“Crisis fatigue” is real but—not to add to the pressure—if you’re at all of a privileged group take a moment in your own crisis fatigue to imagine what people without your privilege must experience.
There’s a reason why your body is prepared to ride out a high-stress, highly fearful state of affairs for a short time—when you’re super alert, you’re better able to detect and evade threats. But over the course of weeks, high cortisol levels wreak havoc on the body, resulting in problems like anxiety and insomnia. An ailment called Cushing syndrome, in which your body is exposed to high cortisol levels over an extended period of time, shows just how powerful the hormone is: It comes with weight gain, high blood pressure, and even bone loss. Stress can kill.