Dear Rupes and other friends....I am in Q so had nowhere near the distressing lockdowns that people in NSW and Melbourne are enduring...it seems, time after time after time. {my son is in Sydney so I am distressed about the situation there too.)..as he has lost so much money, so much work, I fear for his mental outlook as he has always been a positive person, but really, isn't all this too much to ask of Australia's people?

Can I ask do you think the lockdowns are working? Case numbers are rising, not dropping. Then, when they drop, they eventually rise again months or weeks later...and you lockdown again!

Isn't there an old saying that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

Hope and love to you all...x

Hi Monstruck

This lockdown feels pointless and is deflating. 3 weeks in and we are not making any headway. Possible things will get worse before they get better. That’s if they get better.

Feels like a complete waste of 3 weeks. I’m one of the “lucky” ones that can work form home. I really feel for people like your son. This is hitting the young particularly hard.

Even talk of the lockdown being extended until vaccination rates are higher enough. I’m afraid that would be enough for me. Pointless living this type of existence.

Does anyone think compassionate grounds for visiting someone would cover deteriorating mental health?

hello all

i went to watch the news today for the first time in 1.5 years, as i wanted to see what was happening. I generally avoid it, but i realised how confused i was over information.

The thing is, it wasn't that easy to get "news."

ABC channel 24 has a few updtes through the day, but i'm an hour away from the next one. The govt website wasn't updated quickly enough, and online i'm wading through unclear facts and info

As a general question, where do ppl like to get their covid news? What sites do u find are less sensationalistic, and seem to give the facts in an accessible way?

Moderators feel free to delete if this isn't allowed. I jsut wanted to hear other people's processes on getting covid updates. THanks all x

Hi Sleepy21,

I think that is a great achievement of avoid the news for that long, such self care! Great work!

I'm glad when you turned the news on today it didn't effect your mental health too much.

I'll be passing on your amazing achievement to family and friends, such a great idea! Thank you again for sharing.

Regards,

CC

Hi Sleepy21

You will get the facts and what’s new each day via the media section of the DHHS website, here in Victoria.

Media releases and the Chief Health Officer’s statements are published daily, along with the epidemiological data. You can read the facts without the bias and hype.

You can also watch the daily press conferences live. The ABC live Covid blog will tell you the time of the conference each day and can also send alerts to your phone.

I have found no media outlets offering truly objective reporting, depending of course upon on their political alignment. The Guardian is one of the better sources of information, in my opinion.

Kind thoughts to you

Hi Moonstruck

The point you raise about lockdowns is not lost on me. Along with my fellow Victorians, I have endured more than my fair share of harsh lockdowns.

We all now only live between lockdowns. And it’s not going to stop until we reach a level of vaccination that satisfies our governments.

A commitment to the elimination strategy was reaffirmed at the most recent National Cabinet Meeting. The Doherty Institute is currently calculating what level of vaccination will be required.

People can complain, but no one will listen. People can demonstrate, but they will be fined or arrested. People can defy the stay safe orders, but again they will face harsh consequences.

It is what it is, Moonstruck.

As for me, I am going to do whatever I can to help Victoria get out of lockdown as fast as possible. I am getting vaccinated to help the nation move through the PM’s four-point plan to normalcy, as fast as possible.

I am doing this to get my life back and minimise the harm caused to all Australians by our current strategy.

Kind thoughts to you

Yeah they say they need 80% min to stop doing lock downs so needless to say, unfortunately the way they've turned vaccinating into the debacle they have , l'm afraid this could still be going on all yr yet. We're still only on like about 8% fully vaxed , both shots.

Made me sick yesterday Current Affair think it was had some guy on that got himself doubled vaxed . 2 pfizer and 2 AZ , and they were praising him, he thought he was a hero too. Well hello , you just wasted someone else's shots mate as there isn't enough right now. Can't believe l was the only one to point that out, but l can.

Sleepy l go in from work and watch abc 24 , the 11am one has the NSW latest numbers too, but it also seems to be a the best round up. And the mid day one also. Well when l wanna know that is , every 2-3 days.

rx

Hey everyone,

LOVE those jokes peeps, keep sanity hapnin' lol.

Hey Gelati, switching the news OFF was the best thing I did last year! Haven't missed it for a nanosecond lol.
I don't have any Social Media, it's GREAT! Unless you count BB forums and YouTube... nothing else.

I have a whole paleontological (is that a word? hahaha) view about it all >>> our brains were only meant to cope with the goings on of our tribe.

So that's been my focus.

Another thing to consider is the brilliant works of Stephen Covey... which he demonstrates with concentric circles (that are on the back of ALL our loo doors here at home lol) ..there are specific elements of our life INSIDE our control and influence and there are many things OUTSIDE our control and influence.
He notes that the more we concentrate on things OUTSIDE our control and influence then the smaller our circle of influence becomes.
The reverse is also true! Spelt out... the more we concentrate on what we CAN control and influence then the bigger THIS circle becomes.
I've found this to be true every time.
From "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" just FYI.

Nothing is more precious than the space in our own minds, guard it carefully.

Hey Rupes, I would think indeed visiting someone on compassionate grounds is well in there as reasonable. (I'd take some bread / milk / eggs just in case). Otherwise why would the Govt be putting tons of $$ into MH?

We're doing well here in Lock Down. Barely anything is different to usual showing the life of a single parent I guess.
Masks, working & schooling from home, nothing much else.

My kids LOVE schooling from home. So do all my grandchildren lol. Reminiscent of their Home Schooling days.

My Aunty phoned me this week for some help for her little grand daughter in her learning from home program, it was nice to help her out and GREAT getting a phone call from my extended family - they only call when they want something lol.

I'm going to treat myself by doing some sewing tonight - adjusting one son's school pants and maybe go all out and find my cross stitch, wow hahaha.

Love EMxxxx

Summer Rose mentioned above...

" I am going to do whatever I can to help Victoria get out of lockdown as fast as possible. I am getting vaccinated to help the nation move through the PM’s four-point plan to normalcy, as fast as possible"

Thanks for the dose of common sense Summer Rose. I had my first AZ vaccine few weeks ago....just waiting for my second dose mid August :-)

my kindest

Paul

thanks calm cat and summer rose :)

your comments gave me a little boost.

I have not followed the news, at all. Sometimes i feel a little dumb because of it. Like i'm the last to know. But it's a coping mechanism for me and helps me survive.

I like the Guardian layout, SummerRose - very easy and simple. And will try listen today to the update/press release to find out if they are extending Victoria's lockdown which was meant to end on Tuesday. I guess it will depend on the case numbers.... i've heard about 10 diff opinions today from others around me on what will happen. I don't want it to be extended any logner, I want to get back to life. But it does sound like this new variant is so contagious, and the nerves are coming back again when I go to the supermarket, go to potential hotspots, covid is getting into my mental state.

Hope ur sewing went lovely Em

keep the humour a-comin' rx. you give ppl a boost in these bleak times :)

Hi all. I haven't been online for a bit. This lockdown in Victoria is feeling easier than last time. I think we are, as it were, seasoned veterans now. I have also noticed people basically ignore the restrictions that don't have reasonable scientific backing, but are being pretty good about the stuff that matters. This is heartening... for example, I can go outside to walk because 9/10 people don't wear masks outside, but they aren't congregating in groups or anything potentially contagion spreading. Just enjoying the winter days outside, by themselves and maskless. But they put them on to go into a supermarket. I think the community are being really good about it all. On ya, Victoria!

Yeah that's the go with updates sleepy just use what works for you.

l liked moving the bridge , can see the lines behind the first one that gets stuck , auto border , like it.

Think we might be up for an extended again sorry to say people . Still on 20 a day and even Mildura had cases , gonna need more time unfortunately me thinks.

l really don't know what to think of Aus' s strategy you know . ls it really necessary with only 20 or 100 cases a day, l don't know. Bc here's the UK reopening last wk and guess what , they still have a new highs in cases but they aren't 20 or 100 or even 1000, they're 50,000 , yesterday. And that's with lockdowns the last 6wks or something like that and 50% of them vaccinated , so wth are we doing l just don't know . l use to think it was good we're controlling it but at what cost when at 18mths we're still locking down for 20 or 100 cases after 18mths. lf you think still 50k with 50% vaccinated and straight out of their harshest lockdown yet ,then where are we going. lt could be another 12mths of this if they wanna carry on about 20 or 100 and keep that up until we're all vaccinated. Many countries have coped with 1000s a day and still been open .

Are our expectations here just ridiculous at this lockdowning every 5mins cost for yrs on end. Don't know.

rx

Hi randomx

There's a lot of concern about the UK opening up due to the numbers of people being hospitalised and the op3it gives the virus to mutate even more.

I'm one of the people who would most likely die if I caught the virus so I think we just need to bear with things until we have more of us fully vaccinated and see what this virus is mutating into overseas. I know it's tough for everyone but these are difficult times times.

Let's hope this country gets the vaccine roll out sorted!! It's been a mess for sure.

Hi Hanna.

Yeah l bet and very understandable not saying we want 50k a day. Just thinking if other countries can cope with 1000s though, or 50,000, then why are we carrying on over 20 or 100 . But l know, if open what does that turn into l know. 200 , 1000 , l don't know, but even that's still nothing compared to other countries.

There's probably only about 5million high risk you'd obviously jab those very first of all and nursing homes to of course but they can't even manage that . lf they could though well, God knows . These lock downs are getting ridiculous though unless the gov wanna print some money and pay us all for another yr or two.

rx

The world has shown it clearly. Countries that did so well early on are now going into a mess. Australia could have been the prime example for the world on managing the pandemic, except it stuff up the vaccine roll out. So many medical experts and epidemologists have said that we are in such a lucky position to get ahead the virus but now we didn't manage to take that advantage to prepare what comes after. Taiwan is in a similar situation..... Yes, we are going in the endless open and shut cycle. Kinda tired of it. People keep telling me that I need to be patience. I sincerely hope that once everyone is giving the chance of a vaccine, we really move onto the next stage of opening up with caution. The challenge is to shift people mindset to accept a little risk after 2 yrs (by the end of this year) of zero risk when that happens. It is pointless to talk about travel bubble if we can't accept the small risk as other countries that have high vaccination rate are not pursuing zero. Singapore is an example. Otherwise, we will be isolated forever......NZ bubble hasn't been working so well. Heck..can't even do interstate travel at this point. I have seen the down side of zero case here in WA is that people aren't in the rush to get the vaccine or even want it at this point in time. They think we can just lockdown and then back to "bubble" life.

Ya, other countries are managing in 1000+ cases but with the cost of life if the vaccination rate is low. As much as i envy US, UK and some euro countries opening up, i think some are doing it in a irresponsible way. More spread, more chance of new variants. Poorer countries will never keep up the vaccination. Booster....i feel that mental health would be another 'pandemic' afterward. My friends are worrying about me as they always seen other illness emerges with poor mental state and stress.....

Hi everyone,

I’m really starting to think, is coming in and out of snap lockdown really the best way? I just moved from qld to vic for a new job and it’s honestly been super stressful moving and risking between lockdowns. I was supposed to fly back to qld until a snap lockdown happened unexpectedly and will be extended.

A thought just entered my mind, what if many people are finally about to see their loved ones they haven’t seen in months and now it’s been disrupted? i haven’t seen my family in 18 months and it’ll probably be another year. I’m someone who doesnt deal well with uncertainty, I can’t imagine living like this for the next 12 months and it doesn’t matter which state or city I’m in. Any state can go into a snap lockdown. I’m glad i sort of found my happy place amongst this chaos (and it hasn’t been easy) but i really feel for those that are still struggling.

It’s obvious they are aiming for zero cases even though they say they’re not.

Hi everyone,

It has definitely been an up and down journey being in lockdown again in NSW, I think I just need some hope! Seeing the numbers consistently coming down will make me feel better but when they stay consistently high it definitely has been a bit stressful.

I liked reading everyone's posts about trying to stay positive and pulling through. Fingers crossed for some hope soon!

Hi all

rx valid points.

no news for me as i dont get much from it anyway. I hope the victoria lockdown doesnt extend too long. Lets see what Mr Sutton has to say tomorrow. Gosh he makes even the worst news sound fine, he's so charismatic.

Urgh... I was so frustrated during a phone call with a relative this evening. I was trying to express my feeling that our health is being protected by lockdowns (in the absence of availability to vaccines to all) but at the great expense of mental health. They said to the effect that we are not dead, and that's to be appreciated. I responded, "But I'm not living either." She responded, you have your new sewing machine to enjoy. I am in my 30s and we cannot access the vaccine easily and she is in her 70s and has always been socially isolated but (it appears to me) seems ok with that, so COVID restrictions do not materially change her lifestyle - so her sole focus it seems is her health and avoidance of the virus. I, however, and so many others, are experiencing significant losses of our way of life and do not personally see and quality of life in having sewing as the highlight of their day and a grocery shop as their only in-person human interaction/sighting. I am ok - don't worry - but her view is so closed to how others experience this wretched time in our lives. Just needed to vent - thanks :)

I completely agree Gelati.

I am one who’s not influenced that badly by lockdowns. Im an introvert, can work from home (quite enjoy it) and don’t have kids to home school.

Lockdown life for me is easy compared to most. However I despair for the 1,000,000 people NSW currently has out of work. It’s so easy for those sitting at home in the comfort of their home office singing the praises of premiers continually locking down without sparing a thought for those trying to feed a family and pay rent or mortgage for $600 per week.

Thats before we even look at mental health which we know is taking a battering.

the mental health costs of the pandemic are absolutely and utterly enormous. the struggle is horrible. i cant understand the inconsistencies and how i cant access good mental health care during the lockdowns and have had so many hurdles staying okay and keeping mentally okay. Please everyone prioritise your mental health. it's health. Its our lifeforce. I wish there was more conversation about this in the media.

I'm a homebody as well as an introvert, but the lockdown is taking a toll on my mental health bit by bit. I desperately need a break from my family! Ever since the whole "COVID-stay at home" thing, I've totally lost my personal space and the ability to have the house all to myself. The sound of them walking around drives me crazy. It's peaceful and quiet once everyone's gone to bed, but then tomorrow I'll wake up to another day of noise-nightmare all over again.

As to working-from-home, I enjoy the convenience of not having to go out. But the phone calls and online meetings make me feel like people that belong in the office are coming into my home uninvited. I jump whenever my phone rings. The lack of separation between workplace and home is really getting to me. I just want to hide from the world.

I've forgotten how I used to live in the pre-COVID days.

hi amanda, when i lived with my family until i was 22 i remember feeling so so longing for space

i relate very much to ur post as i would only fee free when they were at work! if they were never at work i don't know what i would've done. I'm sorry u dont have ur space. It must be hectic foru to be at home wit ur family, this new normal is very hard for many of us.

They don't really effect me either haven't right through , l'm in regional up in a coastal area thankfully we've had no virus and l stay the hell away from crowds. l work from home and don't see many people either , pretty homish. But it's the effect on everything and everyone , businesses closing , peoples work, those stuck inside . At least l work outside and can get out and about of over to other towns or even down the beach anytime l want.

Things are so different though bc although we haven't locked down bad, like Melbourne, you just feel it, everywhere, the whole vibe, the world , out cities , just feel it.

And you can see it effecting people too. And out main town was powering along 18mths ago but now so many shops and business have closed even on the main strips, very sad and to think what they went through financially. Peoples MH , the whole thing. You just feel it see it.

Just had enough of this bs , the whole country has. Not that we can do much but grin and bear it l know. Spose it could be a lot lot lot worse if we were OS somewhere. You really wuldn't imagine this could happen in this day age would you. But then the worlds so unnaturally transit these days, 24hrs to anywhere , along with virus's or anything else.

PS yep vic , looks like we'll have another wk at least is my guess. damn it. Sorry Sydney, we've been there.

rx

totally rx

you do feel it, if you're in tune, u can see the stress and just the unusual behaviour

i go to the supermarket and a man is buying 12 cases of milk?

there is no popcorn on the shelves? I can't buy oats?! its unpredictable and i feel the stress responses. I try not to get caught up in it, to find a balance between panicking, but also engaging with it and not living in a total bubble.

It might be another week, ur right. I hope it isn't that long, I really do. I hope it is only a few more days. But it's never that way.