She wore a mask at the funeral. She said she was a minority. As a close family member of the deceased, the musician from Victoria wrestled with feeling disrespectful for wearing it, so she didn't put the mask on. She is waiting to find out if she has Covid. She has been through a lot of incidents that have left her tired.

She is tired of the days after a gig where she is in a state of hyper-vigilance, wondering if I caught Covid doing my job, and she is tired of reading about how the numbers are. I can't hold this anxiety for a long time.

More than two and a half years have passed since we first heard the word "coronaviruses", after traversing border closings, mandates, isolation periods, vaccinations, virus releases and re- openings, and running the gamut of white- Public health experts have warned of a third Omicron wave.

The stage of the Pandemic is known as the "is it Covid fatigue or just the residual symptoms of having contracted the virus?" It's no wonder we're tired. It is highly encouraged to tick the box that makes you most tired, which is gaming out whether the pub is worth the risk, paying hundreds of dollars for childcare that goes unused, and explaining the government messaging that says they actually don't have to but that instead it is " highly encouraged

We don't know how to make sense of themeh. Chris Cheers says that a lot of people have contracted Covid. Many of his patients were stressed last year about the pressures of a lock down, and now there is anxiety about having Covid and having to live with the fact that it's all around us.

Over it, tired and fatigued

fatigue can be caused by disengaging them from the news completely. It's better to be bored by the disease than frightened. Others have never stopped paying attention and are exhausted because of it.

According to Cheers, there are three ways to feel tired. Being tired after being over it. He says there is an emotional experience of being over thinking about Covid. There is a physical feeling as well as an emotional feeling.

There is a difference between tired and fatigued when we rest. Cheers says it's time to think about asking for help.

There is a special kind of weariness for those that haven't finished tuning out. If you are tired of being told to wear a mask, or if you are tired of being told to wear a mask around people who won't, then masks are the way to go.

You can’t just strongly encourage, you have to give the person the motivation to take these actions
Psychologist Chris Cheers

A person with cancer works in the IT department. He wants his co-workers to approach his desk in a mask. He says he has been called a "bubble boy" by email.

I don't like lying down and crying. Give up. I wear a mask every day in hopes that someone will see my example and support it.

The immune compromised people and their families don't have the luxury of being bored.

After Amy's husband had a double lung transplant over a decade ago, they had been able to live a normal life. Covid has made a huge difference in our lives. We are left behind even though everyone else's lives have returned to normal. She says she is tired of explaining to her friends why we can't just hope for the best. I feel that the government doesn't have our backs.

If they are tired, ask them. Patients want us to take off our masks because they can't hear us The rest of us have more patients to see if one of us is taken into custody. We have to remain vigilant, even though we are tired. We don't want it.

Many frontline workers come back to work after recovering from Covid. Kath is a nurse at the hospital. If I got angry or excited enough for my heart rate to go up, I found myself in a state of post-exertion depression. Kath's employer has supported her. I had to sit down after the manager acknowledged how hard it is.

The fatigue for those not on the frontline comes from pushing back against expectations. The need for a return to normal brings with it a sense of fatigue for others who still depend on people not being locked down, shut down, or too anxious to go to places.

Others are sick of being sick There is a public servant named Marty. He took four courses of antibiotics last week.

Changing public messaging is always happening. The difference between a mandate and a plea for people to do the right thing is being pointed out by leaders who used to give clear instructions.

It is difficult for parents to navigate the lack of coherent messaging.

I am tired of the mental gauntlet I have to run every time my child has a cold. I don't know if they should be tested. Anne is a mother of two children from Victoria. Anne doesn't want her kids to get too excited about having a birthday party.

It doesn't mean our thinking catches up in that way because of the messaging change. We are all having to make our own decisions at an individual level.

We're sick of being told what to do, but we're also sick of politicians telling us we're not good enough.

Bo Weaver is a clinical psychologist. He has observed resilience in his patients, even in the most dire and trying of circumstances, but fatigue narrative seems to have contributed to the polarisation of discourse surrounding everything from masks to older lives.

It is almost like society is trying to get us to go back to pre-pandemic life.

Pushing through the Covid malaise

Since Covid isn't leaving for a while, how do we get through this?

Cheers said that information gives people power. Now, we know more. Public messaging needs to focus on that. The person needs to be given the motivation to take these actions.

Cheers said it was about pacing yourself. Do what you can and think about your priorities. Eating well, returning to exercise, and rest are good for our health.

Being told to go for a run makes eyes roll, which is why it is important to acknowledge how difficult life is at the moment. It is difficult to do these things because of the pressures for productivity.

Cheers says he's seen a desire for some people to be locked up. They want to stop. I need to take a break. I need to take a break from this, but I can't do it against the expectations.

Cheers says we have to push back. Things aren't back to normal if you say "no" Maybe this is the time to challenge some of the expectations about how we should live.