SOOO, I’m not the only one feeling, ‘Not quite up to par?’

 It wasn’t burnout — we still had some energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel completely hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing.

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield. And it might be the dominant emotion of 2021.

As scientists and physicians work to treat and cure the physical symptoms of long-haul Covid, many people are struggling with the emotional long-haul of the pandemic.

I’m usually able to talk myself out of the melancholy that sometimes takes over, by focusing on the good parts of my life, including family, health, home and freedom from want, with plenty to eat and a comfortable home. But what of those who can’t count those blessings? I can’t imagine going through these times the financial and emotional security to think, ‘Things are gonna be fine’.

AND, how long are these feelings and these times gonna last?