Coping in a time of Uncertainty

With the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently witnessing the best and the worst of human behaviour. A common question I am hearing at the moment is 'Why are people doing such selfish and stupid things?".  

The human brain is designed to keep us safe and the perception of threat or danger, real or not, can cause people to behave in seemingly irrational and even stupid ways. The current issue of people 'panic buying' items such as toilet paper, hand sanitiser and various food items is an illustration of how increased stress and lingering anxiety will impact on a persons ability to think more clearly or rationally.

We are witnessing some pretty deplorable scenes in supermarkets via the media, people literaly fighting one another over a packet of toilet paper. As a community, the impact on our more vulnerable groups, particularly the elderly and the disabled, is both baffling and shameful. What would our children be making of this type of behaviour? The facts are also clear. We as a country produce the equivalent of enough food to feed 75 million people when our current population is 25 million. The panic is both irrational and completely unnecessary. 

What needs to happen? Well, firstly we need to slow down our vigilant brains. We are panicking too much. How do we slow our thinking down? I think being more aware of the actual facts is a start, listen to what the authorities are saying, particularly the Chief Health Officers at the federal and state levels, what the experts in the areas of epidemiology are saying and what is the World Health Organisation (WHO) is saying. We need to talk to one another, lets keep expressing our fears and concerns but also come back to the facts. Also, check the facts via the health.gov.au website, which is currently being updated on a daily basis

Human beings do not respond well to either uncertainty or to change. This pandemic is significantly challenging on both those fronts. There is so much about this situation that is not known, more questions then answers. When we don't know what is going to happen, we tend to get stuck on the 'unanswerable questions' but that inevitably feeds our anxiety, not alleviates it. We need to come back to the question of what we do and do not control in our current circumstances and focus on what we can do.

​There does need to be an increased focus on employing our more compassionate side, that we need to check in on our elderly or disabled neighbours, make sure they are okay and that they have essential items such as food and health care products. We need to soothe our stressed and troubled brains. With the problem of social distancing as part of combating the spread of COVID-19, there is an increased risk of social isolation and this is not good for human emotional and psychological health. We do need to find ways to stay connected. Never before has social media served a more important purpose in helping us keep connected. We need to call, text and email our loved ones regularly, especially those who are completely isolated at this point in time. 

Lets comeback to our humanity and see this as an opportunity to demonstrate as individuals and as a community our ability to protect, care and show kindness to each other. After all, that is the Aussie spirit at its best.

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