Anyone else still feeling flat?

[Summercocktailsinthesnow]

I will say I am grateful to still be here, and I have not lost anyone very close to me to covid. Believe me I am grateful for those things. I am not depressed in the slightest either, however I am finding it increasingly hard to listen to all the conversations about hugging and enjoying life again on the radio and every news channel, and I am just not feeling it. At all. Things don't feel very different to me.

I have shivered through meals and drinks with friends, braved the weather for BBQs, I have even had my hair done! I imagined by now to be feeling much better than I am. But I don't feel better. I am so flat, and find things are not much better than before. The things I most want to do seem still a million miles away.

I am desperate for a holiday, we have worked all the way through, but how easy it that going to be this summer? Chances look exceptionally low. I want to dance at a festival, no chance. Or go to something with live music, anything.
I want to enjoy shopping without feeling muzzled, and I really feel what we have now is not really a whole life at all, it is like a half life. It is nothing like the life I left behind. I have no sense of when it will end. The scientist on the BBC today said she wasn't sure the next reopening will even happen....the moment when some kind of normal happens on the 21st of June.

I can't summon the energy to look forward to anything, because we have no idea if it will happen. I feel like I am being lied to, look at all you can do is the strap line, the reality is freezing cold, wind swept evenings eating cold over priced food, and everything is so limited in experience and in interaction, like trying to enjoy a facial with someone covered in PPE none of this is actually fun anymore!

I am optimist, by nature, and of course I have already counted my blessings for the things we can do, but really I just want my old life back so so so badly. Does anyone else feel like this?

It is quite a strange combination of straddling both worlds. We are not out of lockdown and we are not in a lockdown, we are between worlds. I don't enjoy being in this kind of inbetween area.
I did not have this last summer, the minute I could I was out like a bullet and making the most of it. Not feeling it this time though.

And yes wine is perhaps the only time I feel jolly too. Almost like my old self. Which is bloody sad and not something we can drink every night to feel happy/alive.

I know exactly what you mean. I feel like I'm just going through the motions of life at the minute. I'm bored senseless and have no enthusiasm for anything except for when I'm putting a face on for the kids. My mum died last year so I assume some of this is grief too but I feel like I need to shake myself awake.

I'm fed up with wearing a mask, fed up of crappy weather, fed up of not doing things on a whim (well, as much as you can with kids).

I kinda feel like I can't talk to anyone about this as my friends are nurses, teachers, 1 has had problems so I'd feel like a twat having a moan to her. My partner is working a new, very stressful job so I'm trying to be supportive of him by doing the lion share of everything as I'm not working but he does help when he can, he cooked over the weekend and pulled me in for hug and said he appreciates everything I do to which I almost cried. I realise that I'm luckier than most as some people have really struggle with covid etc but I can't help feeling like this.

Well you have more reason that most to feel like this, I am sorry to hear about your mum you and you must be grieving as well. I am def putting on a cheery mask for my dc, and they make me laugh and I feel briefly better for a while. Maybe it will lift naturally. The article suggest we need to take time to ourselves, and become immersed in something.

I wonder whether it is the counter for the surge of enerrgy/effort that was needed to get through the worst of it, and now the crisis has passed we are left depleted on some level? We used all available resources for homeschooling/working/finding food/keep everyone together, and we are now effectively trying to pour from an empty cup - in terms of energy there is nothing left to give.

When even smiling feels like hard work.

I'm the same OP. I'm trying to arrange things to look forward to, seeing friends, going for lunch next week, we even have our UK honeymoon in a few weeks (not that we are married yet 🙄) but I can't seem to muster the energy to look forward to it. Don't think the weather is helping.

Yes I agree with that, we are exhausted and the normal things we would do to recharge aren't as readily available. Its going to take to recover from this.

I feel you, OP I really do.
Making plans and having an active social life really used to keep me going. Now I have little enthusiasm for it. I have a friend visiting next week and I'm dreading it. I can envisage it now, sat in my back garden in the pissing rain nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee before going to an overpriced cafe to be sat in winter clothes and have someone's cigarette smoke blowing in my face whilst trying to catch up on whats new with us this year (nothing), and trying to not talk about covid.

Brought some beautiful summer clothes early 2020 for holiday, which we have rescheduled 3 times and now given up on. I've since put on lockdown weight so unsure if they will fit. All my annual leave of last year has been spend being switched on and 'doing things around the house' as I am unable to switch off and see things that constantly need doing.

I'm hoping things will get better by the end of this year

I feel exactly the same. At the moment even getting up the enthusiasm to do anything feels too great.

Me, too!

I think I am feeling the same as you all. I constantly feel really tired even after a full nights sleep. Feel like life is so dull/hard work at the moment. Hoping my UK break in July will help plus being able to go inside for food/drinks. Fingers crossed we can all get through it and back to ourselves

I can sympathise with most of these posts, and, yes, I feel pretty flat too. I'm very low on motivation most of the time. Out of the blue I'll have a good day and be dealt leisure, but most of the time i feel like I'm coasting at work unless I'm really busy, falling behind on the housework and have no energy for my hobbies. Its horrible.

This shitty cold rainy weather is not helping , it’s mid May , it should be warm and sunny and it’s not and we are still wearing padded coats and standing in windy cold rain.

I’m also missing the build up and excitement of a foreign holiday , used to buy the kids and our outfits , plan activities, etc.

We definitely need hotter weather to cheer everyone up a bit.

I feel exactly the same, so tired, unmotivated and just generally meh. I've come to the conclusion it's a kind of burn out. We've all kept going for so long, through a hideous winter and now it's showing the toll it's taken, unfortunately I don't know of a magic fix

I think the problem was that to survive lockdown you had to go into a 'hibernation mode'. To concentrate only on the here and now (what's for dinner etc.) To never dwell on the fun things you were missing or think too far ahead because it would be too depressing.

Although things are opening up I am still in that protective mode. I almost don't believe that things will continue to get better and I am shielding myself from disappointment but it's also quite 'meh'.

I think you have articulated how many of us feel, everything feels blunted. I feel the slowing down of my life personally has made me reflect on where I want to be and it is not my current situation. I think it will take quite some time for us to feel real enthusiasm as we are now too watchful of further setbacks and it will take time for that to ease. The young and confident will bring things back to normal which is a good thing!

I also feel flat and unmotivated a lot of the time. Have been trying to give myself a big old kick up the arse today but it's hard. The months of stress and uncertainty take their toll I guess.

I also think the cold, changeable weather doesn't help. On the odd warmer, sunny days we've had, I've generally felt more positive and energetic.

In the newspaper this morning they used the word 'languishing' to describe the state of mind of most of us. We have used all our resources of resilience and are sitting around, flat, demotivated and not believing anything will ever get better. I found the headline 'PM says we will be allowed to guy's (or something like that) absolutely chilling.

Guy's? ...hug...!

I too can't seem to get excited about anything.

It is as if we are taking turns to be spontaneous, as if it is a performance, then we sit down again.
I guess it will change when there is room for more than one of us on stage together.

Yup, I am feeling the same!

I remind myself of how lucky I am everyday - I haven’t lost anyone to covid and still have a full time job.

But, I really have no motivation to go out, get my hair done etc. I used to love going shopping, it was my favourite thing to do but have been out a few times since the shops opened and haven’t found any enjoyment in it, found nothing I want to treat myself to.

I love to travel abroad, but that just feels so off the cards. The desire to get away has definitely been heightened for me by the gloomy weather. I normally absolutely love this time of year but the weather has been shocking.

I am also feeling overwhelmed by family and friends trying to book every weekend up over my summer. We all want to see each other, but DP and I work incredibly long hours in the week now that we WFH (I’m talking until 12 at night sometimes!) and the thought of being jam packed every weekend feels me with dread. But then, I also don’t just want to sit around in my house - I’ve been doing that for a year

I feel just feel totally flat - I keep having these waves of sadness. I have no idea why!

Flat is a perfect way to describe it. I too am lucky in that I haven't directly faced any hardship or bereavement in this period. But while I felt like I was staying chipper for a while, in recent months I have been struggling to feel enthusiastic about anything. I am even planning a wedding and what I feel should be an exciting, fun time is instead a long list of chores and like staring down the barrel of spending a lot of money for a day that my nearest and dearest might not even be able to attend (I live abroad). I probably won't see my family until the day of, same thing for bridesmaids much less other friends.

It doesn't help that I don't particularly like video calls and conferences. So while I know I shouldn't withdraw into myself/mine and DP's little bubble, I don't get a lot of enjoyment or a sense of connection from socialising via Zoom.

But I put on a brave face to not be a misery guts for DP.

I think we need to be kind and gentle to ourselves. We have been through a very tough time that none of us could possibly have forseen.

I thought next Monday was now a definite for indoor hospitality and meeting indoors for England and Scotland now? Or have I got this wrong?

CravingTheSun I know what you mean about waves of sadness, I get that too. A bit of anxiety as well, a sort of twisting feeling in my stomach, but for no reason.

How is everyone sleeping? My sleep is terrible.

Ah yes, sleep! Am waking 5-6 times a night, but that could just be my age

I did feel flat, but have thrown myself into the permitted pursuits (limited outdoor sports) and that has really helped

All my friends DS, and myself, are quite often on verge of tears over nothing

But like a collective burnout.

Worrying about my kids (doing gcse and a levels), my parents (on the continent, not seen them since December 2019) who both had a fall, my sister in Singapore who I can’t visit (and she can’t leave), etc etc

I feel flat. Flat is exactly the word. But daily sport is getting me through it, more or less

It’s the weather. It’s shit. It’s been a very long winter. I still have my winter coat on most days. It’s really getting me down. I feel I have nothing to look forward too.

No doubt as soon as it gets to 21C the ‘it’s too hot, I hate summer!’ threads will be out in force.

I’m looking to book a trip abroad in August.