Worsened anxiety due to recent news stories

[_ravenclaw_poe]

Hey guys,

i don’t know if this is the best place to put this but I don’t know what else to do.
This month has been really hard. Thankfully, I have not been directly affected by the fires nor by this new virus. However, as I have OCD with massive fears surrounding illness/germs and danger to my family, my anxiety has been the worst it’s ever been.

im too scared to leave the house and too scared to sleep at night, leaving me to sleep all day instead. I’m just so scared all the time and I don’t know what to do. I start uni soon so I need to get better.

I feel like the only thing that will solve this is for the virus to be cured but idk if/when that will happen.

any advice? Anyone experiencing the same or similar thing?

thanks xx

[blondguy]

Hey _ravenclaw_poe

Welcome and thankyou for being a part of the forum family too!

Beyond Blue is an excellent place to be when we are going through a difficult time Raven especially with the concerns re this virus. I understand where you are coming from

We have been through this before with the SARS virus and it was concerning years ago

It would be difficult having OCD and experiencing the media reports on the new virus...I used to have chronic anxiety for a long time and yes its an awful time to be going through with all the various media reports

Can I ask if you have a GP that you see with your OCD? Its a huge help having a health professional that we can talk to about this new virus....even if we make a double appointment to start with

I am sorry that it has made your situation worse with being too scared to leave your home..thats not a good place to be in Raven....Just for me I find it helpful to avoid the news during this time as it may counter productive to our well being

your posts are always welcome as there are many gentle people on the forums that can be here for you!

my kind thoughts

Paul

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi _ravenclaw_poe

Welcome to the forums and thanks for joining us. This section is absolutely the best place to put this and I'm glad you decided to talk about what's been going on for you.

There has been a lot going on in the news cycle lately but I'm wondering if you have a specific fear or thing that you are afraid of the most?

I think it's so important to fact-check the news cycle constantly. News - especially tv news - works with total scare tactics, fear tactics and emotions. and yes, there are Australians being unwell from the virus - a total of 9 right now. But what the media is forgetting to remind people of is that it is 9 people in a total of 26 million people, and these 9 people aren't random - they are unfortunate and have recently got back from China. What they've also found, and haven't reported, is that people are actually recovering and getting better.

I hope that by sharing this with you it put's a little bit of it into perspective. It's okay to be afraid but it's also worth reminding yourself of the reality and that you are safe.

rt