It was about this time last year that Steve Edgar's surf club in Coolangatta was "in dire straits".
The beachside bar was just a stone's throw from the bollards and blocked roads of Queensland's closed border.
Not only did his club have to navigate strict COVID-regulations that stifled hospitality, but the usual throng of visitors stemmed to a dribble.
"We were in a world of pain. I was personally as well, and I did feel the weight of the world on my shoulders," Mr Edgar says.
"We just didn't know what was going to happen.
"Particularly at Coolangatta and the border region it was quite unique in the sense that we're a tourist town. We had all of our tourists locked out."
Mr Edgar penned a raw and honest social media post about how "pandemic fatigue" had plagued his mental health, a story he said received an "enormous response".
"The fact that I was showing a little bit of vulnerability was key for me," he says.
"What that did was it dropped a lot of barriers for a lot of people."
But now, a year on, Mr Edgar has embraced the changes that the pandemic thrust on him and his business, by finding "some positive" within the fatigue many experienced.
Your body holds stress
Clinical psychologist and director of mental health training at Movember Zac Seidler said the pandemic's legacy on mental health was partly the mental and emotional upheaval it caused.
"[It was] the fatigue that came with constant triggers with threats to our mortality, our future, to our finances, to our health and safety," he says.
"We had to do so many things at once while not having the reprieve of leisure and socialising.
"That burden meant so many people got to the point where they didn't have the reserve that is typically required to overcome these things.
"That's where their emotion regulation got out of control."
While the lockdowns and closed borders have passed, Dr Seidler says the upheaval has caused a lasting impact on many.
"The body holds the stress. It's kind of like rings on a tree in many ways," he says.
"It sits within us and takes a long time to dissipate.
"We need to respect that, respect the way the body is holding the stress and we need to understand that it will take time in order to overcome it."
Finding the positives
Dr Seidler says the pandemic shouldn't be viewed "as a black and white situation".
He says there are some positives to take away.
"I'm hoping that now people realise that they went through hell and they survived it," he says.
"So understanding that they have that ability — that it's innate in them — that flexibility to take what is a really difficult situation and make the most of it."
Dr Seidler says a sense of "delayed fatigue" may affect some people but that "acceptance is key".
"There is a lot of benefit to really considering the fact that it's fine to still be lingering," he says.
"Be kind to yourself about this stuff.
"The fact that you're fine sometimes and not at others doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you."
Improving mental fitness
Mr Edgar says the past year's counselling sessions are helping him turn things around and even help others.
"I'm 57 years of age and traditionally blokes my age really hold their feelings tight to them. It was the way we were brought up," he says.
"I think the pandemic really broke down some walls there.
"There's some positives I've taken out of it and some doors that opened up with my relationships internally within the club and externally with my friends."
Mr Edgar now runs "mental fitness" workshops for other club managers across Australia.
"Everyone has their own story," he says.
"It's turned into a real positive for myself and the club, and how I managed myself and the club."
His work echoes a sentiment similar to Dr Seidler's advice.
"Let's just be kind to each other."
