Think of the most recent long conversation you had with a friend or family member. Did you discuss Covid, 2020, isolation, vaccines, or any other aspect of the pandemic? Chances are, you did.
Covid may always be with us, threatening vulnerable populations and spreading even more chaotically than the flu, but as most of our lifestyles have returned to a relatively “normal” state, it is arguable that we have reached the post-pandemic era. Yet despite being nearly three years out from the virus’ introduction, we still can’t seem to quit talking about it.
Coworkers continue to make jokes about not wearing pants to work. Friends recount the many car hangouts you had, sitting on top of or inside your trunks, distanced more than six feet apart in an empty parking lot. In the midst of this holiday season, family members bring up that one year no one could get together, only able to wish their closest relatives happy holidays over the phone.
We try not to think about 2020, at least that’s what we claim. However, we don’t even notice how many times we mention the pandemic every day, since it’s become such common day-to-day vocabulary. Back when we were living through those challenging couple years, there was genuinely nothing else to talk about, but now we continue to return to this conversation topic despite having relatively full fledged lives again. Why?
Perhaps because it is an experience we all share. Everyone can relate to the depressive loneliness of quarantine, the fatigue of spending days on end doing nothing, the confusing nostalgia as we reflect on such an isolating time. Perhaps because we are still processing the trauma we went through. By not talking about it, would we undermine the severity and lasting impact the pandemic had on our mental health, changed perspectives, and new outlooks on life? Perhaps because we’re still trying to understand why this happened, whether literally or spiritually. How did a tiny virus spread so rapidly and cause global chaos to ensue? Why did the universe shut the world down at this point during your life?
Regardless of why we reference Covid so much, it is important to notice this phenomenon. Try taking note of whether the pandemic naturally comes up in your next conversation. Is it brought up in remorse? Nostalgia? Matter of fact? It is not shocking that Covid is a common discussion topic, but you may be surprised when you start noticing just how often it becomes the main conversation.