Coping during the Coronavirus outbreak

[Sophie_M]

We recognise that many of us here in the community are feeling scared, worried and overwhelmed about Coronavirus (COVID19). 

As a result, we created this thread to allow people to come together here during those difficult times and encouraged those wanting to share or seek support to do so here in this space. 
 
It was important with this thread that we maintained perspective and supported each other as best as we could, medical, scientific and public health experts around the world have and still are working hard to contain the virus and treat those affected. 
 
The Beyond Blue Support Service is available via phone 24/7 on 1300 22 4636 or via beyondblue.org.au/get-support for online chat. 
 
There are some other helpful discussions taking place here within our forum community that you may find helpful to read or participate in: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/staying-well/hi-there-i-only-just-joined-and... 

This thread is now closed for further posting. Users are still able to read through and find support through already existing posts.  

[quirkywords]

Janac welcome to the forum and this thread.

Sorry about your dog and can understand that you cant get yourself another dog.

t is very supportive of you to offer help for another poster.

eel free to post here as much as yike.

Take care

[smallwolf]

Hi all,

@Janac - welcome to the forums. Hope you are doing ok in these weird times. In times like these we look for some sort of support and hearing about the loss of your pet 😞 Not sure if you will read this and if you do... peace and comforting thoughts you.

@meforcats - my cat only talks when hungry!

@CMF - Know you feeling you are talking about with school. My daughter returned to school this week. And back to making lunches. Perhaps not the response you were looking for! Pull out all those tricks out to make it work. And...

I was listening to a therapist on YT from the US - just taking about how Covid has affected her. I won't go into all the details here except grieving over the sadness of things no longer possible and the guilt she has for these feelings; and the not knowing how the future looks.

Perhaps one of these times when you cannot pull out the 3 things to the grateful for etc. Rather we (read me) have allows ourselves to just feel and somehow we will get through it.

Peace to all,

Tim

[ddogmillionaire]

Hi SapereAude,

Hope you are well.

One theme that consistently appears in discussions I have with friends and family is a feeling of anger. For example, there are many people feeling angry at people who are not social distancing. This increased aggression/hypervigilance is a consequence of the stress and confinement caused by the crisis. It's important then to control anger and to not overstep the mark. I am interested in hearing the opinions of either yourself or others on how best to control these feelings of hypervigilance during this stressful period.

Take care

[SapereAude]

Hi ddogmillionaire,

I think the discussions around anger are very much warranted and worthy of consideration by us all. For many suffering from anxiety and other mental health issues, these highly stressful times are very challenging. Everyone reacts to different stressors in their own ways. Some better than others. It is important though to put yourself in another's shoes. They may not be trying to be protagonists but may have their own mental health issues or not up to date with the latest Covid-19 restrictions/news. Who knows? I'm not in their shoes.

It is best to approach the situation in a calm manner if one is to intervene. You have to ask yourself is it safe to do so. Am I calm enough? Are they calm and approachable? If not, don't intervene and call emergency services (ie weapon or threatening behaviour). If in a store, perhaps notify a store employee/manager/witness that there is an issue. If you are too angry or emotional, this will only lead to escalation of the matter and it's best not get involved.

Take a deep breath and reinforce your feeling of calmness before an approach and stay at least 2 meters from the person in a non-threatening manner. Ask them if they need help in an empathetic manner. eg. Sorry to bother you but I noticed that.......are you okay? Do you need some help?

Gauge their response. Give them some time to respond. Most people if they have done wrong through not thinking or misunderstanding etc will be apologetic and change their behaviour.

I think the big danger for a hypervigilant individual may be that they are more inclined to take the law in to their own hands. Do not intervene if you can't be calm. Without calm input, there can be no calm output in most cases. Walk away, find a calming influence (call a friend, listen to a tune, grab a takeaway coffee).

When thinking about things that stress you, consider the consequences of your actions. No point hitting a bloke and being on the wrong side of the law. No point starting a verbal argument and letting things get out of hand. Help others but don't police them and never, ever do something you wouldn't like done to you. Most people will respond to kindness with kindness and a willingness to help or change their behaviour. If you would be unhappy with the response you are considering, is that really a sensible response. If no, walk away, alert someone else and find another way to have the issue dealt with.

[Tangney]

I'm angry, but for a different reason to the one's you've highlighted. I'm very angry about the restrictions themselves and closure of things that I used to do to manage things for what I feel is no good reason. I'm not at all scared of the virus but I am scared of the impact of the isolation on my mental health and the mental health of others. While I hear people talk about it, I don't think anyone in the govt is taking the fall out from all of this seriously enough. I believe that the virus has been put ahead of all other considerations and all other illnesses, even cancer and heart disease, which are much bigger community health issues. The response to it has been a big overreaction. I'm angry that so many people are happy and willing to allow our freedoms stripped away. The smaller the infection numbers, the more outraged I become at the impact of all of this on my mental health and my ability to find work. I was out of work before all this happened. I know that hardly anyone agrees with me and this makes me feel even more isolated. I'm at the point where I need to see my doctor and get some mediation, just to be able to stand living through this. The idea of this isolation going on and on is unbearable.

[Moonstruck]

Oh Tangney.....you said not many would agree with you...which is what I myself, wrote ages ago, but apparently a few of us feel the same way pretty much as yourself....are we just in the minority or what?

To be quite honest, from the beginning of your post, it's as if I could have written every word myself! I agree 100% with you, but thought I was the odd one out....until I saw a few others beginning to emerge on this forum. I am still a bit scared to reveal my thoughts completely on here....as obviously I would be shouted down or "run out of town" for daring to be different from the mainstream.....I am not, and have never been "frightened" of the virus.

I have however, from Day One, foreseen the appalling fall-out from the "cure" which will last much longer and be more insidious and dangerous than the "disease" itself. That fall out is now happening, and for some inexplicable reason, the emphasis and discussion has only just recently been even acknowledged by Govt leaders!!

Some contributors on here have simply stated facts i.e. elderly frail people already with underlying health challenges tend to catch viruses more easily and tend to die from them. it has been that way since the beginning of time, always was, always will be. Anyone who dares point out this fact of life has been accused of being into genocide, ageist, insinuating some lives are less worthy than others, deciding who lives and who dies etc and other melodramatic over reactions... Thank you for your post Tangney

[golden82]

Hello Tangney;

Thank you for your post expressing your feelings. You are not alone - I feel much the same way and have posted about this as have some others (if you go back a few pages you will be able to read them). It is good that you have posted to get it out of your head and also good that you are seeing your Dr - hopefully you have a good Dr whom you can discuss this with. I feel it is totally overblown too and have not been able to access my weekly Dr apts for monitoring my physical symptoms caused by a long and severe eating disorder. It has been over the phone - which is ridiculous for checking vital signs. You are right that all the other medical conditions - be they physical or mental or a combination of both - have taken a backseat to all this Covid reaction. There have already been some reports worldwide of deaths for medical issues unrelated to Covid because of the Covid focus. There will be many more unfortunately - and that is not even taking into consideration the mental health deaths. Many have lost access to their regular visits from carers - and face to face Dr apts and the like. Even many of the vulnerable that we are protecting are speaking out saying that they have nothing now without any human interaction. It is a terrible situation. I am also isolated and the only contact I had was the Dr and local community such as the local library and Church and occasional coffee catch ups. Now all of that has been taken away - it is just me with my thoughts with no support. I agree with you and that the little things that enabled us to manage our lives and mental health/and to survive are mostly all gone - which is very dangerous for our mental health. Not everyone is blessed with a loving home and surrounded by friends and animals and gardens whilst baking sourdough, playing boardgames, and skipping off in the sunset 'riding out the so called crisis'. I think the pendulum has swung way to far and there will be a fallout. Once again thank you for sharing and keep well as best as you can.

[Tangney]

Dear Moonstruck and golden 82. Thank you for your posts. Your comments have been a source of comfort for me today. I relate entirely to what you both are saying and it helps with the impact of social isolation, which I hate. It seems that some lives are being treated as more valuable than others and even some elderly people are feeling that this confinement is more detrimental to their health than the virus itself. My elderly neighbour feels angry about what he feels are condescending comments about what is best for the elderly. The elderly is not one homogenous group of people. I am all for having the borders closed and quarantine in place for those who have been in contact with cases. I, myself, was forced to quarantine for 14 days due to a close contact and I accepted this. Even though I nearly went mad, I was able to see an end date to it. But the ongoing nature of the restrictions, even though there are hardly any cases, basically means that the quarantine for me and others like me is just going on and on without any answers as to what the govt is waiting for in order to lift the restrictions, coupled with threats that they might close the place again at any time, if they happen to feel like making that sort of unilateral decision. I have been losing hope and finding it more difficult to get out of bed with each day that passes. I have been very disappointed that the govt has so far refused to even open libraries as this was one of the places that I used to be able to go to feel that I was still part of the community. I don't see why hairdressers can be open but libraries can't. I have found the threats from govt officials about downloading the app, ie, if not enough people download the app then we can't reopen, really offensive in the face of the suffering that is going on in the community. Do they understand that not everyone has an iPhone? Thank you again, Moonstruck and golden82 for your support.

[eight]

app only works for newer phones too and only tracks if you've got your phone unlocked and have it in the foreground. no doing anything else with your phone its only a covid detection device. the states are still squabbling over the system and passing the court orders regarding data. i guess they can't misuse your data if the government literally can't figure out how to access it but if someone uses the app and tests positive the people they've been in contact can't be notified yet. if you're diabetic and have a constant glucose machine the bluetooth from covidsafe can actually mess with your cgm and the government urges you please prioritise your personal health over our app but it can interfere with other health apps already makes it a laughing stock.

tbh i was excited when i was actually hearing about how they're keeping it secure but i had too much faith in them. i can track who i come in contact with and talk to very easily and i hoped this was going to be in handy for people who can't easily list who they've contacted before being tested. during the 2014 west africa ebola outbreaks contact tracing was heavily utilised to prevent and stop ebola infections before they got worse - it can take up to 21 days for someone infected with ebola to show symptoms so a contact tracer would interview you for 21 days on end and ask about your symptoms and take you for treatment if you did. when covid can spread much faster and easier than ebola human contact tracers won't fit but anything would be better than the government giving you an app that isn't even operational and giving the only incentive for "think of the beers". i don't think i'll know how to handle it again when my father gets blackout pissed on a regular basis since he hates drinking at home

[Guest_1643]

hi rx you're right - so much of what people are saying seems just to be regurgitating whats in the media. Maybe they are painting certain politicians in whatever light they choose....

I don't watch the news at all these days... I used to watch the press briefings etc at the beginning of all this but now it's all a little intense for me... hope I don't miss anything important!

Yes you're right not too long with schools - i've heard they will be trying to get certain kids back in before the end of May.

I hope it will be okay and helpful for families and that the kids will be safe...