COVID Tired

I’m not sure if I’ve had COVID, but I strongly suspect I got it around late-April/early-May in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. I ended up sick for a couple of weeks when testing wasn’t available and then recovered.

Ever since then, I’ve had less energy than before. It’s affected my life in a major way and made it hard to do side projects, enjoy going outside, or really do anything. Before the pandemic, I would get up early, drive to work, work my 8.5 hour day, drive home, and work on projects like HAM radio, photography, urban exploring, or even knitting and crafts.

Post-COVID, I roll out of bed half an hour before my first meeting, work through my day, and when 5 comes, I can barely keep awake. I need a nap or to spend the evening half-asleep. I have had barely enough energy to do my job, and none extra. Now, almost a year later, this is just now getting better.

I have friends also going through shades of this same experience. COVID long-hauler syndrome is a very real thing, and I feel like it’s going to affect me for years to come. Whenever I see people feeling like it’s okay if people under 55 get COVID because they’re likely to survive, it makes me angry. Just because you survive doesn’t mean your life is severely and meaningfully altered.

When I saw I HATE EVERYTHING’s excellent I HATE ANXIETY 2020 video, it spoke to me a lot and I think really sums up the effect this is having on people well. If you’ve not yet, I recommend watching it.