Coping with Covid

No, I don’t have it. If I did, that would be major news because we haven’t had a locally transmitted case in Adelaide for a very long time. But Taiob Ali (@sqlworldwide) asks us to write about it for T-SQL Tuesday this month.

Taiob’s post quotes a statistic that 45% of adults feel that their mental health has been impacted negatively by the worry and stress of the pandemic. I definitely see this, even here where there haven’t been many cases compared to the rest of the world.

We’ve had restrictions in Australia. The state of Victoria, where much of my family live, is in the process of removing restrictions, but I don’t know when we’ll be able to visit there, as the state borders have been closed since it all began. There are family-related things going on that mean that I want to get over for a visit, but the pandemic has prevented that. Let alone the impact on international travel. There’s a new family member in the UK, and I have no idea when going there will be an option again.

The impact here has been small compared to the rest of the world. But it’s the impact on the rest of the world that I’m feeling. I have friends who have lost family members, and some who have nearly died from the virus itself. I haven’t lost anyone directly to the disease, but the impact of it on people who mean a lot to me is huge. I was talking to someone earlier who was saying almost everyone she knows has lost a friend to suicide this year. Given there are rules about the number of people that can attend funerals, the impact is even greater. My family has been impacted by restrictions on hospital visits.

I feel powerless in it all – there isn’t exactly much I can do. But this month I can grow a moustache for Movember. The causes being supported this year include prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health / suicide prevention. Obviously cancer is a big deal, but I think mental health is even more important this year.

I already look ridiculous, as you can see from the pictures I’ve posted on social media. I hate shaving every day, but will persist with it until December is here. If you want to have a conversation with someone who looks like this, please reach out.