We are more than halfway through 2020, and burnout is real. Coping with Covid burnout is like the endurance race we didn’t sign up for. It’s the marathon we were never trained to compete in. Who could have imagined that we would have to learn how to cope with little to no social interaction? Now many of us are at the point where we are becoming emotionally burned out, and we are ready for some good news.

The pandemic has been harder on some than others. I can only speak to my experience here. In late June, my husband tested positive for Covid-19.

Coping with Covid Burnout

My cup is empty and it has barely been one week since Brian tested positive for Covid-19. I feel as though I have fallen so far, I don’t even know which way to turn. 

Right now, quality time is FaceTime several times a day. My husband sleeps in a room just feet away from me, but the walls and doors that divide us seem impossible to penetrate. He is quarantining in our bedroom, and wearing a mask if/when he is walking through common areas. Thankfully, everyone else tested negative for the virus.

All I have left is words. Words that I keep throwing at my keyboard… words that fill once blank pages of my story.

There is some joy in how unexpected life can be. Except when there’s not, because the uncertainties threaten to outweigh the joy, scorching seeds planted in a time of plenty.

We thought 2020 would be a year of surplus, but instead it is a season of drought. 

I am thirsty for the taste of sea salt on my tongue. I find myself longing for the scent of the spot in my mother’s neck that I snuggle whenever I hug her, burning for the conversations and challenges Daddy would present me with whenever we sit down together.

I miss the scent of rain, the weight of humidity from my clothes down to my skin, the fuzz of my baby hairs that never know how to behave in the tropics.

I am approaching my breaking point. Internalizing and searching for balance from God and turning it within. I have been anxious, homesick, scared, nervous, confused, angry, sad… I am burned out.

Heading to my son’s room for the night, I pass my husband in our room. He is still wearing his mask, before retiring for bed. He mouthed some words to me. I can’t see his lips or hear him but I know what he said. 

Brian has always assured me that things will be okay. I trust him, but beyond that, I know that God will not put us in a situation He won’t bring us out of. 

This is a setup for something great. Something beyond my wildest dreams.

I am ready. I receive it. Better days ahead, God willing.

So how do you navigate COVID-19 when your love languages are shut down?

My primary love language is quality time, closely followed by physical touch. 

In June I received blow after blow, having both love languages yanked from me without warning. My husband tested positive for Covid-19 and my grandmother passed away. I was mourning on my own.

Physical touch has been hard, but bearable. My two blessings allow me to give them all the hugs and kisses before the next distraction pulls them away from me. 

Sometimes a hug is all it takes. From arms that squeeze and make you stop. 

And breathe.

And cry.

How are you coping with Covid burnout? Follow the conversation on Instagram: @thekristinalove