The World Since Covid: Why We're Not the Same Anymore

How Covid Changed Our Mental Health, Identity, and Daily Life

Since Covid, something in the world feels undeniably different. I feel it everyday. We speak about the pandemic in the past tense now, as if it were a closed chapter – but its effects are still quietly unfolding around us and within us. The world reopened, yet many of us have not returned to life unchanged. This is simply life since Covid for many of us now.

At the time, the focus was on survival: physically, emotionally, socially. What’s discussed far less is what came after. The lingering anxiety. The shortened tempers. The collective fatigue. The way our confidence, our patience, our relationships and even our sense of identity seem to have subtly shifted. This quieter reality of mental health after Covid is something many people are still trying to understand.

We have, in many ways, automatically moved on – returning to productivity and routine. Yet there is a part of us that hasn’t moved on in the same way; instead, our personalities have changed. Moving on doesn’t always mean moving past. For many, it simply means learning how to cope, how to live differently in a world that no longer feels the same, while carrying the ongoing impact of Covid on mental health in ways that aren’t always visible.

This feels like the quiet elephant in the room – the long-term emotional impact of Covid, a global trauma that we’ve barely had time, or permission, to process.

So from time to time, this space will explore the after-effects of Covid: on mental health, on identity, on relationships, on disability and daily life, and on the connection between disability and mental health in a changed world. Not with easy answers or grand conclusions, but with curiosity, reflection, and honesty about a world that has changed in ways we’re still figuring out and struggling to keep pace with life since Covid. But something that is mostly being ignored.

But in the UK in particular, this change hasn’t happened in isolation. Covid arrived alongside Brexit, another overlapping crises that has again reshaped daily life, security, and confidence in ways we are still adjusting to.

Brexit itself, shaped by division and self-interest, has also changed the face of the UK in ways that continue to touch everyday life.About the Author

Ilana Estelle is an author and writer, and the founder of The CP Diary. Born with something she didn’t know she had, later learning it was cerebral palsy, and then ten years after — also being diagnosed with autism, she has turned personal adversity into a powerful platform for awareness, reflection, and change. Through her writing, Ilana inspires readers to explore resilience, mindfulness, and what it means to live authentically, no matter the challenges.

Looking for inspiration and honest reflection? Visit The CP Diary for daily insights. To explore Ilana’s books and resources, head to her author page and discover how her journey can support your own.

To check out her site please follow the link: https://www.thecpdiary.com