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

[tranzcrybe]

So much pain and confusion.

Take solace in that we are all contributing to overcoming this blight for future generations as we are the makers of history. Some are inconvenienced and disadvantaged, others sustain great hardship and loss, while many have given their lives through no fault of their own - they are our champions; and let's not forget the medical teams risking their own lives - willingly - for the greater good.

I feel humbled and unworthy in that all I am asked to do is stay home and follow some guidelines.

Of course there are those who see this as deprivation of liberty (possibly exacerbated by some antiquated punitive delivery methods which only serve to aggravate those of that mindset), but that is human nature - your right to discernment can only be yours. The fact that some don't fall into step with the majority may be a sad reflection on character or equally be a valiant show of resistance; consensus has no authority to make such a determination either way.

As one must accept the neighbour's leaves blowing onto your lawn, there is no place apportioning blame to the wind that put them there, or even accusing the neighbour of being despicable for the behaviour of the tree.

[quirkywords]

Paul

thanks for your explanation.about the importance of the scale.
What is there that helps to lessen your number.

Quirky

[blondguy]

Hey tranzcrybe....thankyou again for your valued contribution...especially when you mentioned ' I feel humbled and unworthy in that all I am asked to do is stay home and follow some guidelines'

tranzcrybe summed up 'the blame game' with "As one must accept the neighbor's leaves blowing onto your lawn, there is no place apportioning blame to the wind that put them there, or even accusing the neighbor of being despicable for the behavior of the tree'' ....I really hope you can stick around when and if you wish..Nice1

Hey Quirky and another good question! ''What is there that helps to lessen your number''? ....ummmm...life experience I guess Quirky

[blondguy]

cont

• counselling
• seeing my GP
• using calm and genuine 'acceptance' of the problem

Excuse I for the broken post......just getting used to my new PC and keyboard 🙂

Paul

[ecomama]

Hi Paul and everyone

I'm at a 5-7. Not viewing any news reports. Just receiving email updates about what we have to do for work.

All my children need to wear masks for their work now. Seeing this brought me up to a 5-7. Masks "not permitted" for my work.

I guess our area is prepping for the next waves. Our highly populated area came out well last time..

In saying this I'm a 10 for Victorians and any other hot spots. I only know about the Vic troubles from reading here on BB.

I keep reminding my children that WE are responsible for our movements in the spaces WE move in and the more responsible we are, the better things will settle. They ONLY go to work and school.

Our hands are all like sandpaper from the sanitisers and detergents but it's a small price to pay for community wellness.

My thoughts go out to you all feeling greater impacts.

EM

[blondguy]

Hi EM

Thankyou for your taking part in the impact level at a 5-7 . Im in stage 4 restrictions for a few weeks...my appreciation for acknowledging people in a hotspot as there many that would find comfort in your post EM.

EM mentioned ''I keep reminding my children that WE are responsible for our movements in the spaces WE move in and the more responsible we are, the better things will settle. They ONLY go to work and school' Nice1

You are a legend EM...and thankyou for all the clarity/support you provide too

Paul

[geoff]

Hello Quirky, perhaps an answer to ' in how a number for your feelings helps' could mean it actually goes beyond the mathematical symbol, simply because many of us struggle to identify what exactly we are feeling, and often there are times the most obvious label isn’t actually the most accurate so it's replaced by a number between 1 to 10.

After an operation, the surgeon asks you to number the pain, that's easier to understand than someone saying 'it b****y hurts', they still don't know the level of pain, so a number scale is chosen.

People maybe afraid to express their level of pain by words and believe that strong emotions should be suppressed by the fear of guilt, whereas a number says it all.

Many a time after an operation they ask me to number between 1 to 10 the pain level and many times the answer is 12, that's a better answer than saying it hurts like h**l, they don't know the degree of pain, so a number is much better.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Elizabeth CP]

10 means Very High Impact...........Difficulty sleeping...increased anxiety...loss of concentration and/or feelings of helplessness

That is where I am currently Today is particularly bad for no good reason. I woke up feeling very anxious & struggling to control my breathing. Want to run away but can't run & can't walk fast with mask. I become too short of breath making me worse. Minor things are triggering me. I feel angry & resentful every time my husband asks me something. It just makes me feel more stressed. I feel guilty because my reaction is totally unjustified. I don't know how I'm going to survive this lockdown.

[Sophie_M]

Hi Elizabeth CP,

We're so sorry to hear that it's been an especially tough day. We can empathise with how difficult this time is. We hope that expressing what you're going through on the forums is of some comfort.

If it's helpful, we would urge that in overwhelming moments you get in touch with our friendly counsellors at the Beyond Blue Support Service (1300 22 4636) or our friends at Lifeline (13 11 14).

Please also feel free to take a look at some of the Beyond Blue resources for some tips on management and wellness strategies:

• "Staying well" - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/staying-well
• "Sleeping well" -
  https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/staying-well/sleeping-well
• "Anxiety management strategies" - https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/treatments-for-anxiety/anxiety-management-strategies

We hope that you keep checking in to let us know how you're going, whenever you feel up to it.

[tranzcrybe]

'Lockdown' is such an unfortunate term of reference:-

• 'lock': to secure, restrict access, prevent movement,
• 'down': to apply pressure from above, adding to the sensation of claustrophobia and overbearance.

I see how this can mess with the mind, and perhaps a little more tact from the 'Powers that Be' could be in order.

Try not to let the syntax distort the reality - consider it more as 'extreme social distancing' (things always sound better when prefaced with 'extreme' don't you think?).

Also, maintain sight of why we are being asked to perform this duty - we are not being punished (as the term infers), but rather aiding the cause through our mutual cooperation.

Thank you for helping me and I hope I am helping you in return by this simple gesture.