So now we don’t have many of the external markers that used to aid us in our time orientation, and we are forced to look within. But that gets tricky, because Time, it turns out, really is “a big ball of wibbly-wobbly… timey-wimey… stuff.” (Doctor Who, “Blink”)

Our notion of time is a human construct, made up entirely in our minds. According to Robert Lanza of Wake Forest University, “Many scientists question whether time even exists. Indeed, Einstein’s theories of relativity suggest not only that there is no single special present but that all moments are equally real.” What makes Time appear to pass is our ability to remember events. But if memory is stressed, as in the current global situation, our minds can’t really hold on to a reliable concept of Time.

Inger Burnett-Zeigler, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, said in Kaur’s article that the chronic stress of the pandemic affects short-term memory, which alters the way we conceive of time. She added that stress worsens our quality of sleep, which “can further cognitive impairment, attention and concentration issues and short-term memory loss.”

Another theory of how stress affects our concept of time is based on a biological shift. According to Kevin LaBar, a psychologist and neuroscientist at Duke University, our internal clock may tick faster in times of stress, so that when we look back, the stressful period appears longer than it actually was (Nemo).

Add to this the reduced number of distractions available now. In our constrained environments, we aren’t getting as much mental stimulation, so our minds tend to keep retracing the same paths—what LaBar calls an “idling mode”—leading to worry and stress.

Finally, our interactions with others has shifted from 3 dimensions to 2, and that is stressful in a different way. Instead of being face to face, able to hug or shake hands, we are sitting in front of our screens, looking at our own faces and those of others, trying to read social cues such as body language and facial expression. It’s harder to tap into other people’s “vibe” on a screen than when we are in close physical proximity. If there are multiple people at the meeting, it’s difficult to attend to all the facial cues on the screen. “Zoom fatigue” is a very real mental health issue that adds to the collective feeling of disorientation.