'Exhaustion,' 'frustration': Why some vaccinated people are losing motivation to stay safe
Abby Sowa says she has been "super conscientious" of COVID-19 precautions, always wearing her mask and avoiding large crowds – but now, the ongoing pandemic is taking its toll to the point where it's shifting her mindset and behavior.
"When I got my vaccine I was super excited and a few weeks later masks started to come off and life was good and now it seems like we're going back the other way," she says. "I already did this whole year and put my needs aside of socialization and interactions so that other people could stay safe... There was the door at the end of the tunnel and now it was closed because some people just didn't want to make the same choices."
Sowa, 20, says she feels "exhaustion" and "frustration" as she prepares to enter her sophomore year at Lehigh University this fall after her freshman year was upended by COVID.
Despite the delta-driven surge of COVID-19, some people are "living (their) best life," taking to social media to share their fear of more lockdowns and anger with the unvaccinated. And mental health professionals are seeing even the most careful rule followers begin to lose momentum.
"Should I be reckless and go out one last time this weekend? Cause I know these bars are closing pretty soon too," Twitter user @DanielVzqzz writes.
"I’m living my life. I was just at the bar tonight in fact," user @brendengiffel writes. "I am vaccinated for the people who are at risk because I’m not selfish."
"If other people aren't going to put in the effort to end this pandemic, why am I putting my needs of... a good mental state (aside)... for others who just clearly don't care," Sowa adds.
Related video: Colleges impose COVID testing fees for unvaccinated students
Dr. David Rakofsky, a licensed clinical psychologist and president of Wellington Counseling Group, says he is seeing a wave of patients experiencing this attitude shift.
Several factors are driving the shift, he says, including vaccine overconfidence, responsibility fatigue and decision fatigue.
"Even I felt a sense of invincibility once I got the jab," Rakofsky admits, but adds the vaccine can only do "what it's supposed to do." "It's keeping us from the hospital, it's keeping us from dying."
He also sees a shift from believing individual factors create the outcome to believing the outcome is a result of external factors beyond their control.
"The feeling maybe for these young people (is) that this may be as far as we all get, and I've done what I can do. Now I roll the dice and the rest is outside of my direct influence," he explains.
The frustration also has been illustrated as a group project, where everyone has to participate to get a good grade (have the pandemic end). But, if part of the group isn't participating (the unvaccinated), the others (vaccinated) start to see their efforts as pointless.
"That's all part of the same phenomenon... These were the things that were internal to my control that I was going to do... We were good soldiers, and now we're left with a battalion of people that aren't going to fight," Rakofsky explains.
Sowa says it feels like "we had like hope dangling in front of us and now it's being fully taken away," making the year and a half of her safety efforts feel "pointless."
"I've gotten the shot... I've been doing my part to end this pandemic, and I wasn't supported by everyone else so what's the point at this point?" she says, adding that she now only wears a mask where required and is less worried about big crowds.
Rakofsky explains this feeling of hopelessness can lead to mental health issues.
"When someone is given a task that they can achieve and despite their efforts, despite doing the things they're supposed to, they do not achieve, a learned helplessness is what sets in, and that's part of a kind of depression that can linger."
It can also go beyond an individualistic scale.
"You would start to see it in the culture... This anger may actually just give way to a kind of group depression, which, you know, there's no pill for that."
While it can be disheartening to see others not take COVID seriously, Michael Daignault, an emergency physician in Los Angeles and chief medical adviser for Reliant Health Service, assures it is not pointless to continue staying safe.
"The Delta variant doesn't care if you're frustrated," he says, pointing to studies that show vaccines protect against severe illness but have waning immunity. "Even if you're fully vaccinated, use your common sense... We all have to learn to live safely with COVID and navigate this new normal."
Recent data shows it's important to stay safe too. According to preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallies, the share of deaths among young people is jumping. Those in their 30s and people 18 to 29 have roughly tripled their share of deaths in July and August.
Daignault explains there are ways to have fun and live life while taking precautions.
"I don't wear a mask walking or exercising outside, but I carry it with me in case I encounter a large group of people," he says. "I love to go to the movies but in an enclosed space with poor ventilation for multiple hours, I wear an kn95 mask."
Rakofsky hopes that with the Pfizer vaccine's FDA approval earlier this week will encourage people to stay hopeful.
"People may once again feel some hope and start to take responsibility again or just be more proactive and protected once again," he says.
If you're struggling with motivation to stay safe, Rakofsky suggests to "pick a pandemic buddy" to help stick to something that feels difficult.
"It becomes this accountability partner for you, and you for them," he says. "You can check in with each other and help each other to make sure that you're staying safe."
He also encourages young people to try and look beyond the pandemic.
"Sometimes for young people, it's only about this moment, but they have whole futures ahead of them that can be impacted by what they do today."
'I think I’m going to die’: What it's like to deal with 'relentless' health anxiety
Children's mental health: What to know a year into the pandemic
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why vaccinated people are frustrated, losing motivation to stay safe
