The Little Blue Book

IF FEELING LONELY (AND ISOLATED) • Limit your exposure to ‘news updates’. It’s normal to feel anxiety or even a sense of panic when our lives are so suddenly upended, but overexposure to a barrage of negative news can feed negativity biases in our thinking and amplify feelings of anxiety and insecurity. • Establish routine and structure in your day: model it loosely on your typical working week timetable – break for morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea. At ‘home time’, stop work. • Set up a regular ‘catch-up’ with friends and work colleagues – perhaps a daily screen-time coffee break. Use this catch-up not to talk about work but to ask about other things in their lives. Keeping your social relationships oiled is a powerful counter to feelings of loneliness and disconnection. There will be many of us at this time who will be dealing with an added layer of anxiety: those whose employment has disappeared, their jobs, and the businesses that employed them, swallowed by the mothballing of the economy. Besides grappling with the sudden and bewildering isolation that comes with loss of employment, the financial uncertainty and concerns they will be carrying for their wellbeing and the wellbeing of loved ones, will sit like a blanket over their thoughts. These will be very tough months for them. Their resilience, their psychological and emotional strength, will surely be tested: they will need the support and comfort of their families and that of their friends and former colleagues to get through this. For many, it may be a lonely battle. Those for whom work was the bridge into social connection – who relied on the companionship of ‘the office’ or the shop floor – will be particularly affected by this period of isolation. If their employment has also disappeared, they will be facing health risk. So, if you know someone put out of work by the lockdown, reach out, give them a call. Just ask, “How are you going?” and let the conversation flow from there. Tell them you will call again in a day or two, and call, and talk, and get them talking. This is all that connection is. It’s not complicated. And if you think they might need some additional help, suggest they call their GP or health professional. It may not be easy for them. Many people suffering loneliness struggle to disclose personal information (it can be trapped behind a wall of anxiety). But stick with the mission – even if they say they’re going ok – and check back on them (“How did you go, did you call?”). Another voice, a friend engaging person-to-person, showing an interest in them and their wellbeing, can be life-saving. WHEN IT BECOMES A LONELY BATTLE COVID-19: The Challenge 38