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harpygaggle

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Hi,

I'm doing a part work for one of the hospital where I was assigned to tabulate COVID patients being admitted. I'm stressed with the spike of the figures. I'm getting hopeless that we will not overcome this pandemic. News keep on telling about increasing cases and more lockdowns. I'm emotionally distressed. Please I'm needing advices =(
 

The_Doc_Man

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First, thank you for taking your part in this crisis. People need all the help they can get once that nastiness hits their lungs.

Second, from a TV show that my wife and I often watch (NCIS), there was a line that might be helpful. "If you are going through Hell, keep going." When questioned about that line, Agent Gibbs explains "Don't stop to sight-see. Just keep on going."

As distressing as the COVID news can sometimes get, there is a principle that health-related workers are often told. You have to try very hard to avoid becoming personally involved.

Remember, it is the very nature of any healthcare job that you see people in distress. Even if you are not directly in a care ward but rather only work behind the scenes, you will see people in medical distress because hospitals are where they go when medically distressed.

You ARE going to be bombarded with tragedy all around you. Doctors and nurses in these settings often burn out because it is contrary to human nature to totally ignore someone's pain. However, the only way these people will get better is when their medical help sidesteps their pain in order to do the right thing (medically speaking) for each patient. In times of high demand, the emotion of personal compassion for individual patients distracts you and makes you less available for others who may equally need you.

You have to be able to step away and move on, hence my "keep going" advice. Staying and dwelling too long with one person makes you very compassionate - but it is NOT so compassionate for the others who have the same need.

What does this have to do with you? Even if you are not directly involved in hands-on health-care services, you are helping others by performing a type of support service that will help decision-makers somewhere. When you see horrible news, you have to learn to be a turtle and let that news bounce off of you. Otherwise, you will be unable to do your job. The key is thus to focus on the good that you CAN do and not dwell on things you CANNOT do - whether because it's not your job or because of the sheer volume of effort.

Despair is a bastard that cannot be allowed to take you over. It leads to a descending spiral that can paralyze you. I have been in such a cycle when my mother was dying slowly and there was no cure for what was taking her away. The therapy that I got helped me to find a useful way to look at things. While I'm not religious, the "Serenity" prayer is good advice. I will paraphrase it.

Learn to handle the things you can handle. Learn to let go of things you cannot handle. Learn how to tell the difference.

@harpygaggle my friend, I hope you soon can learn the difference. I don't doubt you have heard some form of this saying before. But it is not enough to just hear it. You have to feel it, to take it in as part of yourself. When you make the advice real for yourself, real enough to actually implement it on a regular basis, then you can reach a form of serenity. And I hope my advice helps.
 

harpygaggle

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Thank you. But, not only me is experiencing this. I've read that many essential workers continue to face a number of challenges, including greater risk of contracting the coronavirus than other workers. Compared to nonessential workers, essential workers are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder (42% vs. 30%), starting or increasing substance use (25% vs. 11%), and suicidal thoughts (22% vs. 8%) during the pandemic. Hopefully, we can overcome this. I appreciate much your suggestions and will try to follow them.
 

The_Doc_Man

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I have a cousin in the neighboring state of Mississippi, in the greater Biloxi area. He is one of five state-certified respiratory therapists in the area. He has endured nightmarish schedules and did, in fact, catch COVID-19 before vaccines were available. When he has a chance to talk and unload, I make it a point to listen because sometimes people need to share their experiences. Not so much to depress others, but to force the images into focus in your mind so that you can actually process what you have seen. To clarify, "holding it in" is like locking down a valve in a steam boiler. When the pressure gets high enough, the boiler explodes. If you release some of the pressure, no explosion. Consider that as an analogy and find someone who can be a "sympathetic shoulder" for you.

My heart goes out to you and to those you help, directly or indirectly. We have our share over here in the USA. I know you are in the Philippines, not too far from Manila. This is truly a global pandemic. It is a time when the world can truly say - and mean - we are all in the same boat.
 

CedricBlown

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I agree with the advice given above, let some of the pressure go. Try to gather support from your family and friends. Learn to venture in new skills too like writing, biking or dancing. It will slowly help you to recover.
 

harpygaggle

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I have a cousin in the neighboring state of Mississippi, in the greater Biloxi area. He is one of five state-certified respiratory therapists in the area. He has endured nightmarish schedules and did, in fact, catch COVID-19 before vaccines were available. When he has a chance to talk and unload, I make it a point to listen because sometimes people need to share their experiences. Not so much to depress others, but to force the images into focus in your mind so that you can actually process what you have seen. To clarify, "holding it in" is like locking down a valve in a steam boiler. When the pressure gets high enough, the boiler explodes. If you release some of the pressure, no explosion. Consider that as an analogy and find someone who can be a "sympathetic shoulder" for you.

My heart goes out to you and to those you help, directly or indirectly. We have our share over here in the USA. I know you are in the Philippines, not too far from Manila. This is truly a global pandemic. It is a time when the world can truly say - and mean - we are all in the same boat.
Thank you for your warm sympathy. Recently, data revealed that babies of those women who just gave birth are testing positive despite of the mother being vaccinated. So it clearly shows that antibodies can't be passed on. What are your comments regarding this? Do you think its still practical for the pregnant women to get vaccinated?
 

harpygaggle

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I agree with the advice given above, let some of the pressure go. Try to gather support from your family and friends. Learn to venture in new skills too like writing, biking or dancing. It will slowly help you to recover.
I'm actively trying but the work schedule is also too tight. Can you suggest activities I can do indoor aside from board games?
 

Anakardian

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Having no idea what your home is like, here is a few suggeestions:
  • Knitting or crocheting, yes, everyone can do it. Example
  • Embroidery. Another one for all to do. Example
  • If you have the room, woodworking/carpentry. Example
  • if you don't mind the smoke, there is woodburning decorations. Example
 

The_Doc_Man

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Do you think its still practical for the pregnant women to get vaccinated?

If not for the babies, then for themselves. If the woman isn't vaccinated and has the baby, it will need someone healthy enough to take care of it. And if the studies are correct such that the vaccine DOESN'T enter the baby's blood stream, then perhaps it doesn't hurt the baby.

People don't appreciate that most vaccines aren't cures or preventatives for getting the disease - they merely boost the immune system to block the worst effects of the disease.

There is a lesson to be learned from this fact from about 1 month ago, when the delta surge was actively surging. Of the people in Louisiana who needed to be admitted to the hospital for respiratory or other COVID-related care, 99% were not vaccinated. If having the vaccine only makes you 99% less likely to have the nasty form of COVID, that can't be bad. Of course, only YOU would know if you react negatively to "ordinary" flu vaccines. If you do, then the COVID vaccine might not be for you. We can't forget that the "normal" flu and COVID-19 are BOTH corona viruses and are both created using similar materials. If you don't react to the flu vaccine, you have good odds of not reacting to the COVID vaccine either.
 

moke123

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If not for the babies, then for themselves. If the woman isn't vaccinated and has the baby, it will need someone healthy enough to take care of it. And if the studies are correct such that the vaccine DOESN'T enter the baby's blood stream, then perhaps it doesn't hurt the baby.
I believe I read somewhere that the antibodies are passed to the baby in the mothers milk. A bonus to getting the Vaccine.
 

The_Doc_Man

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I actually agree with you, Moke, but the specific reference I saw suggested that the antibodies were not initially shared through the placental barriers. I must admit some lack of technical expertise here, having not diddled with placental concerns except in the abstract when studying organic and biochemistry as part of my original degree work.
 

Isaac

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@harpygaggle May I ask what part of the world you are in? The environment you describe sounds very different than where I am living, where 2/3 are vaccinated and most people have returned to a completely and totally normal life. However, I may just be lucky - and blessed to be where I am, which is what made me curious.

Of course, being in a healthcare environment is to a viewpoint on suffering, what being a police officer is to a viewpoint on crime: You're surrounded by it, so it seems--seems--like a rendition of the world-at-large, but of course, that's skewed because you're surrounded by one element, rather than experiencing that element as a civilian in daily life, who might perceive it as a tiny one.

It's all a matter of perspective, I guess, is one of the points I am making. Reminding yourself that what you see in a hospital (anytime, really--not just COVID) isn't what most people are experiencing may help.
 

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