Pandemic Fatigue: 20 Affirmations for Getting Through Winter

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, I wrote about the sudden emphasis on the domestic sphere and the pressure that put on many working women. The media was filled with tips for baking sourdough bread and color-coding sock drawers, and I felt resentful because I was barely making it through the day, much less whipping up a new pan-seared something. I wrote about this in “Let Go of Pandemic Perfection.”

These days, there are fewer chipper stories with Zoom cocktail recipes and games. There is more talk of the daily numbers of those infected by COVID-19, the dying, and the dead. As a nation, we’re suffering from pandemic fatigue. Our teachers are exhausted. The parents trying to both work and tutor second-grade math are exhausted. The medical workers ... I do not think the word exhausted covers it for them. They need a whole other word.

13. This is a short time in an otherwise wonderful life. I’ll get through this.

Here are 20 affirmations to fight pandemic fatigue and coronavirus burnout.

1. I navigate today with grace.
2. I’m moving more slowly than in the past, and that is okay, because I’m still moving.
3. I will have the capacity to feel really good again.
4. Just do your best, ignore the rest.
5. I’ll handle one task at a time and savor it.
6. It’s completely fine to be in survival mode right now.
7. There is a divine presence with me and within me, so I’m never alone.
8. Taking care of myself is not selfish; it’s crucial.
9. Frustration and anger can be acknowledged, then passed by as I move on to what I need to achieve.
   
10. This situation isn’t my making, but how I react to it is under my control.
11. I’m proud to be serving my community right now in whatever way I can.
12. Outside of me there might be chaos, but my inner world is tranquil.
13. This is a short time in an otherwise wonderful life. I’ll get through this.
14. There is a wellspring of resilience I have discovered in myself.
15. I will outlast this. We will outlast this.
16. My future self is looking back and admiring the fortitude I am showing right now.
17. I’m vibrating with energy I draw from the universe. Thank you!
18. I’m looking at the blessings around me, not the mess-ings around me.
19. Today, I can do one thing to make my future a little brighter.
20. I’m here for a reason and a purpose. And I’m surrounded by more love than I can imagine.

Need more to help with the pandemic fatigue? Keep reading: “16 Affirmations for Courage.”