SA’s wellbeing bounces back after COVID-19 lockdown, but Victoria’s situation is still giving us stress
South Australians bounced back from the stress of the pandemic and restrictions once they eased, but the lockdown in Victoria has sent anxiety soaring again. These Adelaide researchers have some ideas that could help.
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The coronavirus pandemic is an ideal time for people to build vital resilience skills, experts say.
Experts at the SA Health and Medical Research Institute’s Wellness and Resilience Centre said their regular surveys showed general wellbeing fell, and anxiety rose, as SA introduced sudden COVID-19 restrictions.
The monthly surveys of more than 300 people, and covering issues such as anxiety and stress, recorded a dip in overall life satisfaction – from almost 6.8 out of 10 in February to close to 6 in April.
It rose to 6.5 in July, but had plateaued as the coronavirus situation worsened in Victoria and lockdowns were enforced.
Team leader Joep van Agteren said the survey results suggested a need for people to develop stronger resilience skills.
“It means you feel able to deal with stress as it arises and have the resources to feel better on a day-to-day basis,” Mr van Agteren said.
Key factors in building resilience included maintaining social connections, getting enough sleep, exercising and finding time for yourself – particularly if members of a household were getting on the nerve of each other.
“Give yourself some time out when it becomes too much,” Mr van Agteren said. For everyone, but particularly young people anxious about future job and travel prospects, Mr van Agteren urged them to focus on the positive.
“Focus on what you do have in the moment,” he said.
“It is easy to focus on what you can’t do, but we have an amazing state and we can travel here.
“Focusing on what you can’t do is detrimental to mental health, so be present in the moment and enjoy what we have now.
“Uncertainty is going to be around for a while, so focus on the good things we do have.”
Researcher Matthew Iasiello, supported by a scholarship from law firm Cowell Clarke, has developed a free, 10-minute mental health and wellbeing test available at the SAHMRI website. The test helped celebrate the positive, identify areas that needed improvement and highlighted areas where action was needed. “People may be carrying levels of stress that were unexpected,” Mr Iasiello said.
“Wellbeing is in our control, we can build it up.”
Both men noted the typical Australian laid-back “she’ll be right” attitude of the past was being tempered by realisation of the seriousness and long-term challenge of the pandemic.
“If you are feeling overwhelmed this is the time to say ‘maybe I do need to reach out’,” Mr van Agteren said.
“This is not a time to say ‘she’ll be right’.”