Title: Reflecting on Five Years Since COVID-19: Personal Narratives, Lasting Trauma, and Hope for Recovery
Five years after COVID-19 emerged as a worldwide crisis, the global community is taking a moment to contemplate the shared trauma it caused. As the first significant milestone since the onset of the pandemic, this occasion has inspired individuals and organizations to revisit the exceptional obstacles of 2020—and the way those experiences continue to influence our current reality.
In medical facilities, the shift back to “normal” cautiously began around the middle of 2021. Numerous healthcare professionals, encouraged by the rollout of vaccines, started to loosen the stringent personal protective protocols that had dictated their lives for an extended period. The cumbersome equipment—N95 masks situated under face shields, gowns, and gloves—was substituted with more recognizable surgical masks. Regular medical practices, which had been postponed for several months or years, commenced once more. Patients began to return to healthcare environments, frequently burdened with emotional and physical challenges accumulated during their isolation.
One such individual was a middle-aged musician who postponed a routine colonoscopy until he felt secure enough to seek treatment. A nurse anesthetist, Christine King, recounted the profound impact the pandemic had on his life and career. Like numerous artists, his source of income vanished when public events were deemed unsafe. Efforts to recreate live performances through virtual means fell short, draining his ability to connect with audiences and diminishing his creative spirit.
Feeling isolated and battling hardships, he succumbed to severe depression. He was not alone in this struggle. During the peak of the pandemic, millions grappled with mental health challenges. What helped this specific patient survive, he revealed, were his cats—the gentle obligation of caring for another living creature prevented him from taking his own life. It serves as a powerful reminder that even in times of crisis, small connections can provide a path back to meaning and purpose.
Healthcare professionals like King have witnessed countless narratives similar to his—stories interwoven with despair, perseverance, and resilience. They have also shouldered their own burdens. For King, the pandemic included the heartrending loss of her mother in a facility that prohibited visitors to restrict the virus’s spread. Her mother passed away alone, detached from her children’s comfort—not due to neglect, but because of necessity. Still, the grief remains.
In the aftermath of that initial shock, emotional wounds have deepened for medical professionals amid changing public perceptions. The early accolades for “hero” healthcare workers faded into feelings of frustration, rejection of scientific evidence, and the spread of misinformation. Many healthcare workers felt abandoned when their appeals for basic safety measures—such as vaccination—were dismissed by those they had put their lives on the line to assist.
Misinformation surged through society at an alarming rate, rivaling the spread of the virus. Initially celebrated as a success, vaccines became a focal point of political discord. Healthcare workers who once welcomed their distribution were now faced with patients and even colleagues resistant or entirely opposed to vaccination. Some denied that COVID-19 ever represented a legitimate public health crisis, despite over a million deaths in the U.S. by that stage.
This psychological disarray—saving lives on the front lines only to be met with indifference or hostility—dismantled trust, morale, and professional dignity. It fostered cynicism and drew upon deep reservoirs of grief and exhaustion, leaving many trained medical professionals emotionally depleted.
Yet the narrative does not conclude with disillusionment. It encompasses accounts of individuals rebuilding, reconnecting, and rediscovering their sense of purpose. The musician who once considered ending his life is now making music again. Communities are gradually coming back together. The world may be shaky, but in many respects, it has begun to heal.
Looking back now, five years after COVID-19 brought normal life to a halt, it is evident that the pandemic was not merely a healthcare crisis—it was a profoundly human one. It tested not only our medical systems but also our empathy, resilience, and collective ability to navigate uncertainty.
As King poignantly remarked in her final reflections, “My hope for the next five years is that as the pandemic lessens, we will begin to listen to one another, trust in science and the research that propels us forward as a society, and more of us will be inclined to say to one another, ‘I’m glad that you’re still here.’”
These sentiments remind us that even amidst loss and challenges, the simplest acts of connection—listening, caring, showing up—can serve as the most profound forms of healing.
About the Author: Christine King, MHS, CRNA, is a nurse anesthetist and a compassionate voice in healthcare, reflecting on the lasting human effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.