Nearly a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic that has changed virtually everything and we’re still looking into the future with uncertainty. I remember reading the email announcing classes would be online, mandatory lockdowns, conversations around mental health, support and respect for those on the frontlines. All at once, it feels like it was yesterday, but in today’s world that camaraderie has been long gone. While corporations, schools and the government are desperately trying to turn things “back to normal”, the compassion and patience for one another has dwindled.
Students are being thrust back into classrooms and standards for academic performance aren’t meeting students where they’re at. Many of the mental health impacts that affected students and younger people at the start of the pandemic are still there. Moreover, many feel additional anxiety about returning to in person classes, campus and socializing. It may be difficult for students and teachers alike to perform well and maintain their wellbeing when institutions are disregarding the pandemic and its impacts.
Frontline nurses and doctors who were once appreciated and deemed heroes are now being ignored and neglected. Many citizens are vaccinated; however, many are still not. The warnings and plees from medical professionals to get vaccinated and wear a mask are being met by daily bans on mask mandates and misinformation.
Large numbers of people are ending up in hospital beds and medical workers are finding it harder and harder to have compassion. Medical doctor Chavi Karkowsky discusses the trauma her and her co-workers have gone through due to the carnage of the pandemic. She states, “This is a fact that many of us in health care—all exhausted, all having given too much already—are having a hard time ignoring as we head into a new wave of COVID-19 patients.”
These are just two ways in which covid-19 is lowering our patience and compassion for one another. Many restaurants and stores are grappling with staff shortages and fed up customers. There are protests and violence regarding vaccination and mask mandates. Healthcare professionals are getting a mere pat on the back for their extensive and grueling work.
Trust me, I get the frustration. Wearing masks isn’t pleasant, lines in stores are longer, the mind boggling question “how are we supposed to all act like any of this is normal?!” is a daily thing.
Ultimately, practicing acceptance for all the uncertainty and tending to our own needs is what will help keep empathy alive. Give yourself permission to take the time to adjust to this new way of life, in turn it could be easier to allow the same in others. Workers, especially healthcare ones, are trying their best. Pay an act of kindness forward to them in thanks. Better yet, wear the mask despite the discomfort, get your jab and if that makes you feel a bit nervous—address your vaccination concerns with a health professional.