{"id":6445,"date":"2026-03-13T18:59:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=6445"},"modified":"2026-03-13T18:59:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:59:45","slug":"psychologist-explains-why-everyone-feels-so-exhausted-these-days-and-it-makes-a-lot-of-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=6445","title":{"rendered":"Psychologist explains why everyone feels so exhausted these days and it makes a lot of sense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cA gentle reminder about why you are utterly exhausted\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re more than four years past the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, and it\u2019s been a weird ride, to say the least. These years have been hard, frustrating, confusing and tragic<\/a>, and yet we keep on keeping on. Except the keeping on part isn\u2019t quite as simple as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve sort of collectively decided to move on, come what may. This year has been an experiment in normalcy<\/a>, but one without a testable hypothesis or clear design. And it\u2019s taken a toll. So many people are feeling tired, exhausted, worn thin (\u201clike butter scraped over too much bread,\u201d as Bilbo Baggins <\/a>put it) these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychologist and speaker Naomi Holdt<\/a> beautifully explained what\u2019s behind the overarching exhaustion people are feeling as we close out 2022, and it makes perfect sense. Holdt is a psychologist, author, and speaker with over two decades of experience, and specializes in the emotional well-being of children and young adults. She is also the author of \u201cHow to Raise Resilient Kids and Teens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a post on Facebook<\/a>, she wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA gentle reminder about why you are utterly exhausted\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one I know began this year on a full tank. Given the vicious onslaught of the previous two years (let\u2019s just call it what it was) most of us dragged ourselves across the finish line of 2021\u2026 frazzled, spent, running on aged adrenaline fumes\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We crawled into 2022 still carrying shock, trauma, grief, heaviness, disbelief\u2026 The memories of a surreal existence\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then it began\u2026 The fastest hurricane year we could ever have imagined. Whether we have consciously processed it or not, this has been a year of more pressure, more stress, and a race to \u2018catch up\u2019 in all departments\u2026 Every. Single. One. Work, school, sports, relationships, life\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though not intentionally aware, perhaps hopeful that the busier we are, the more readily we will forget\u2026 the more easily we will undo the emotional tangle\u2026 the more permanently we will wipe away the scarring wounds\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And attempts to re-create some semblance of \u2018normal\u2019 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. Our children and teens are not exempt. The natural byproduct of fighting a hurricane is complete and utter exhaustion\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So before you begin questioning the absolutely depleted and wrung-dry state you are in- Pause. Breathe. Remind yourself of who you are and what you have endured. And then remind yourself of what you have overcome.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite it all, you\u2019re still going. (Even on the days you stumble and find yourself face down in a pile of dirt).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"tired,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Understanding brings compassion\u2026 Most of the world\u2019s citizens are in need of a little extra TLC at the moment. Most are donning invisible \u2018Handle with care\u2019 posters around their necks and \u2018Fragile\u2019 tattoos on their bodies\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of racing to the finish line of this year, tread gently.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go slowly. Amidst the chaos, find small pockets of silence. Find compassion. Allow the healing. And most of all\u2026 Be kind. There\u2019s no human being on earth who couldn\u2019t use just a little bit more of the healing salve of kindness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting it like that, of course, we\u2019re exhausted. We\u2019re like a person who thinks they\u2019re feeling better at the end of an illness, so they dive fully back into life, only to crash midday because their body didn\u2019t actually have as much energy as their brain thought it did. We tried to fling ourselves into life, desperate to feel normal and make up for lost time, without taking the time to fully acknowledge the impact of the past two years or to fully recover and heal from it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"tired,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, life can\u2019t just stop, but we do need to allow some time for our bodies, minds, and spirits to heal from what they\u2019ve been through. The uncertainty, the precariousness of \u201cnormal,\u201d the after-effects of everything that upended life as we knew it are real. The grief and trauma of those who have experienced the worst of the pandemic are real. The overwhelm of our brains and hearts as we try to process it all is real.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s be gentle with one another and ourselves as we roll our harried selves into another new year. We could all use that little extra measure of grace as we strive to figure out what a true and healthy \u201cnormal\u201d feels like.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cA gentle reminder about why you are utterly exhausted\u2026\u201d We\u2019re more than four years past the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it\u2019s been a weird<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/649089663_1395614769266177_5037709762156285695_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6447,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6445\/revisions\/6447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}