Anxiety is shaping as next hurdle

Clinical psychologist Jill Donaldson and her colleagues are gearing up for a flood of calls as the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic start to hit home on the Gold Coast.

WITH ANN WASON MOORE

EVEN as we scramble to comprehend the physical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is yet another health crisis looming. Mental health experts across the Gold Coast are bracing for an explosion of issues as a result of the multiple aftershocks from the coronavirus crisis.

It’s all too easy to extrapolate the effects: witness the anxiety from lost jobs, lost wages and lost super, compounded by the stress of schooling and (if you’re lucky) working from home; of keeping a family enclosed within four walls, while losing physical contact with friends and extended family. Then there’s the worry over physical health, of “cabin fever” writ large, as well as the growing triggers for those whose mental health is already compromised.

But don’t freak out – clinical psychologist Jill Donaldson and her colleagues across the country are here to help. Ms Donaldson says psychologists and mental health experts are accessible via Telehealth, and they’re bracing for the impact. “My sense is that mental health issues are really going to explode, even among our healthy population,” she says.

“I think it’s vital right now that people know the support that is available.

“The important thing is that if you feel like you need help, or even if you think you might need help in the future, start making contact now. This is going to be a really tough time for everyone’s mental health but we are here to help, we want to help.”

Ms Donaldson, who practises at Families in Focus Psychology Service in Benowa, says just as parents are being taught to model hygiene for their children to prevent infection, they should also ensure they don’t “infect” children with anxiety or stress.

She says while parents should protect their physical health by washing hands and practising social distancing, they should also protect their mental health by practising mindfulness and daily self-care.

As a specialist in children’s mental health, she says open but careful communication with kids is essential, but parents should ensure they are looking after their own stress as well.

“We actually need to manage our anxiety first,” she says. “As parents we change the emotional temperature of the home quite significantly, kids have invisible antenna that pick up on mum and dad’s emotional states.

“Obviously in this global situation, anxiety is normal. But we don’t want to feed it, we need to think rationally and act accordingly.

“We need to be mindful of what our conversations are about within the home – how much are we talking about coronavirus? Is the news constantly playing, are phones continually dinging, are we focused on updates and virus counts instead of dinner and conversation with the kids?

“We need to be aware of not just what we’re saying, but of what they are seeing. Are we dropping everything and looking at the news, speaking in hushed or alarmed tones of voices? Kids are so attuned to that.

“It’s important right now to actually ask your child what is your understanding of what’s going on. As adults we presume that if they have the same information as us, they have the same understanding. But seriously, kids interpret the world in such bizarre ways. So it’s really important to ask: ‘What do you think is happening right now? What do you think might happen? Why do we need to wash our hands?’

“We need to talk but we need to listen, we need to understand that as children they are not so great at judging what information has validity. What a kid on the playground says carries as much weight as Australia’s chief medical officer. We need to help them interpret the information.”

With classes now cancelled across Queensland, Ms Donaldson says we need to be prepared to handle the new normal of homeschooling.

She says structure and routine are essential.

“Kids do best in routines, especially in a situation where we don’t know a lot about what’s coming next,” she says.

“When they’re wondering, ‘when can we see granny? when can we see friends?’, at least they know that when they wake up they have breakfast, brush their teeth, do their reading and keep to their home routines. It’s important for parents too.

“Enacting homeschooling is not easy. Parents are going to need support to manage this role. Yes, there is an element of teaching as a mother or father, but that is day-to-day experiential teaching, not structural.

“As schools close, we need to put these structures in place wherever we can.

“What does worry me is thinking of our more vulnerable families, those which are dysfunctional or with mental health issues already, this is going to be really tough, not just on the parents but on the child’s development as well.”

Ms Donaldson says just as prevention is the most important protection with physical health, it’s the same with mental health.

She says parents should seek help for themselves and their children sooner rather than later and practise self-care and mindfulness to prevent little worries developing into full-blown anxiety.

“One of the best ways to manage mental health is to connect – it’s our human essence. Thank goodness for the technology that is enabling that virtually while we can’t connect physically,” she says.

“I think now is the time to start taking precautionary measures, if you haven’t already. For parents who have children with anxiety issues, get proactive, speak to your treating psychologist and make sure you know how to connect via Telehealth.

“For new mums this is also a tough time, one of the best interventions for post-natal depression is to get out of the house, to see people, to exercise. But we just can’t do all of that right now.

“If you’re pregnant now, again, set up a contact through Telehealth, get your systems in place before you need them.

“Connecting now with support is a far better scenario than waiting for the situation to deteriorate.”

Ms Donaldson says while technology will be essential in helping us survive self-isolation with our sanity intact, she says it’s more important than ever to restrict children’s access to social media.

She says too much screen time can add to anxiety and the break from normality provides the perfect opportunity to change bad habits.

“This is a time to go old school with entertainment – break out the Monopoly and Scrabble,” she says.

“It’s also a time to establish clear boundaries regarding access to social media and phones. It’s a great opportunity right now to start changing bad habits when everything else is changing too.

“We need to be very clear in delineating social media time versus learning time on devices. Kids can be so sneaky, but it comes down to us as parents to be monitoring them and to be the policeman.

“No, they should not do computer work in their bedroom, they need to do it at the table and saying they can’t concentrate there does not fly as an excuse. It’s OK to be the big, bad wolf.

“Deep down they want and need boundaries, especially anxious kids.”

Ms Donaldson says adults and children alike need to focus on what they can do, rather than what they can’t.

She says parents especially need to cut themselves some slack over the coming months.

“There are other things we can do now to keep ourselves happy and healthy, like making sure you and your kids are eating healthy foods and getting exercise,” she says.

“You can also download meditation apps and practise mindfulness and gratitude, engaging a positive mindset is important for everyone.”

And on that note, Ms Donaldson has one thing above all she wants Australians to remember in this time: to be thankful for our health system.

“We are so blessed to have the facilities and professionals that we have,” she says. “These are the things we must remember as we get through this together.”