As the COVID-19 pandemic wound down, people began reflecting on the strange way it had warped their sense of time.

The feeling became known as “the pandemic skip”: the sense of having lost milestones and experiences while life was on hold.

Five years later, the sensation persists, now rebranded as the “COVID pause.”

OP: @burrbrii #CovidPause #LostYears #SocialMediaEra #PandemicLife #FeelingYounger

“I still feel like I felt when COVID started,” one TikTok user said. “I don’t feel like I aged.” Though nearing 38, she explained that she still feels more like the 32-year-old she was when the lockdowns began.

Others echoed the sentiment. “COVID stole my 20s. I’m gonna be 29 soon and I still feel like I’m 23 when covid started, or even about to be 26?” one person wrote.

Another added, “I t

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