New city, new job, new team - all in lockdown. Help!

[J007]

Hi everyone.

What a huge relief to find these threads and online communities. It’s almost too good to be true.

I moved to a New city, started a new job, am trying to gel with a new team all while dealing with ptsd and anxiety from the bushfires (my house was damaged and my father almost died in 2003 Canberra fires) and on top of it all BOOM - pandemic.

Oh my goodness it’s all so much and it’s really hard to control my anxiety.

Any tips on how to gel with a new team and new job online or how to settle in while all this is going on would be so appreciated.

[Emmen]

Welcome to the forums, J007. I hope you find support and an avenue to speak out in these forums 🙂

I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. The events of late (bushfires, COVID) feel really surreal - suddenly life gets upended and we're living in a state of anxiety. Even the things that could have been positives, like moving to a new city for a new job, start dragging you down because the challenges seem to outweigh the good. It's completely understandable that you feel overwhelmed.

Like you, I've moved to a new city right before the lockdowns happened. I haven't been able to settle in as well as I hoped because I can't explore my new city and I can't meet people because there are no activities happening. What I find useful is to make plans for the future. Try making a list of things you want to do when the lockdown lifts (e.g. visiting a cinema, exploring a park etc.). Give yourself things to be excited about.

With regards to your new job and new team, do you have online tea sessions or bonding sessions? It would be useful for you to attend these if they have it. It can be hard feeling like the outsider with this new team, but that happens even when you're new to a physical workplace. Do remember to give yourself some time to get to know your colleagues better, because things work on a different time frame when you're online.

Lastly, I'd suggest you also try some mindfulness apps (e.g. Smiling Mind or Stop, Breathe & Think) to help you control your thoughts during this time. In the midst of all the things you're dealing with, it'd be useful for you to take about 5 to 10mins off to get in touch with your inner calm. It may not seem like a lot, but it can help slow things down for you and reduce the anxiety.

I hope this helps.

Take care,
Emmen

[Emmie1009]

Hey J007,I also recently moved to a new city, for a new job and within the week of me starting we were asked to work from home. I have been unable to meet anyone, and feel completely isolated. I am unable to visit home due to border closures and beyond the initial anxiety of it all, not knowing when it will end, I'm feeling increasingly saddened, feeling like I made the wrong decision and feel very lost.

I agree with all of the things that Emmem had suggested and also wanted to add that I was talking to a few people via the Bumble friends app, and have made a friend. Although this doesn't entirely help the situation, it makes your new city feel somewhat more like home.

Hope we can get through this together, thanks so much for posting.