April 20, 2020
This post is part of a three-part series for university students written in early April, 2020, when the world was ushered into quarantine and physical isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The moment you try to find out more about the pandemic, you can’t ever seem to be on top of the news. There is conflicting information in the media and social media (obviously) about how serious the situation is and globally there are really diverse approaches to responding to the Covid-19 crisis.
How bad is it? What should we be doing? Is our Government making the right decisions? Is it all a bit over the top? Is it true that Garth, Gemma, Geoff, Gazza and Gertrude (the 5G’s), stitched this whole thing up to keep us at home?
Aside from the info and conspiracy overload many of us have the pressure of uncertainty, induced by closures to workplaces, schools of our kids, the incredible remix of uni study structure to name a few.
The moment we look for answers, we are again met with conflicting advice, 20 emails a day, from the Warehouse, your bank, your dentist, your dentist’s pet dog’s cousin, Tiggles – all espousing their advice on what you should do.
All of this can create a feeling of overwhelm – like I can’t possibly deal with the enormity of this problem. This is also related to powerlessness – like nothing I do could possibly make a dent in this mammoth issue; and anxiety – your body’s natural response to a potential threat.
When these feelings are persistent and/or prominent, they also can have uncool effects on your ability to feel good and function well.
One resounding piece of advice for us is to identify the things we are thinking about and distinguish what we can and can’t control. Those things we can’t control are worth only a smidgen of your brainpower.
Instead, you would be using your thoughts more wisely on the small things that you can easily influence.
