I'm one of those vulnerable people in all of this Corona business. Type 1 diabetic. I don't officially have immunity issues, but I do tend to get sick at the drop of a hat. Given all that, perhaps you'd have expected me to be fairly anxious about all of THIS.
Actually, though, I've been pretty much okay. Doing all the right things - now working from home, and washing my hands ALL THE TIME, only going out when absolutely necessary.
So my mental health - depression and anxiety being the other things to contend with here (as you might have guessed from the name of this blog!) - has been pretty good.
I'd seen the video of the guy washing and disinfecting his groceries/shopping on social media a few times, but hadn't watched it. Wasn't actively avoiding it, but just didn't watch.
Until I did.
That launched me into a major attack of anxiety when I went to buy a few things at the supermarket yesterday.
Of course - as has been the case - loads of things were sold out. There was no bleach, disinfectant...nothing to use for this purpose.
Suddenly it hit me - what if, all this time, I'd been chilled out about all this, but MAYBE should've thought about this earlier, and now I've stuffed myself right up? Ended up in tears heading to my car and had a big cry when I got home.
Now, I'm lucky. I'd thrown a virtual fit on Facebook and had friends recommending things I could use, giving me literal solutions for disinfectant (a recipe for same). My friends managed to talk me down and helped me to feel much more calm about the whole situation.
Without those friends, I would've been a mess for far longer than I was. I'd have been in my head, catatrophising, panicking, stressing out.
What this made me realise is that not only is social media an absolutely INVALUABLE tool right now - where we're at in terms of technology is, generally - but allowing yourself to be honest about where you're at could be the best thing for you. It's not going to be for everyone. For me, though, it was something of a circuit-breaker.
We're in incredibly uncertain times (which is great when you are SUCH a fan of knowing what's coming! 😜) - and things are changing, day to day. I'm actually pretty much a homebody, but geez, it's different when you know you don't just have the capacity to go out whenever and wherever you like.
I know you've probably heard it all before, but last night was a real reminder for me...check in with how you're feeling. Share how you're doing with others if you feel you can. If you don't - remember there are plenty of places you can turn to.
Here are a few links:
Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak
Mental health and wellbeing during the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak
Is your mental health deteriorating during the coronavirus pandemic? Here’s what to look out for
Take care of yourselves. Yeah yeah, we're all in this together...but really, catchphrase aside, now is a time to keep an eye on others, too. If you're doing okay, check in with friends and family to see how they're doing.
Stay home and stay well!
Emma.
