COVID Stress and Anxiety is real – And you are not alone

When Daniel Andrews announced the next stages of lockdown, there was collective despair around Melbourne. The resilience that we have tried to maintain over the last six months is wearing thin – very thin.

The “She’ll be right” attitude has all but disappeared as we don’t know if and when, life will get back to normal. No one knows, not even our Leaders. These are unchartered waters, and it feels that everyone around the world is making it up as they go.

Everyone is feeling stressed and anxious about the current situation and the future. These are feelings and thoughts we have never had before and finding ways to cope can be hard.

The first step in dealing with these feelings is to acknowledge that feeling fearful and anxious at a time such as this is not only expected but appropriate. Given the nature of the threat we are facing, the fear and anxiety is our brains natural response. These feelings alert us to the fact that we need to be taking appropriate action to keep ourselves and others as safe and healthy as possible.

So what can we do – what are the best ways of coping with all of this anxiety and keeping our mental health in check?

COVID Stress and anxiety in lockdown stem from many areas, work-related, finances, relationships, followed by concerns and worries about the welfare and wellbeing of children and the effects of school closures.

Also, families with children who have special needs and neurodevelopmental disorders are experiencing higher levels of stress on all aspects.

Here are some typical signs that you, your family or household members might find yourselves having:

Struggling to find motivation or keep a routine
Mood swings
Not keeping up with day to day chores
Being less interested in things you usually enjoy
Sleeping a lot more or less
Increasing the use of alcohol and other drugs
Struggling to exercise
Making comparisons with others and feeling inadequate
Feeling worried about the future.

People manage their feelings differently, and isolation might have meant that you or the people close to you have had to find new ways to look after themselves.*(source headspace)

We don’t have the social connections we usually have due to social distancing; however, staying connected to others is more important than ever. The human race are social people and naturally seek comfort and care from others. Thank goodness for technology which helps us to stay connected to family, friends, medical resources and colleagues. Technology also helps with COVID stress and Anxiety as everyone is reacting in different ways.

If you or someone you know is suffering from COVID Stress and Anxiety, it needs attention. It also doesn’t just affect you; it affects children, family and long term it affects society.

To help you, we have compiled a list of helpful web resources, and we are here to help as well.