Feel Younger Than You Are? You May Need To Thank the COVID Pause for That

In March 2020, the world came to a screeching halt when the newly discovered Covid-19 virus began making its way around the world, killing millions in its travels. In an attempt to "slow the spread," many governments issued lockdown orders which asked non-essential workers to stay home for two weeks.

However, those two weeks drug on for what felt like forever. And as adults everywhere know, it took years for things to return to any sort of semblance of normal.

And while many would argue that things do seem as close to back to normal as they will ever get, many people are saying that they feel like that time between the start of Covid and now has left them feeling like an entire chunk of their lives have been deleted. They are calling this sensation the "Covid pause."

But what is the Covid pause? And who is it hitting the hardest? Keep reading to learn more and to figure out how to identify whether you've been impacted as well.

People on TikTok can't stop talking about the Covid pause, which is the nickname for the sensation that they say they have experienced in the years following Covid. According to TikToker @justdoowop, who is approaching her 38th birthday, she says she still feels more like she did when she was 32 — her age at the time of the Covid lockdowns — as opposed to someone who is nearing their 40s.

She attributes this to the way that life totally stopped for many of us, and she believes it has essentially stunted her development as an adult.

People shared their thoughts in the comments, with many of them agreeing with her theory.

"Covid stole half of my 30s," one person wrote.

"We’re stuck [because] nobody has grieved that life will never be the same again," another person added. "We’re waiting to get back to normal but that will never happen until we actually process."

Don't feel like this describes you? You may not be part of the demographic that seems to be most affected by this time jump. According to TikToker @himmothychalamet, Gen Z and millennials are the ones that are most aware of the Covid pause.

But, not everyone's buying that theory. "Don’t think it has to do with Covid pause just think millennials and older Gen Z just don’t care what people think," one person wrote in part.

Another person added that they think the effects of the Covid pause have more to do with the way we view aging these days. "I actually think the problem is we think being a few years older means the whole world is suppose to be different," someone wrote. "It’s more of a societal issue on how we view age vs. 'not feeling old.'"

No matter what the reason, it's clear a whole group of people are sharing the same feeling, which lends theory to the idea of the Covid pause and what it means for aging.