"Malaise" seems more accurate than "Languishing"

[rebeccmeister]

I have to imagine that the NYT article published not too long ago about "languishing" has percolated into your consciousness at some point by now. Does the concept really capture things accurately for our population, on average? For me I think "malaise" seems more accurate. Yesterday after the last all-day lab marathon plus bicycling class, I just felt awful. Every Wednesday this semester has felt like teaching with a hangover, except without any fun beforehand (and let's remember that alcohol is a depressant anyway, so it generally isn't especially fun for me, either).

And that's after one of the best labs of the semester, from a conceptual/experiential standpoint, where we put together a lot of concepts and skills developed over the course of the semester and get to watch muscles twitch.

The most I can hope is that students will take away positive memories from the lab and course and an appreciation for what they've learned and got to do. (and might remember something of the subject matter)

Once I hand in my final grades I just don't quite know what I will do next. This doesn't feel like a "fall on my face and sleep" kind of sensation. It feels maybe slightly more akin to grief.

The biggest thing I feel is some urgency to inventory all of the things I've had to drop just to keep on top of teaching. The list is long.

Comments

[graydon]

Negative slack, maybe?

If you're so scheduled that everything necessary cannot get done, that's damaging to at least the spirit.

[mallorys_camera]

What you're describing sounds very much like classic "burnout" to me. (Not a recent NYT article but a recent New Yorker article 😊: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/24/burnout-modern-affliction-or-human-condition)

You do a lot. I am always amazed and in awe of how much you do. And how much you do without compromising on the time-saving/labor-saving crutches (i.e. automobiles) that many of the rest of us fall back on.

Also, you know, you are temporarily unpartnered. I'm not referring to the emotional repercussions of that (which are none of my business). But the practical repercussions of that are big, you know?

[annikusrex]

yeah for those of us who have been working our butts off all pandemic (some combo of more work and less support, depending on the person/context), "languishing" sounds far too passive. i'm tired. i have REASON to be tired. it's not just a miasma enveloping me.

[rebeccmeister]

Agreed completely!

I can appreciate that the experience is different for other people in other life and pandemic circumstances, and I think that difference needs to be pointed out, because it's going to require different kinds of care and changes to help people struggling with different facets of this experience.

[bluepapercup]

To me it feels like a deep depletion. The mental, physical, and emotional demands of the pandemic (and the various other horrific things that have happened around me in the last year) have used up my reserves of energy and will. I feel like overused soil. My creativity is gone.