Covid-19 is beginning to have an impact on our daily life in New Zealand. It is comforting to see what the government has done to restrict the spread of the disease. Additionally this is an important time for you all to think about self-care, especially those that work in healthcare environments. You don’t have the choice of working from home like many others do. You have to go to work for your shifts and I know that there will be a certain level of fear amongst you about contracting this virus. I understand how difficult it will be for you coming home to your families and the risk this carries for them too. Importantly this is a time for you to focus on controlling your thoughts and the feelings that are created from your thoughts. We can’t change the facts. We need to accept that we have Covid-19 in New Zealand and there will be an increase in the numbers of people with the virus.
I want to reiterate that it’s okay to allow yourself the space to be upset. Hold space for yourself and be compassion to yourself. Let it be okay to accept the bad feelings. We certainly can’t feel great all the time and to allow yourself to feel upset about the impact Covid-19 will have on us, is okay. There may be overseas trips planned and disappointment related to the fact that you will be unable to travel in the near future. Remember that it’s alright to feel mad about this. Then again freaking out and panicking does not serve you. The most responsive way of dealing with this type of feeling is to open yourself to feeling sad.
Some people may find it easy to get themselves into a positive mindset amongst this chaos, and as a healthcare professional myself, I feel a certain calmness about the future. I believe in the resilience of people, especially in healthcare professionals and the inevitability of change that will occur from this outbreak. We are going to figure this out and a lot of things are going to change in the world for the better. There will be advances in technology, new services will be created and maybe even new businesses will be formed in the immediate future.
At this time it is important to talk to your friends, limit your exposure to media posts/news hype. They want us to watch their programmes and engage with what they are telling us. I know how difficult this is because I feel very drawn to want to read all I can about Covid-19 but try to stick to useful sites particularly the Ministry of Health website. For those of you who suffer from depression or anxiety please be careful with the use of buffering techniques. Things like overeating or overdrinking might become more common as you try to deal with this situation. It is not being kind or useful to escape emotion by doing this to yourself.
I have no idea about how the world should be in a pandemic like Covid-19. I am guided by what we are told through official channels. I have ideas about how the world should be but these are purely my own thoughts. I am consciously choosing to look outside, spend time in nature because this is a good reminder that the world keeps trucking along.
