to be in a position where they can roll out of bed at whatever hour they like and spend their day as they choose.

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"Whilst scrolling on Facebook this week, I noticed a post shared by a friend that I think sums up the current situation perfectly. It observed that we are not in fact all in the same boat, but the same storm. Some of us have yachts and some only canoes, and others of us are simply trying to keep our heads above the water. This doesn’t necessarily go to show that if we are more financially privileged than another, we can deal more easily with what is going on around us, but my interpretation of this idea is that we can never be 100% certain of somebody’s circumstance and should therefore treat them accordingly. The past year has affected us all in different ways, and while I would be the first person to say that I have had it easy compared to many, there have been moments where I have had to make the choice to be proactive to stop myself from reaching a damaging point.

"Although we are now all well versed in the best ways to care for our mental wellbeing in this period, it is most definitely a different story ensuring that we continue to carry out these methods on a regular basis. Sometimes when I gaze out the window to a wet and windy day the last thing I want to do is actually put on a coat and scarf and go on a walk, but the well-known benefits from just half an hour in the fresh air never fails to leave me feeling far better than I did when cocooned in my duvet not knowing what to do with myself. I have said it many times before, but this pandemic is not something that any of us are sailing through and listening to our own needs comes before what society says we should or shouldn’t be doing.

"Sometimes all I need is to get myself out on a run and complete my to-do list of university tasks and that is healthy, but other days I know that I need to eat a family size chocolate bar and watch a lot of Netflix, and that is healthy too."