***thread about strategies to anxiety during #CovidVic #melbournelockdown***

As a cancer survivor, I find that COVID-19 and it’s related restrictions feel a lot like being diagnosed and living with cancer. It forces us to live under uncertainty and feel lonely, isolated

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This causes a lot of anxiety as the future is unpredictable and we don’t know when the restrictions might be lifted or when we will be able to safely hug someone again. We live in fear.

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Fear of getting sick w a disease we don’t know the long term consequences, losing jobs, not being able to look after those we love, perhaps not being able to ever see some of them again.

We desperately want our life to be & feel ‘normal’ again, whatever that means

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As a cancer patient and now 5 year survivor I have also developed and learned many ways to adapt to living in fear and let go of a lot of anxiety. Don’t take me wrong, as I’m still scared and anxious living during COVID-19, but I’ve learned to live more in the present moment.

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Celebrate baby steps. Enjoy today and the present moment. Because for a long time I didn’t know if there was a tomorrow. If it was okay to make plans, have dreams and live my life as I did before cancer.

Here are some of the strategies I have found helpful:

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1) Practice gratitude w your families, friends and teams. It’s easy to loose focus of what really matters in time of stress. But the vast majority of us have something to be grateful for every single day. Some days it might be as simple as clean water that comes out of a tap

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2) Do something that makes you happy everyday. It doesn’t need to be big or expensive stuff. It can be things that you can do from inside your home such as watch your favourite tv show, play with your pet, paint something, read a nice book, or talk to a friend.

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3) Practice mindfulness & try to worry less about things you cannot control. Yes this includes COVID stuff and what other people do (including @DanielAndrewsMP). I know it’s hard, but the reality is that worrying won’t help. Focus on what you can control instead (keep reading)
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4) Take good care of yourself. This includes eating healthy food (good for your #gutmicrobiota!), exercising as you can (walks count) & sleeping well. It might be tempting to go to bed late & wake up late but try to establish a routine. It will help you feel better overall

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5) It is okay to ask for help. And help comes in many forms. It can be help to cook from your mum via a video call, help from a mental health first aider (), or a counsellor, help yo clean the house, or to have sometime off work. In life we only get what we ask for

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6) This brings me to my next point: communication. Engage in clear communication and clear expectations with your co-workers, family and friends. We are all in this together. As @BreneBrown says “Clear is kind, unclear is unkind”

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7) Be kind w others, everybody is going through a difficult time one way or another. Some might be out of jobs, others having to take care of young families without help, many are isolated & fearful for their loved ones. Give others the benefit of the doubt.

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But also be kind with yourself. It’s okay to have bad days sometimes but seek help if the bad days become the norm.

Also remember to reach out for those living alone and international friends and team members.

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Cancer really sucked. But I learned to live a happy, fulfilling life while doing chemotherapy and then after cancer treatment, because I decided that independently if I lived for 3 months or another 30+ years I wanted to be happy. I refuse to live my life any other way.

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I learned we will always have problems and my post-cancer life is not an exception. But I’m grateful for being alive, being healthy and sharing my life with so many amazing people. I know that being alive and healthy is a privilege I will never take for granted

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