This pandemic we are facing is like nothing we've seen before in our lifetime. It poses a very real threat to the health and wellbeing of many of us, particularly those more vulnerable.
It also brings with it an understandable increase in stress and anxiety.
Increased stress shows up in behaviours like:
panic buying toilet paper and tinned food
poor driving
frayed tempers
belligerent refusal to acknowledge the need to practice social distancing
… the list goes on.
Maybe you’ve seen some of these things, maybe you’ve done some of them yourself.
All these behaviours, and many more, are signs of our attempt to cope with the threat of the coronavirus.
As a result, we're now living a 'new normal':
social distancing
home learning
business closures
job losses
economic slow-down
These things are a necessary response to, or consequence of, the pandemic. But they also add to the stress and anxiety.
Why is this crisis different to the bushfires?
The pandemic comes hard on the heels of the worst bushfire season our nation has ever seen. Many are still reeling from the trauma of this summer past.
But there are some interesting contrasts to that time.
The bushfires presented a visible threat we could face, a threat we united against, instinctively. That unity gave us some strength, it was a part of what helped us get through. Selfless acts of generosity and inspiring bravery broke down the lines that divided us. We saw how great we can be.
The coronavirus by comparison is different: it is an invisible threat. We don’t know if the person next to us in the supermarket queue is a carrier. We feel threatened by the old man hacking up a lung a few metres away, or the little kid with the snotty nose. Because of this, COVID-19 divides us as a community where the bushfires united us. Add to that the steps we must take to slow the spread and “flatten the curve”, social isolation is a very real problem.
All this has an impact on our health. Especially our immune system, which makes us even more vulnerable.
What’s next?
The reality is that none of us know how long this will last, or how bad it’s going to get. When we look at what’s happened in other countries around the world, it’s sobering. It’s a reasonable assumption that things are going to get worse before they get better.
The stress we will have to deal with, the isolation many of us may experience, and the behaviour of those around us? That may also get worse before it gets better too.
What can we do?
Practice compassion. Compassion can give ourselves and those around us the space to feel accepted even in the face of our struggles.