Side Observation

From the reactions on Twitter, quite a few people relate to this article discussing how the prolonged stress of the pandemic is effecting people's brains. 

I'm posting here because...

It doesn't resonate.  Or rather, this part? -

"we can neither remember what life was like before nor imagine what it’ll be like after."

And this?

"like you’re waking up to more of the same, and it’s never going to change,”

I've felt that. Mostly in Iraq. Or Afghanistan. 

That's why we'd joke about 'Groundhog's Day', where every day was the same. 

The routine. The chow hall. The weather.  The lack of things to do.

No places to go, unless you're on a base big enough you can visit one of the other dining facilities. (Or, at Camp Leatherneck, we'd pop over to the British side of things.)

It's not that I don't feel some of what's described here. But... spending a year at home is a heckuva lot better. 

I can cook my own food, or order takeout from a local restaurant for variety. I have my pets for company. 

Ummm.

I mean, the internet and books are about the same? Except I have Netflix, which is better.  (I'm pretty sure it wasn't a streaming service when I was in Iraq. I don't remember if it was a thing when I was in Afghanistan. Though if it was, I probably couldn't stream it anyway.  My little living space did have wi-fi in Iraq. I honestly can't remember for Afghanistan now.)

I have an actual, full size bed. A bathroom right down the hall and not a short walk away in another trailer (and NOT a bag you put on a wooden frame).

I'm not sure what that comparison really says, or means. Perhaps the mental fatigue described here is something most soldiers dealt with when deployed. Whether there's long term consequences (probably, for some) or whether it makes people more resilient (maybe? I clearly find it easier to deal with the stresses of working from home better than some) is probably something that'd require research I don't have to get any real answers. 

This is strictly about the stresses of working from home and social distancing, by the way.  Grief, job loss, and all the insecurity and uncertainty about the past year means our individual experiences can be far worse.