According to USA Today, Zoom fatigue is caused by the stress of being on video calls for just about everything in our life right now. Mainers are not immune.

First of all, I'm the girl that hates having her picture taken, seeing myself in them or seeing myself on video. It is such an uncomfortable feeling and I know that I'm not alone. These days we have no choice; work, school, happy hours with friends, visits with the grandparents and even doctor appointments are all being held through some kind of video app.

All this screen time leaves me feeling exhausted. What makes it even worse is that I have resting bitch face, so I have to concentrate to make sure my facial expression is not scowly-and that I'm not smiling like an idiot either. Neutral facial expressions are tough man, and they take some work. If the corners of your mouth naturally droop down you understand, and you have had to answer, "what's wrong?" when nothing at all is wrong.

Why is it so stressful to spend time on video calls? The USA Today article attributes it to:

  • We don't usually have to communicate by looking into a tiny spot on our computer that we hope is the camera, in order to appear like we are looking someone in the eye.
  • The lack of body language is difficult for us, we are very used to non-verbal cues.
  • We are self conscious about our looks too. Nobody wants to admit to being insecure, but I'm not used to looking at myself this much. Honestly, I thought I was much better looking. These calls are crushing me.
  • We have to focus so much to process everything, including who's talking.
  • It's distracting being at home while video calling. There's stuff going on around me, and I'm afraid of missing something important while I'm getting the dog to stop barking.
  • I also miss the natural cross talk. I don't want to interrupt, but I forget what I wanted to ask by the time I feel like the coast is clear for me to speak. Sometimes it's hard to understand what people are saying or I feel like I wasn't heard.

Some suggestions to deal with all of these video calls:

  • Bite the bullet and make the bold suggestion that it be an audio only call.
  • Rent a goat or a lama to join your call. It's $65.00. If you've got it to spend, it's well worth the memory it will make with your group.
  • Take breaks between your video calls and change up where you do them if you can.
  • Have only the person speaking be on video.

Are you stressed by video calls? Have you had something funny happen during one?Comment on our Fan Page.

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