Covid-19's Impact on YOUR well being....Help us help others!

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone

This is a difficult and unprecedented time we are all going through. Out of 10 how has Covid-19 impacted your well being?

Just for myself...I come in at about 8....A brief post will help us help others more effectively!

• 0 to 5 .......... Low impact...................Coping well and not really worried about Covid-19
• 5 to 7 ...........Medium Impact.............Concerned about Covid-19 yet is doesnt effect me
• 8 ................. Frequent Impact........... Very concerned and checking media/news reports
• 9 ................. High Impact..................Frequently concerned and experience some difficulty functioning daily
• 10................Very High Impact...........Difficulty sleeping...increased anxiety...loss of concentration and/or feelings of helplessness

The forums are a rock solid safe and non judgemental place for anyone to post 🙂

my kind thoughts always

Paul

[Guest_2496]

Hi Elizabeth

I thought I had heard that as a carer you could walk once with your husband and once on your own? That might be what your dr and psychologist were referring to. I don’t think they’d encourage you to do something not allowed.

from Sunday things will ease slightly and you can do two hours regardless - hang in there.

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone....Im still a 6 as I am getting bored with Covid and wasting my MH on it

Hello Elizabeth....I hope you are doing okay...This is a really crappy time for everyone...Please be gentle to yourself as we havent been through a pandemic for 102 years....I understand what you are going through being in stage 4...Its hard work..thats fore sure!

Hey Grandy....your heartfelt level of support is wonderful...Kudos to you for having the TLC you possess

Hey Geoff....thankyou for mentioning this virus is temporary....This pandemic has happened before and will go

Hey Annie...always great to have your heartfelt experience and support! I hope you are doing okay 🙂

Have a really good week everyone

Paul

[SD0102]

R U OK ? Hope everyone is going OK ?

Firstly to all of you Victorian’s on here, well done so far in managing with your lock down rules. No doubt it has been harder for some then others, but your infection rates have come down so kudos to you all. Fingers crossed this continues and you are able to see the easing of these restrictions soon.

Although still concerned about COVID I’ve been hovering around a 6-7 recently.
I thought this might jump up 2 weeks ago when I had to take my husband to Sydney for shoulder surgery as I hadn’t left our rural town in 5 months. I surprised myself and coped really well, dropping him to the hospital and only staying in our hotel room and not going anywhere else.

The last couple of days though I’ve been feeling a bit down though. I’m not sure if I’m just a bit tired by needing to do everything myself due to my husband not being able to use his arm (it’s been like having a toddler again and having to do everything for him). I also just recently found out that one of our dearest friends has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer after minimal symptoms.

You just never know what is around the corner !

Although our numbers in NSW have been relatively low, it seems the list of venues infected people have visited seems to get longer & longer each day.

With our town being such a tourist destination for Sydneysiders, this is worrying. Us locals don’t even venture down town on the weekends at the moment as it is so busy with tourists.
Good for local businesses but still a worry health wise. Fingers crossed we don’t see any cases here.

Although I don’t post often, I do regularly read the posts and find the contributions and support on here a great help, for that I am grateful, so thank you.

Stay well & safe everyone.

SD

[Elizabeth CP]

Thank you to all those who responded to my post. I really appreciated your kind concern & suggestions. I will try to explain what is happening & how I am feeling. I am struggling so I'm don't feel I'm explaining things very well & possibly give the wrong impression at times.

• I don't like the lock down & don't agree with all the rules but I believe the lockdown is needed to control the pandemic.
• I disagree strongly with those who think we should just allow people to do as they please because that puts every vulnerable person at risk & makes then further restricted. It also puts us at risk of not having hospitals & other health care functioning effectively if nurses etc are catching the virus in the community & bringing it to work unknowingly & infecting others.
• My children are also in favour of controlling the pandemic. My daughter & her husband have had clients & friends catch covid & at least one has died from it.Others have reported being VERY sick.
• The restrictions have limited supports my husband & I normally get including family support (my son normally visits or meets us for walks at least weekly & helps us when things go wrong. For example my door lock jammed I can't ask a lock smith out or my son because I have other doors that open so it is not an emergency. He can't see health professionals face to face unless it is deemed essential.
• Under the restrictions there care & compassionate reasons are valid reasons to break some of the rules. It is under these grounds my GP & psychs have recommended me go out longer than is allowed & further than is allowed.
• Yesterday I was told I could have my son visit to give me a break & I should visit my daughter. I wil not visit my daughter until I'm certain her area is safe. It was close to a hot spot.
• My issue is I've always obeyed the law & since I understand & agree with the reason for the lockdown I don't want to be twisting things to suit me. I don't want to give others the idea it is OK to twist the restrictions to get away with things by making excuses. I struggle with feelings of guilt & not being good enough so even though I've been advised by health professionals to visit my children & to go for longer walks etc doing that brings up lots of negative self talk that I'm making excuses & I should manage within the strict rules.
• I need details of the finer points of the restrictions as they apply in my circumstances rather than the general rules. If anyone knows let me know

[Sophie_M]

Hi there,

Thank you for posting on the forums and sharing your experience during the lockdown in Melbourne. We certainly think that what you have been experiencing will be relatable to a lot of people. It’s a very frustrating time so we encourage you to go easy on yourself and really take care of yourself as best you can. Its important to acknowledge that because this is an extremely difficult time there is nothing wrong with you for feeling like its hard to cope.  If you think it might be helpful to get some extra support during this time please don’t hesitate to contact our Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service on 1800 512 348. https://coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=covid-19_april2...
 Again, thank you for posting on our forum and we hope you receive some support from the community.

Mod Support Team. 

[ecomama]

Dear Elizabeth CP

I wanted to let you know that I hear you.

I read all of your posts (that I see).

I also want you to know that you can't be everything to your husband and it's not fair on yourself to say you should be able to cope.

It's OKAY to not be okay in your situation or any situation.

You are validated in having a really rough time of things right now - or ANY time.

From my POV you are freaking amazing!
I admire your strength to keep going every single day!

You are a smart and sensible person. So if you NEED someone to visit to fix the lock (and indeed in your case with your Hs conditions I DO deem the door being jammed essential to repair)... then the person could 'wear a mask', hand sanitise and assure you that they have no symptoms etc before they visit.

Overall I know you know what you are going through better than any of us here. We can read some of the things you're dealing with but we can never KNOW how this all feels for you in your circumstances. I don't want you to invalidate YOURSELF over the depth of difficulties you face.

I hear you. We hear you and I admire you 100%.

Lots of love and best wishes
EM

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone...ElizabethCP... EM...New posters are always welcome too!

Its been 102 years since the last Pandemic thus most people are having difficulty during this time. So we can help others who choose to read the forums (70%) and others who post (30%) know they are not alone please provide a brief take on the how Covid has impacted yourself

Just for myself...I come in at about a 6 to 8....and have been a 10

0 to 5 - Low impact...................Coping well and not concerned about Covid-19
5 to 7 - Medium Impact.............Concerned about Covid-19 yet is doesnt effect me
8 ------Frequent Impact...........Concerned and checking media/news reports daily

9------High Impact and experiencing some difficulty functioning on a daily basis

10--Very High Impact-Difficulty coping..sleeping...feelings of helplessness

Hello ElizabethCP....I know how long your post would have taken to write and yes I feel your pain. There is a thread that discusses some of the points you have mentioned under the depression header

'Depressed due to isolation and civil liberty restrictions' Tangney..Luna and Golden82 have been discussing similar issues

Hey EM....thankyou for your heartfelt support for Elizabeth..and everyone else too!

[Elizabeth CP]

Thank you Paul, & EM for your supportive posts even if not accurate. I'm far from amazing. In fact I feel useless & hopeless.

I feel really bad today Quite hopeless & wishing I was no longer alive. I don't know what I can do to help myself. I tried ringing a support line but they could only tell me to engage in self care but I don't feel like there is anything I can do.

[Sophie_M]

Hi Elizabeth CP,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your thoughts and feelings here on the forum. We're so sorry to hear that you've been struggling with these feelings of hopelessness and struggling to help yourself today. We can hear that this must be really overwhelming to cope with. We hope you know that these forums are a safe space, free of judgement to talk about these thoughts and feelings, and our lovely community is here to help support you through this. 

Our Support Service are also currently getting in touch with you through email to check in with you, and can help talk through some supports to help you through this difficult time. 

In overwhelming moments like these, please know support is always help available to you, whether it be from the friendly counsellors at our Beyond Blue Support Service (1300 22 4636) or our friends at Lifeline (13 11 14) or the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467). These services are available to you 24/7.

We would also like to say that different counselors with particular skill sets, and even particular personalities, can meet your needs and expectations in ways that might be helpful for you so we strongly encourage that you reach out to these supports as a way to find the help you need.

We hope that you can find some comfort in the words of support and kindness from our community, and please feel free to keep updating us on how you're feeling whenever you are ready.

[fred4761]

It has been a while since I have posted so thought that I would check in and provide an update on how Covid has been affecting me. I guess that I kind of got put off the forums a bit with all of the negativity regarding isolation and restriction rules and government decisions. While I personally am not enjoying being in isolation, working from home and remote learning, I don’t see any other way forward. I would much rather do this and have the virus controlled rather than the current cycle of going in and out of lockdown.

Over the past month I have been fluctuating between about a 7-9.5 I made a phone appointment with my GP and shared what the clinic receptionist had said (questioning me about how urgent my need for an appointment is and reminding me that by coming in I am potentially putting all of the staff at risk). The GP said that this is to minimise people coming in for regular check-ups as they have a number of patients who visit the GP fortnightly/monthly just to check in with the doctors. The GP also made a point to say that the idea is that most patients are able to determine for themselves what is a necessary urgent appointment, however this approach is not helpful for many patients like myself with MH issues! So a big thankyou to everyone who encouraged me to go ahead and make the appointment. I feel like I would never normally be so confused by the rules and would insist on my right to be seen by the doctor. Coronavirus has triggered a huge fear in me of causing someone else to get sick. I am not as concerned with getting sick as I am with me getting sick and spreading it to others.

Covid continues to impact my life as my medical tests indicate that I need to see a specialist in Melbourne . . . except they are not seeing any new patient referrals until they reopen at the end of October. They won’t even make an appointment for me until the specialist has a chance to look at my referral so I am guessing it could be another couple of months! If it was a life threatening condition the Dr assured me that I would be seen to, however this is just causing me mild ongoing discomfort and I can put up with it. It really concerns me that people are unable to see specialist medical practitioners due to Covid though. I understand that we need to protect medical staff, but I also feel like people need to be able to access medical experts when they need them. I am not sure what a good solution would be. It is such unchartered territory.