Hello all,
Not knowing from fortnight to fortnight, or for some, week to week, or day by day is what I find so difficult. I get my hopes up, look at Qld's .gov website to see if whether some restrictions might be changing again, or if they are not. Especially, if to see if I can go into public buildings, without a mask, and not feel like I am some sort of space invader, or that I may be perceived as one of the selfish people, who simply refuse to wear a mask, as a statement of their 'right to choose'.
My PDr encouraged me to get my info from reliable sources. He takes his duty of care seriously, as does his colleague, and so made decisions about how the practice would be run. I agreed entirely with his reasons for, first, requiring hand washing. I had become mindful about how many surfaces I touched when out and about. Then he would be doing telehealth sessions instead of having patients coming and going to his rooms. They have groups as well. Too many people.
I was uncomfortable about zoom and Face Time, but I would try by phone calls, which I make at the usual time. Then, when masks became a recommendation, he invited patients back, provided everyone, including himself and his colleague would wear masks. That's when I tried to and had a (for me) a severe panic response, and 'flashbacks', I guess.
By phone is not ideal for either of us. There are pros and cons to it, so either way it is both better and worse.
I begin to wonder just how uncommon it may be for therapists to divulge their personal views to their patients? Is my PDr so unusual in that he tells me nothing about his personal life, and not his opinions about what the government does in relation to COVID-19.
As knowledge about COVID-19 increased, and we were seeing how devastating it was becoming for individuals, families, and society, I wanted to get my first dose as soon as I could determine I would qualify for one.
Initially, because COVID-19 was new, and information was scarce, and they were learning, and so, making decisions on the hop. New info comes in and changes have to be made to accommodate that.
It's hard to keep up. It is particularly hard to decide for whole cities, states and country - lots of individual people being effected by those decisions, and know you could not get it 'right'. We have a choice of hard options to choose from. We have limited people and financial and medical resources to carry us through.
Me, coping? I'm not sure anymore.
mmMekitty