Why pandemic fatigue makes it harder to follow restrictions right now

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Lockdowns and pandemic-related restrictions have a negative effect on mental health, and experts say the longer they continue, the more likely people are to ignore them. Photo: Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

 

(Jason Vermes/ CBC News) — After more than a year of lockdowns and shifting restrictions across the country, experts say pandemic fatigue is setting in — and that could affect our willingness to stick to the rules.

“Lockdown restrictions are not good for people’s mental health,” said Dr. Steven Taylor, a psychiatry professor at the University of British Columbia and author of The Psychology of Pandemics.

“What’s been happening in many people is they’re experiencing a kind of burnout from being under lockdown for so long, for so many months.”

Several provinces have tightened restrictions in recent weeks because of a third wave fuelled by more dangerous variants of concern.

Both British Columbia and Ontario implemented lockdown or stay-at-home orders, respectively, while Quebec and Alberta have tightened restrictions once again. (…)

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