It’s been over half a decade since the world stopped, but for a huge chunk of the population, the clock never really started ticking normally again. You feel it, right? That weird, heavy fog that won't lift? It’s not just you being "lazy" or "burnt out." There is a very specific, scientifically documented reason why the last 5 years still hurting is a phrase that resonates in almost every household from New York to Tokyo. We are living through a period of "High-Baseline Stress" that has literally rewired how our brains process joy and safety.
Honestly, we expected a "Roaring Twenties" situation. Instead, we got a collective case of emotional whiplash.
The reality is that our nervous systems weren't built for a five-year sustained spike in cortisol. Usually, stress is a bell curve. You have a crisis, your body reacts, the crisis ends, and you recover. But since 2020, the "end" never quite arrived. It just shifted shapes. We went from a global pandemic into record-breaking inflation, then straight into geopolitical instability and the dizzying, often terrifying rise of AI-driven job displacement. It’s been one hit after another. When people talk about the last 5 years still hurting, they are describing a phenomenon known as "Cumulative Trauma." It’s the weight of five years of "unprecedented" events stacking up until the foundation starts to crack.
The Biology of Why the Last 5 Years Still Hurting Feels So Physical
You might think it's all in your head, but your Vagus nerve would disagree.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, has spent decades explaining how trauma isn't just a memory; it’s a physical footprint. When we look at why the last 5 years still hurting is such a persistent issue, we have to look at the HPA axis—the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. This is your body's central stress response system. After years of being "on," many people are experiencing a form of adrenal fatigue or "functional freeze." This isn't clinical depression in the traditional sense for everyone. It's more like your body has decided that the safest thing to do is to stay at 20% power to conserve energy for the next inevitable disaster.
The "Allostatic Load" Problem
Scientists use a term called "allostatic load" to describe the "wear and tear on the body" which accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress.
- It’s the reason your back hurts for no reason.
- It’s why you can’t remember what you did last Tuesday.
- It’s why "minor" inconveniences like a broken dishwasher feel like a total mental breakdown.
Think of it like a bridge. A bridge can handle a lot of cars. But if you keep the cars parked on the bridge for five years straight, the metal starts to fatigue. The bolts loosen. Eventually, even a light breeze makes the whole structure shake. That’s us. We are the bridge.
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Social Isolation and the Decay of the "Third Place"
One of the biggest reasons the last 5 years still hurting feels so acute is the death of our social infrastructure. We lost our "third places." You know, the spots that aren't home and aren't work. The coffee shops that turned into "mobile order only" zones, the gyms that closed, the hobby groups that moved to Zoom and then just... evaporated.
Human beings are neurobiologically wired for co-regulation. We literally calm down by being in the physical presence of other calm humans.
When we spent years staring at squares on a screen, we lost the ability to subconsciously "sync" our nervous systems with our tribe. This has led to what sociologists are calling "The Great Thinning" of social networks. You might have 500 followers, but do you have someone who can come over at 2 AM if your water heater bursts? For many, the answer changed from "yes" to "maybe" or "no" over these last five years. That loss of safety net is a huge part of the lingering pain.
The Economic Ghost in the Room
We can't talk about health without talking about money. It’s impossible.
The last 5 years still hurting is deeply tied to the fact that the "middle class" dream feels like it was put through a paper shredder. In 2026, the cost of living compared to 2020 is staggering. Even if you're making more money now, you’re likely feeling poorer. This creates a state of "perpetual precarity." When you don't feel financially safe, your brain stays in a state of high-alert survival mode. You can't heal from trauma when you’re still in the middle of the "threat" of not being able to afford a home or retirement.
It's a feedback loop. Stress makes you less productive or more exhausted, which makes financial gain harder, which increases stress.
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Cognitive Shattering: Why You Can't Focus Anymore
Have you noticed your attention span is basically non-existent?
It's not just TikTok. It’s the fact that our brains have been "shattered" by five years of hyper-vigilance. When you’re constantly scanning the news for the next variant, the next war, or the next layoff, your prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for deep focus—takes a backseat to the amygdala.
We’ve effectively trained ourselves to have ADHD.
The last 5 years still hurting shows up as "brain fog." It’s your mind’s way of saying, "I can't process any more information, please stop." Research from institutions like the Mayo Clinic suggests that "Post-Pandemic Brain" is a real neurological state where the neural pathways for concentration have been dampened by the pathways for "threat detection."
How to Actually Start Moving Forward
So, what do we do? We can't go back to 2019. That world is gone. Honestly, trying to "get back to normal" is exactly why the last 5 years still hurting persists—you’re chasing a ghost.
Instead of "recovery," we need "re-integration."
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1. Radical Nervous System Regulation
Stop trying to "think" your way out of feeling bad. You cannot talk a lizard brain out of fear. You have to use somatic (body-based) tools. This means cold exposure, deep diaphragmatic breathing, and weighted blankets. You have to physically signal to your body that the "lion" is no longer in the room. Even if the news is bad, your immediate physical environment is likely safe. Remind your body of that. Daily.
2. The "Small Circle" Strategy
Stop worrying about the world and start worrying about your block. The macro-world is terrifying and outside your control. The micro-world—your garden, your neighbor, your local library—is where you can actually make a difference. Reducing the "scope" of your concern can drastically lower your allostatic load.
3. Digital Sobriety
The 24-hour news cycle is a poison for a traumatized mind. You don't need to know what's happening in real-time. If the last 5 years still hurting has taught us anything, it's that being "informed" often just means being "traumatized by proxy." Switch to long-form weekly digests instead of "breaking news" alerts.
4. Acknowledging the Grief
A lot of the pain is actually ungrieved loss. We lost time. We lost people. We lost the version of ourselves that was optimistic and carefree. You have to mourn that person. It’s okay to admit that the version of you from five years ago isn't coming back. Once you stop trying to resurrect your old self, you can start building the new, more resilient version.
Actionable Steps for Long-Term Recovery
If you want to stop the last 5 years still hurting from defining the next five, you need a protocol that isn't just "self-care" bubble baths.
- Audit your "Stress Inputs": Identify the three things that spike your heart rate daily. If it's a specific person's social media or a specific news site, cut it out for 30 days. No excuses.
- Prioritize Sleep Hygiene: Sleep is when the brain flushes out metabolic waste (the glymphatic system). Chronic stress gunks up this process. Use magnesium glycinate or a consistent 65-degree room temperature to force-start the physical repair process.
- Seek Somatic Therapy: Look for practitioners trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) or Somatic Experiencing. These therapies target the "stored" trauma in the nervous system rather than just talking about it.
- Build a "Third Place": Commit to showing up at the same physical location at the same time every week. A run club, a bookstore, a volunteer shift. Re-establish your presence in the physical world.
The pain of the last half-decade isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign that you are a biological creature that has been pushed to its limit. Recognizing that the last 5 years still hurting is a collective physiological reality is the first step toward finally letting it go. We aren't "broken," we're just heavily loaded. Start taking the weights off, one by one.
Next Steps for Recovery:
Begin by scheduling a "Sensory Deprivation Day" this weekend—no screens, no news, just physical movement and silence to let your HPA axis reset. Follow this by choosing one "Micro-Community" activity to join in your local neighborhood to begin the process of social re-integration. Focus on your immediate surroundings to reclaim the sense of agency that the last five years have eroded.