Are you suffering from 'cognitive dulling' caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you've noticed you are burning out easier or feeling fatigued more often during the pandemic, you're not alone. It's called cognitive dulling, and it could be impacting both your professional and personal life.
Zoom calls, working from home, less travel, missing our families and friends -- we are all overwhelmed.
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"March of last year I was thinking, 'Okay this is a couple weeks, a couple months.' Now we are 13 months into the pandemic, and people are still having to adapt on a non-stop basis," UTHealth psychologist Jennifer Bahrman said.
Bahrman says the pandemic has affected our mental health. Have you noticed you're snapping at others more? Feeling like you can't make even simple decisions? You could be suffering from cognitive dulling.
"You're going to notice things like feeling burned out faster. You're going to notice feeling overwhelmed a lot easier. You are going to notice it impacting both your professional, as well as your personal life," Bahrman said.
Zoom fatigue and decision fatigue are two very real side effects. So how can you fight back against cognitive dulling? Bahrman says right now, the topic is taboo, but self-care is the answer.
"Meal prepping, planning the clothes out a day or two in advance. Helping the kiddos plan out their week in advance. All of those things, kind of reducing the number of decisions we have to make, requires less concentration in the moment, and then we are going to feel less fatigued as a result," Bahrman said.
She says our kids are also likely feeling cognitive dulling but don't know how to share that with us. Helping them plan their week will give them some control back and make each day less mentally exhausting.
