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

[Elizabeth CP]

I am better than I was but still about a 7 or 8 (better than 10). I ended up getting a letter from my psych so I could visit my daughter. I was quite anxious on the way just in case police wouldn't accept my letter. I typed up a draft letter before my appointment & then after speaking to my psych I emailed him my draft which he put onto his letter head & signed. That saved him time but allowed him to check he agreed with what I wrote. Since then I had a phone call from DHHS in response to a letter I wrote to the premier explaining my situation. The person was extremely helpful. She has since sent up to date info re the restrictions which was reassuring as I've now been able to get my gutters fixed. Wed night it poured & everything stayed dry. Also my husband has had a face to face appointment with his physio now restrictions have eased slightly. On the DHHS advice I now have a letter from the GP so my son can care for my husband so he can visit or I can drop my husband at my son's. My son was reluctant to come over unless it was an emergency ut now knows he can see my husband legally. My daughter is my support so I can see her legally. I found it extremely hard to tell my daughter why I could visit. Having to admit to being so stressed was hard.

I am scared in case the number jump again.Hopefully we keep going down.

[ecomama]

Dear ElizabethCP

I'm really glad you sent those letters to your psych and the Premier.

I'm even more happy that the response was APPROPRIATE and you got letters to travel / visit / have visitors.

That's great. I hope your anxiety is lessened somewhat now.

Just RIDE this wave of more freedom and leave the numbers to others to worry about.

You've done the very best you can do. There's no shame in admitting any stress you've had, in fact you should be very PROUD of yourself that you got through this.

And I Pray the worst has passed.
If not then you KNOW what to do. Letters. Action. Support.

Love and many Blessings
EM

[blondguy]

Hi Everyone! New posters/members are always welcome too 🙂

Hey Elizabeth! By speaking to your MP you have had excellent results. I posted a note on another thread after you mentioned this excellent news. As EM mentioned I also hope that this great news has reduced your anxiety levels too!

Hey EM! You mentioned 'There's no shame in admitting any stress you've had, in fact you should be very PROUD of yourself that you got through this'

Thankyou for your helpful post EM as the first step towards some peace of mind is being able to 'let go' with our pych. If we dont communicate effectively with our doc/psych/therapist we are only prolonging our own pain

The numbers will keep going down (Vic) Elizabeth as long as we can 'really' get the contact tracing right like NSW has been doing

my kindest thoughts...Paul

[Black Bubblegum]

In all honesty, i'm probably sitting at an 8 daily, peaking at 10 probably once or twice a week.

Every day I wake up, angry that I woke up. I'm angry, incredibly irritable, my sleeping pattern is messed up (hence replying at 2:25am) and i'm just over living. I'm biting down on it and putting on a front for the sake of others, but honestly I don't care about life anymore. I have loved Melbourne my entire life and now I absolutely hate it and the people who run it.

I get maybe half an hour to an hour a day when i'm happy to be alive, the rest of the time I exist.

[geoff]

Hi Everyone, it will be very interesting to see how the president of America reacts to being in the hospital, I still believe it's a ploy to gain votes for the November election, whether or not he actually does have it, we might never know, however, he can walk to the helicopter, salute and still work.

If you are sick is this possible.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[blondguy]

Hi Black Bubblegum and everyone!

Thankyou for being a part of the discussion and for speaking from the heart too! You posted at 2:25am just after I signed off on the 5th. I have always been a 8-10 + on the Covid Impact scale like yourself

You are not alone feeling the way you do Black Bubblegum....Im also in lockdown and its a tough time to be going through for sure. I used to have acute anxiety issues for many years and still see this lockdown as temporary. You are strong for having the courage to post BB. Any questions are always welcome!

Hey Geoff....thanks for your ongoing contribution here and on so many other thread topics too! Donald Trump is 'old school' where its a sign of weakness to be suffering from anything. Anyone with an ego that big wouldnt be in hospital for 2-3 days as he would lose valuable time campaigning

Note...Check out the video feed when he came back from hospital and took his mask off and walked back into the white house without it. He was having difficulty breathing.....and trying to hide it.

To answer your question Geoff...Yes it is possible for him to walk to Marine1 on his own as Covid symptoms are similar to the common cold..(early Covid symptoms) Please Google White house Rose Garden....It will explain a lot

my kindest always...Paul

[Bananie1234]

Hi Paul,

I’d fall under 5 for coping with covid-19, I’m cautious but not overly worried as there’s nothing much i can do apart from keeping on top with hygiene and social distance or wear a mask. Unless i stay at home forever, the moment i walk out the door even just for groceries, im exposed.

however, i am an 8-9 for the things that happened cos of covid-19 eg border closures, not sure when the borders will open as my family are overseas (I’m from nz), a boyfriend that’s an Australian expat overseas as well and I haven’t seen them for months. I couldn’t make it home for my two high school friends wedding that I’ve been waiting to attend for years and it just broke my heart.

I’m based in QLD and have some close friends in NSW and VIC. I planned to meet a friend in sydney which is something that i really need for my mental health but judging by what’s happening now, i guess it’d be out the window.

i hope everyone else is coping okay now that most states are back to normal. But for me its the border closures that impacted me the most and it stresses me out when i think about it.

[ecomama]

Dear Bananie1234

I'm really sorry you've been missing all those important events. It's so awful really.

I've found it sad to not be able to make plans with my people interstate.

I have family in NZ and they visited here minimum once a year. I didn't see them every time they came over - they stay a few hours away... but I can see this affecting my Uncles. They miss them.

So it's really pulling on the heart strings in SO many ways. The impassable distance is really tangible.

I'm sorry for what you're going through. I'm hearing you.

I've found it's difficult to stay in touch also. People are so stressed with "more" to deal with than usual. Some are too afraid to talk about how it's effecting them so are more shut down too.

So it's not only the physical limitations, the added stressors are making my emotional connections more strained.

My friends in Qld are SO EAGER to get out and visit us all down here (where they went to school).
I asked them to be okay and we'll just wait to see how things go. They've made arrangements so many times and had to cancel them. I asked them to stop doing this because every time they get their hopes up, book, they have to cancel and it's a huge disappointment.

And I have so many friends who are ill (not with Covid) and are too afraid to see others due to their high risk. I understand ofcourse. It's hard not being able to visit because they have serious illnesses and no one's sure on how long they have.

SO I find myself "pre-mourning" them because the future is more unknown than before.

Opening up honestly is how others have been able to open up too. Some people have said "I haven't told anyone how I feel but....." and it's sad to know they haven't offloaded, shared, been supported because they haven't wanted to "burden" anyone.

So I see a widespread "vulnerability" of physical and emotional / psychological exposure happening in my friends.

I Pray we find ways to move through this extremely challenging time.

Know you are not alone.

Love EM

[blondguy]

Hi Bananie1234 (and wave to EM)

Great to have you on the forums and thankyou for your contribution to the discussion too!

I am the same as yourself as there is nothing we can do about state border enforcement. I do feel your pain as they do restrict our movement (understatement of the decade!) Im in Victoria and in stage 4 restrictions at this time with a 5 kilometer limit

I have to keep reminding myself that we havent had a pandemic for 102 years...so even the State premiers and Chief Health Officers are only doing what they can. Im sorry that you have been impacted (like many others...me included)

Bananie1234 mentioned ' its the border closures that impacted me the most and it stresses me out'

By posting you have helped others (readers of the forums) know they are not alone

I really hope you can stick around the forums (only if and when you wish of course)

my kind thoughts

Paul

[Bananie1234]

Hi EM and Paul,

i'm definitely one of those people that is becoming more shut down. reason being, people around me seem to be coping much better than i am and nobody understands how i feel . people complain about restricted activity eg a holiday but for me it's really just being able to meet loved ones. i'm not sure if people would be the same as me if all their loved ones are overseas. i find that those who have family overseas would at least have their partner with them or vice versa and it's just not the same for me as mine are all overseas. i do have a brother here, we are on good terms but we're just not the type of siblings that are super tight but i also know if i didn't have him and his gf here, i'd be much worse.

i'm feeling more disconnected and detached as the days go by, i'm grateful that we've got the technology to keep in touch with our loved ones but in the end, it's just not the same in the end. I had to cut down social media use and avoid the media to cope with it emotionally.

sometimes i'm ashamed to admit that i had to cut down on social media and isolate myself a little bit is because i envy those that are not as impacted by it as me. i sometimes feel miserable cos i'm disconnecting myself but when i do i feel miserable as well. i keep myself busy but it often still does my head in.

i'm sorry that you have been stuck in VIC all this time. i can't imagine victorians going through this espcially if they are on their own and working from home or have no jobs to go to. i guess i should be grateful that at least in QLD i have more freedom and a job where i can't work from home.

thank you for both for your kind words.