Melbournians right now will be feeling an immense sense of anxiety, overwhelm, and a lot of anger and frustration. As a fellow Melbournian, I can tell you that as I was watching the press conference on Friday afternoon I felt sick in my stomach and thought “here we go again”, followed quickly by - “well I’d rather this now than what we dealt with last year”. So yes, the emotional rollercoaster is real.
A lot of people are carrying a lot of anxiety thinking that this is going to last longer, and are doubtful that the five day circuit breaker will only last for five days. You know what, it might be longer. We just don’t know. Everything is uncertain right now, and when we are faced with uncertainty, we can have really strong emotional reactions that can be scary if we don’t know how to deal with them. People deal with emotions differently and what works for one person might not always work for another. This is why reaching out for support is important in times like this so that you can work out which strategies on coping works for you. When you reach out to a trusted support person or professional it means you have a sounding board, someone who can help to share the burden, and someone who can help you work out what helps you to cope.
Unfortunately, in times like this, all we can do is wait. This can be tough and make us feel helpless. When you feel helpless it can be beneficial to head back to basics. This means having a daily routine, keeping up with appointments, reaching out for supports to have someone to talk to, making time for movement, and waiting. Waiting for me is the hardest part, as I’m sure it is also for many people. Waiting for the next announcement on Thursday is going to be hard, but in the meantime I would suggest heading back to basics, as well as limiting the amount of news you consume to manage the dose at which you are exposed to it so as not to feel overwhelmed. Right now our focus is to get through the next three days and then we can take it from there.
In the meantime, we’re here to support you during this time. We know this is tough. Give our team a call on (03) 9882-8874 to book in with our clinicians for support.
This blog was written and prepared by Dr Celin Gelgec - Clinical Psychologist and Director at Melbourne Wellbeing Group.