Well who put COVID- 19 on their Vision Board for 2020, anyone, anyone, anyone?

You may be aware that my word for 2020 is BLOOM – however I am thinking this needs to change to the year of Interruption, which could be the year of practicing agility…

There are incredible resources available for us to get our heads around what is happening right now. I won’t repeat them here – what I want to offer is a way of thinking strategically, because even though we might feel like we are scrambling to get online or tele health services sorted for the next 2-4 weeks, we can expect that the implications of this Virus will last a lot longer than a month.

 

Here are some questions for you to ask.

 

How do I want to keep my family and myself safe during this time?

My personal preference is that we all embrace social distancing, that keeps you and me safe. It reduces the likelihood that my Grandmothers will be exposed to the virus; it reduces the threat of exposure to people who are living with chronic illnesses.

Last Friday (about 5 days ago) my opinion was – ‘manage your risk tolerance’. But that has proven to be unwise and socially irresponsible. And that is in the space of 5 days.

How do I like to feel connected, and what can I do to increase my sense of connectedness?

I’ve been vulnerable on the most recent episodes of This Is Private Practice, explaining that I have been struggling with the idea of social distancing. I was already feeling isolated and lacking a sense of connection, and the threat of not being able to be with people was really upsetting me last week. So, if I am feeling like this, I’m pretty sure others will be too.

What helps us to feel connected? Presence isn’t necessarily the answer, because how many of us have been in the same room as people we care about an each one is staring at a screen, disengaged from one another?

• Online through typed words isn’t always enough.
• Increased volume of contact points through a device might not be enough.
• What we may be missing is a sense of communing, a place to belong and people who are my people.
• One of the things I’ve started doing is a pop-up coffee with friends through Zoom, and next week I will start a weekly coffee catch up with my team through zoom. My intention is to provide a dedicated time to be with someone in the moment. That for me is starting to get to the essence of connection.

We have an opportunity to recognise how we want to feel connected.

Revise Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.

I know this is psychology 101 right – but I think we all need a GOOD reminder of what the hierarchy of needs are, because we are seeing the world react to their needs for certainly, safety and belonging are threatened (yes this is why people are hoarding and fighting over toilet paper).

Remember that most people don’t know or understand this theory, so now is a time for us as compassionate health professionals to engage and empower people while showcasing our ability to make these unprecedented and scary times more bearable.

Practice Generosity

This is my go-to resilience tactic. Whenever I am feeling less than or overwhelmed or starting to stare into the void of depression ( that is a very real possibility for me) I practice generosity. This doesn’t mean spending money on people. It can look like some of these ….

• Pick up the phone and dial that number – talk to someone
• Send someone groceries, or a prepared food voucher
• Start a book club; send books you have loved to other people
• Or share your audible books
• Watch a movie with someone virtually – jump scares will become a lot less messy
• Send things in the mail (thank you Aust Post) if I can’t have you with me in the room, can I have something tangible from you in my letter box.
• Connect people to people – don’t feel like you have to do this yourself, my first pop up coffee date was awesome, I had a great belly laugh, for which I am grateful (Thank you Kylie).

If you’re concerned about someone, please reach out to them. Now is not the time to be worried about whether you are going to be ‘annoying’ – this is the time to practice “R U OK”.

These are unique times, most have us have not lived through something like this before. We are working it out, sorting it through, and learning as we go.

Maybe when we are through this we wont need to remind ourselves and each other to be kind, being kind will become the way we do things around here?

We’ve got this.

#bekind #besafe

If you, or someone you know is really struggling and you are concerned, please reach out to them, or to a trusted health professional. Health professionals have been offering tele health services for a long time.   We don’t want anyone to be suffering unnecessarily.

And if you are a health professional reading this – please do not suffer in silence thinking you can’t ask for help. Reach out to me, hit reply, in the strictest of confidence, and I will help you navigate this unique situation we are in.